While SMU President Gerald Turner, Rodney Fort of Michigan, Richard Lapchick of Central Florida and Smith’s Andrew Zimbalist grab the headlines as the primary presenters at the third annual NCAA Scholarly Colloquium on Intercollegiate Athletics January 12-13, five “free paper” sessions also will provide ample opportunity for discussion.

The Colloquium, conducted in conjunction with the NCAA Convention in Atlanta, has thrived on its “center court” presenters the last two years, but the third iteration of the event features an interesting lineup of free papers that should add to the event.

John Thelin, university research professor at Kentucky, and Bob Simon, philosophy professor at Union (New York) – both of whom are on the Colloquium’s editorial and advisory board – selected about two dozen free papers from more than 50 submissions. Those papers, which are condensed versions of larger works, will be presented in five 75-minute sessions during the course of the Colloquium. All support the Colloquium’s focus on how the current economy is affecting intercollegiate athletics.

“We weren’t sure how much research was going to relate to the economic theme, but the turnout was high and the quality – at least judging by the abstracts – is there,” Thelin said.

The board issued a call for papers earlier this year. Applicants submitted abstracts of their work, and Thelin and Simon were able to group the selections into the following categories:

• Taxation and Legal Issues of College Sports Programs
• Title IX: Gender, Equity and College Sports
• Conferences and Costs: Budgets and Accountability
• Bowls, Brands and Broadcasts
• Recruiting and Retention – College Student-Athlete Issues

“We had an abundance of good papers from which to choose,” Thelin said. “The main problem for people will be deciding which session to attend.”

Three sessions will be held concurrently from 4:45-6 p.m. on January 12. The other two are at 8:30-9:45 the following morning.

Aside from the quality of the papers, Thelin was pleased with the diversity of the selections – from the types of institutions the authors represent (prominent research universities to liberal arts colleges to community colleges), from the location of the schools (Pacific Coast, Southwest and the Midwest to the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic), and from the disciplines represented (economics, law, history, sociology, behavioral sciences and philosophy).

Scott Kretchmar, faculty athletics representative at Penn State and Colloquium board chair, also noted the spectrum of opinion among the free papers.

“People who have been skeptical of whether we would allow free speech will realize that we do,” he said. “I am pleased with the amount and quality of the papers this year, and I would anticipate even more in the future. We have the attention of scholars who are realizing this opportunity to present at an NCAA-sponsored event.”

Thelin agreed, saying it has taken a while for scholars to understand that the NCAA is sponsoring this kind of research opportunity.

“But by increments,” he said, “the word is getting out, and professors and other scholars are regarding this as good exposure and prestige to be presented at a conference under the auspices of the NCAA. That is a tribute to a concept Myles Brand had to elevate this type of research. He wanted to make sure there was analytic rigor with these papers. This is starting to bear fruit.”

Brand, the former NCAA president who died in September, was the impetus for the Colloquium, which began in 2008. The first theme, in fact, was whether intercollegiate athletics was worthy of scholarly research. Brand often wondered why more scholars didn’t take on college sports in their academic pursuits.

It appears that the Colloquium may have helped spur the breadth of study Brand desired.

“Myles Brand’s hope of having good, honest, fact-based dialogue about research in college sports is coming to fruition,” Kretchmar said. “It promotes the cause, and it’s good that the conversation is occurring within the walls of the Association so that members can hear the full range of discussion in a civil manner.”

Free papers schedule

Click here for a full Colloquium schedule.

Tuesday, January 12 (three concurrent sessions, 3-4:30 p.m.)

Session I-A:  Taxation and Legal Issues of College Sports Programs

• Scott Kretchmar, Pennsylvania State University – Tax Law, Athletic Expenditures and Sports Sponsorship
• Barbara Osborne, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill – To Tax or Not to Tax?
• Kurt Rotthoff and Ann Mayo, Seton Hall University – Coaching Costs as Tullock Costs
• Anastasios Kaburakis, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale – Amateurism, 21st Century Law and Times of Recession
• Christopher Parent, lawyer – Fight On: The Importance of Protecting College Trademarks from Infringement

Session I-B:  Title IX: Gender, Equity and College Sports  

• B. David Ridpath, Heather Lawrence and Athena Yiamouyiannis, Ohio University; and Kristen Galles, attorney – Assessing Title IX Implications in the Age of Recession and Shrinking Athletics Budgets
• Susan Crincoli, Fuchsberg Law Center, Touro College – Expanding Opportunities vs. Diminishing Interest: The Legal Risk to Women’s Sports During Recessionary Times
• Jennifer Lee Hoffman , University of Washington – The Athletic Director Search: Challenges and Opportunities for Women Candidates
• Jeff Thies, Central Arizona College – Intercollegiate Athletics in the Title IX Era: The Community College Experience
• Eric Anctil, University of Portland – And the Poor Get Poorer: Loss of Competitive Advantage for College Athletic Scholarships in Recessionary Times

Session I-C:  Conferences and Costs: Budgets and Accountability             

• Ellen Staurowski, Ithaca College – Impact of the Global Economic Downturn on NCAA College and University Athletic Budgets  
• Max Utsler, University of Kansas – Athletic Department Expenditures and On-Field Results: A Study of the Big 12 Conference from 2000-08
• Heather Lawrence, Ann Gabriel and Lauren Tuttle, Ohio University – Leveling the Playing Field: Creating Transparency and Consistency in Accounting for Division I Intercollegiate Athletics
• Kevin E. Renshler, University of South Florida – The Antecedents of Athletic Team Salience and Their Influence on NCAA Division I Operating Budgets
• Bruce McNeil, lawyer, and Donald Craib – A Game Plan for Retaining and Rewarding Valued Collegiate Coaches In a Recessionary Time

Wednesday, January 12 (two concurrent sessions, 8:30-9:45 a.m.)

Session II-A:  Bowls, Brands and Broadcasts          

• Chad Seifreid, Louisiana State University – Examining the History of Division I (FBS) Bowl Payouts: Contrasting Current BCS and non-BCS Institutions and the Growth of Bowl Games into BCS Controlled Contests
• Michael Mondello, Florida State University; and Joel Maxcy, University of Georgia – The FBS: Football, Bowls, and Salaries
• Robert Zullo, James Madison University; and Barbara Osborne, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill – To Sell or Not to Sell: Outsourced Marketing Professionals Perceptions on Women’s Sports
• Richard Southall and Crystal Southall, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; and Brendan Dwyer, Virginia Commonwealth University – What a Wonderful Time of the Year: Institutional Logics and the 2009 Bowl Championship Series Telecasts
• Karen Weaver, Pennsylvania State University, Abington – The Launch of the Big Ten Network: How 11 Universities Created Their Own TV Network and the Landscape of College Sports

Session II-B:  Recruiting and Retention – College Student-Athlete Issues

• Amanda Paule, Bowling Green State University – Recruiting High-Caliber Athletes During Difficult Financial Times: Coaches’ Perceptions of the Recruitment Process and the Role of Economic Status
• J. Longmire Harrison, The FASS Academy – Recruiting in the 21st Century: The Benefits of Using Social Media Technology in Recessionary Times                 
• Mark Nagel, Kendall Belk, Laura Bradstreet, Teegan Bussey and Kara Manis, University of South Carolina, Columbia – Off-Campus Activities During a Campus Visit: New Problems Emerging?
• Clay Harshaw, Guilford College – Effective Retention Practices for NCAA Division III Institutions with Football
• Young Jae Kol            , Michael Saga, Trevor Bopp, Kevin Cattani, Taeho Kim and Akiko Arai, University of Florida – A Comparative Analysis of Student-Athletes’ Welfare and Related Services