Don't Divert Money from Academics to Pay for Sports

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USA Today serves up diverging opinions: (a) USA Today, Souring Pay for Coaches Throws Academics for a Loss: "These types of numbers, along with enormous sums universities are pumping into sports facilities, certainly look bad at a time of economic distress and academic cutbacks. A recent survey of college presidents, by the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, found them overwhelmingly of the opinion that spending on college sports is unsustainable. Some 85% specially cited coaches salaries as too high." (b) Jim Isch, Spending Isn't Out of Control: Prevailing conventional wisdom tells us that colleges and universities in the USA are overspending in their intercollegiate athletics programs — especially among the top programs and especially for head and assistance coaches. In some instances, maybe even many, that is likely true. But some context for the spending would be helpful.

New Journal: Journal of Issues in Collegiate Athletics

Everyone on a campus has an opinion about collegiate athletics. Planners often have the need to be at least as well-informed, most likely better-informed, that other administrators. This new open access journal may be of interest:

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]