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NCAA News Archive - 2007
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Ford winner: Big problems are everybody’s problem
Grant encourages members to influence change through Association’s committee structure
Grant encourages members to influence change through Association’s committee structure
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By Gary T. Brown
The NCAA News
The NCAA News
Longtime University of Iowa athletics administrator Christine Grant in her acceptance of the NCAA President’s Gerald R. Ford Award urged NCAA Convention attendees to work collectively to maximize participation opportunities for both young men and women.
Grant, the former director of women’s athletics at Iowa, said during the NCAA Convention’s January 6 opening business session that intercollegiate athletics stakeholders should work aggressively through the NCAA governance structure to effect change.
“I hope many here will take advantage of opportunities to work on committees because I believe we need our most creative minds working on issues such as the escalating costs of athletics programs, the development of diverse and inclusive athletics departments, the creation of gender-equitable programs and the development of practical ideas on how we can retain our men’s Olympic sports, so that we can maximize participation opportunities for both women and men,” she said. “We owe that to our student-athletes, to our institutions and to our organization.”
Grant is the fifth recipient of the Ford Award, which recognizes individuals who have provided significant leadership as an advocate for intercollegiate athletics on a continuous basis over the course of his or her career.
Grant noted the character of the former U.S. president for which the award is named, calling him “a good, honorable and thoroughly decent man.” Ford, who took over as the 38th president of the United States in 1974 after Richard Nixon resigned, died December 26, 2006, at the age of 93. Convention delegates observed a tribute to Ford during the opening business session.
Grant devoted years of service to NCAA governance, including a stint as chair of the NCAA Amateurism and Agents Committee, during which she experienced a philosophical change of heart as the group pushed to deregulate long-standing and rigid amateurism bylaws.
“It was one of my favorite assignments because I was forced to re-examine my philosophy about amateurism, which had been ingrained in me in Britain, and I did just that,” she said. “It was fascinating to discover that I could not justify what had been my beliefs on amateurism for most of my life. It was an excellent learning experience.”
Grant in a 2000 interview with The NCAA News said, “What emerges from an analysis of the current state of amateurism is an exceedingly complex series of problems because we … are attempting to collect accurate data to treat in a uniform fashion all prospective student-athletes in the world … These prospective student-athletes (national and international) belong to a vast array of sporting organizations, each of which has a different set of rules pertaining to amateurism and most of which cannot provide accurate records of financial transactions between the athlete and the organization.”
Grant’s committee was a major force behind the NCAA loosening some of its amateurism restrictions about five years ago. Though Division I did not immediately adopt the committee’s recommendations, Divisions II and III adopted several, including Division II’s passage of legislation allowing prospects to enter the professional draft, sign a contract, play and receive compensation for doing so.
In addition to committee service, Grant is known for her fight for gender equity in athletics. She testified before Congress several times and served as a consultant for the Civil Rights Title IX Task Force. She was a founding member of the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women and served in a variety of leadership roles with that organization. She also has held several positions with the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators, including the presidency from 1987-89.
A native of Scotland, Grant served as women’s athletics director at Iowa from the time the department was established in 1973 until her retirement in 2000. Grant, who remains an associate professor at the institution, graduated from Dunfermline College of Physical Education in 1956. She was a field hockey coach and player in her native country and in Canada. She came to Iowa in 1969, receiving a bachelor’s degree in physical education and master’s and doctoral degrees in sport administration.
Former Ford recipients
Individuals who have received the NCAA President’s Gerald R. Ford Award:
2004 — Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, former president, University of Notre Dame.
2005 — William C. Friday, former president, University of North Carolina system.
2006 — Birch Bayh, former U.S. senator, and John R. Wooden, former UCLA basketball coach.
Grant, the former director of women’s athletics at Iowa, said during the NCAA Convention’s January 6 opening business session that intercollegiate athletics stakeholders should work aggressively through the NCAA governance structure to effect change.
“I hope many here will take advantage of opportunities to work on committees because I believe we need our most creative minds working on issues such as the escalating costs of athletics programs, the development of diverse and inclusive athletics departments, the creation of gender-equitable programs and the development of practical ideas on how we can retain our men’s Olympic sports, so that we can maximize participation opportunities for both women and men,” she said. “We owe that to our student-athletes, to our institutions and to our organization.”
Grant is the fifth recipient of the Ford Award, which recognizes individuals who have provided significant leadership as an advocate for intercollegiate athletics on a continuous basis over the course of his or her career.
Grant noted the character of the former U.S. president for which the award is named, calling him “a good, honorable and thoroughly decent man.” Ford, who took over as the 38th president of the United States in 1974 after Richard Nixon resigned, died December 26, 2006, at the age of 93. Convention delegates observed a tribute to Ford during the opening business session.
Grant devoted years of service to NCAA governance, including a stint as chair of the NCAA Amateurism and Agents Committee, during which she experienced a philosophical change of heart as the group pushed to deregulate long-standing and rigid amateurism bylaws.
“It was one of my favorite assignments because I was forced to re-examine my philosophy about amateurism, which had been ingrained in me in Britain, and I did just that,” she said. “It was fascinating to discover that I could not justify what had been my beliefs on amateurism for most of my life. It was an excellent learning experience.”
Grant in a 2000 interview with The NCAA News said, “What emerges from an analysis of the current state of amateurism is an exceedingly complex series of problems because we … are attempting to collect accurate data to treat in a uniform fashion all prospective student-athletes in the world … These prospective student-athletes (national and international) belong to a vast array of sporting organizations, each of which has a different set of rules pertaining to amateurism and most of which cannot provide accurate records of financial transactions between the athlete and the organization.”
Grant’s committee was a major force behind the NCAA loosening some of its amateurism restrictions about five years ago. Though Division I did not immediately adopt the committee’s recommendations, Divisions II and III adopted several, including Division II’s passage of legislation allowing prospects to enter the professional draft, sign a contract, play and receive compensation for doing so.
In addition to committee service, Grant is known for her fight for gender equity in athletics. She testified before Congress several times and served as a consultant for the Civil Rights Title IX Task Force. She was a founding member of the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women and served in a variety of leadership roles with that organization. She also has held several positions with the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators, including the presidency from 1987-89.
A native of Scotland, Grant served as women’s athletics director at Iowa from the time the department was established in 1973 until her retirement in 2000. Grant, who remains an associate professor at the institution, graduated from Dunfermline College of Physical Education in 1956. She was a field hockey coach and player in her native country and in Canada. She came to Iowa in 1969, receiving a bachelor’s degree in physical education and master’s and doctoral degrees in sport administration.
Former Ford recipients
Individuals who have received the NCAA President’s Gerald R. Ford Award:
2004 — Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, former president, University of Notre Dame.
2005 — William C. Friday, former president, University of North Carolina system.
2006 — Birch Bayh, former U.S. senator, and John R. Wooden, former UCLA basketball coach.
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