The co-chairs of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics - William E. Kirwan, chancellor of the University System of Maryland and R. Gerald Turner, president of Southern Methodist University, frame that report for boards of trustees in this article from Trusteeship. Their approach in this article is to examine what is known in the context of the recession and other college and university funding stresses.

[R]ising expenses—and the pursuit of more revenue to support college sports—have become a destabilizing force for many institutions, regardless of athletic mission or program size. According to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), over the past decade, spending on athletics has been rising at a rate three to four times faster than the rate of increase of academic budgets among institutions competing in the NCAA’s Division I.

Moreover, most programs rely on institutional resources--in the form of student fees, general-fund transfers, and, in a few cases, state appropriations--to balance their budgets. such transfers are also rising much faster than other educational expenses. According to a recent analysis in USA Today, only seven universities generated enough outside revenue from athletics to cover their athletic costs in each of the past five years.

This is particularly concerning given the challenging financial conditions facing institutions. Universities are dealing with double-digit cuts in state appropriations and sharply reduced endowments in the face of rising costs across the boar--not to mention the loss of federal stimulus money meant to address the current recession. With employee furloughs, program reductions, and increased tuition and fees, spending on college sports can seem questionable or even counterproductive.

Created as an initiative by the College Sport Research Institute (CSRI) the
Journal of Issues in Collegiate Athletics is "intended to foster an
atmosphere that encourages personal and intellectual growth for faculty and
students, demands excellence and professional integrity from faculty and
student affiliates, supports independent critical college-sport research,
and advocates for college athletes' rights and education." Visitors to the
site can look over information about their editorial board and staff, their
complete mission statement, and then make their way to the actual journal.
The publication was started in 2008, and visitors can view articles such as
"Collegiate Sport Chaplaincy: Problems and Promise" and "Can the Faculty
Reform Intercollegiate Athletics? A Past, Present, and Future Perspective".
The site is rounded out by a listing of links to related organizations,
conferences, and online resources. [KMG]