To have the NCAA play a role in guaranteeing athletics opportunities for any college student who desires one ("any student who wants to participate can").

For the NCAA to be universally embraced as the advocate for the student-athlete through widespread endorsement of fair play, assurance of broad opportunities, and achievement of complete individual and team growth through the balanced educational experiences with achievement in competition.

To ensure that athletics and the academic experience continue to be meaningfully linked.

To be the worldwide leader in the integration of higher education and athletics in a way that provides student-athletes with lifetime skills and opportunities.

To assure the academic success of student-athletes and the academic integrity of athletics programs.

To become widely recognized and supported as successfully integrating intercollegiate athletics and the value of higher education at the highest level of competition.

To become the unifying force behind the academic and athletics welfare of student-athletes and their institutions.

To be the guiding organization responsible for supervising all intercollegiate athletics; to be the premier governing body over academics and sports.

To be known as the nation's best example of the benefits of competition.

In the area of demographics, the group identified the current conditions of shifts in race and gender; single-family households and extended family units increasing in number; the rise in numbers of nontraditional students, which already has had a major impact on course offerings in higher education (older students, more part-time students, longer enrollment); and the fact that the age of the average college sports fan is rising (replacing an aging fan base will be an issue).

With those issues in mind, the group articulated the following assumptions reflecting an uncertain world for intercollegiate athletics. Football and basketball may no longer be the primary revenue sports, and there may be fewer team sports with the rise of women and ethnic minorities into the majority of the college population. There will be ever-increasing options for how youth, students and fans spend their leisure time. Intercollegiate athletics may have to fight for the fan in the future because of increased opportunities elsewhere. Extreme sports may need to be incorporated into intercollegiate athletics to keep fans. The pressure to win (on coaches and on administrators and student-athletes) will increase as the enterprise of intercollegiate athletics grows.

Dialogue about factors in the business and economic climate included the observation that states may have to spend more on health care of the elderly, resulting in fewer resources for higher education. There will be continued budgetary concerns on campus -- the escalating costs of higher education will place great financial stress on institutions and states, as will the escalating cost of coaches' salaries (and the subsequent elimination of some sports). The health of the television industry is an economic wild card (what happens if industry suffers? what happens to rights fees?). There will be less disposable income, a widening gap among socio-economics cultures (haves and have nots), and more competition for the dollar, thus creating a need to market differently. There will be more opportunities to participate in sports as a fan, not necessarily in person, that will affect intercollegiate athletics revenues. Another wild card centers on the internationalization of intercollegiate athletics; the present thinking is that the intercollegiate athletics "product" can't be expanded to an international arena. Another country may emerge with sports that command greater interest in the marketplace or with a different economic model.

Regarding issues of legislation and regulation, there is a growing interest in having government arbitrate issues facing sports. There will be tighter controls and more scrutiny, along with expectations of increased accountability on the part of academic institutions. The issues of academic reform, Title IX, pay for play, health and safety, and security will create an uncertain future for intercollegiate athletics. Caps may be placed on how much colleges can spend on programs, and this may result in increased regulation and control beyond the NCAA and current accrediting groups.

In the area of technology and science, discussions about current conditions included the link between technology and economics. There is a disparity of capital to invest in technology among membership, as well as a disparity of available rehab, training and testing equipment. Technology has had a profound impact on higher education already. Changes include virtual classrooms, a diminished campus environment and faster processing of grades and eligibility. Undesirable changes include the availability of masking agents in drug testing and the proliferation of on-campus gambling, which has become more difficult to enforce.

From a medical and scientific standpoint, assumptions also included predictions of scientific advances that affect human performance and genetic engineering resulting in student-athlete champions more vulnerable to commercialization. Again the issue of disparity among member institutions arose, and an observation was that programs that have the resources to use these technologies will advance and the playing field would become less level. Gene therapy will allow for instant healing and more resilient student-athletes, but with that may come a danger of building ever-bigger student-athletes without regard to health issues.

Finally, regarding political and social values, the group felt that the lack of civility in society will continue. There may be an increased interest in sports for minorities and women as a way to learn how to be influential. The types of participants in intercollegiate athletics may change; the faces of tomorrow will be different, and there may be a greater gap between spectators and participants. Interest in spectator sports will decrease, and the definition of sport will expand to include elements not considered sports today. There will be more structured organizations for youth sports, and sports may be viewed more for personal fulfillment than for the good of the team. The public may become disillusioned with all sports.

Other factors that could result in change include heightened security or terrorist concerns affecting campus life and large gatherings of people, a substantial economic downturn or catastrophe, bionics (increasing replacement of body parts and or gene biotech manipulation to improve performance of student-athletes), space-age changes to fields of play or equipment and playing rules, the requirement that college athletes pay for their scholarships if they leave early for a professional career, a cap on all college sports costs, and a blend of men's and women's sports on all levels. Also, the NCAA could become fully responsible for regular-season events in addition to postseason events.

How do we better measure and create an effective balance between autonomy and Association oversight? The diversity of size and philosophy may prevent the entire Association from moving forward. Who will be the decision makers?

How does the Association continue to serve members well when the membership continues to become more diverse and divisions become more dissimilar? How can we build consensus and ensure that the membership is prepared to truly, genuinely and demonstrably commit to a common set of values and objectives?

How can the Association overcome the perceived lack of trust among the various stakeholders? How do we close the trust gap within the membership? How can we shift thinking from local to global and make decisions for the good of the group rather than individual institutions?

How do we encourage presidents to assume the responsibility and authority vested in them to lead? How do we ensure CEO involvement in the process?

How can the national office staff become more unified? How can we educate the membership to better understand the benefits of the national office? How does the Association resolve the power struggle between conferences and the national office?

Where will funding come from? How can the NCAA control expenses and secure/diversify revenue? How does an economically diverse membership realize its full potential and deal with artificial constraints to economic competitive equity for the good of the whole?

How do we assure that intercollegiate athletics remains a vital or functioning part of higher education? How do we bring athletics and educational constituents together for a common purpose?

How can the Association best communicate its commitment to student-athletes in this high stakes environment? How can the Association maintain the right balance between its core values, the value of winning and the academic achievement of the student-athlete? How do we balance winning and the total student-athlete development and experience? How do we make sure we are not winning at the expense of the student-athlete?

How can the NCAA enforce the objectives of fair play without excessive legal restrictions that turn student-athletes off and stifle the ability for programs to progress?

How can we reconcile the amateurism of the student-athlete with the growing professional model of the college coach and the marketing and presentation of their sports? How will the Internet affect televised sports? How commercial are we prepared to become?

How do external perceptions affect the abilities of the NCAA and possibly prevent the Association from reaching its goals? How can we educate the public about the mission and goals of the NCAA? How can we better identify who we are?

Have conviction in and passion for goals while demonstrating unwavering and fearless leadership. Be willing to fight for principle. Be willing to take risks. Stay true to the plan. Assign real accountability to the pieces of the plan, with empowerment. Think big. Stretch the Association and do not compromise good ideas and goals of the organization. You do this infrequently, so make it worthwhile; take a stand and stand up -- be willing to go out on a limb with confidence.

Seek and consider input from diverse groups, both internal and external. Be all-inclusive instead of an elite group of decision makers. Everyone has important information; listen to all members and staff from top to bottom, and listen closely to those concerns. If staff opinion is asked, use their suggestions in the results. Ensure buy-in from the constituents; planning is pointless without results. Be responsive to membership needs. Engage a variety of constituents and ensure a diverse representation of ideas is the decision-making level. Be as inclusive as possible and balance the agendas of each constituent group when compiling the input; keep in mind the needs of the larger group. Identify people who share values and bring them together and empower them. Do not be hypocritical; be realistic in goal-setting and involve people involved with student-athletes in planning.

As we move forward in planning, leadership should embrace change. Move forward with passion. This Association deserves the best. Think as broadly as possible. Do not lose sight of what has brought us to where we are now. Be willing to move the organization forward without constraints boundaries or standards established in the past, but build on existing positives within the Association (for example, branding initiatives). Be flexible. Trends come and go, but as long as you are open to ideas, you will be successful.

Continue to look for the most effective yet realistic direction this Association needs to take. Ensure that the strategic plan is coherent and simple enough that all levels of staff members can buy in to its implementation. Ask what impact any change will have on the student-athlete at every step. Implement the result. Empower and hold the appropriate parties accountable. Ensure that all affected by the strategic plan are kept abreast and that the plan and the process are communicated before it is instituted.

Close the gap between the membership and the national office and look for ways to become more inclusive. The gap is too large right now to be effective with goals and planning. Cultivate an atmosphere of trust, set common goals, and -- most importantly -- include student-athletes and their parents. The student-athlete is the reason this organization exists. Be fair and keep student-athlete welfare in mind. Keep the education and college experience of the student-athlete central to everything we do. Leadership must address the trust gap that exists within the NCAA -- between student-athletes and coaches, administrators and coaches, administrators and presidents, and so on.