I. Introduction
II. College Sports, Higher Education, and the Courts
A. Ross v. Creighton Univ.
B. Knapp v. Northwestern Univ.
C. Simpson v. Univ. of Colorado
C. Looking Ahead
D. Quiz #2
I just finished grading Quiz #1. As expected, the scores earned were high. Much like the articulate comments during class this past Monday (e.g. O.J. Mayo), the opinions expressed in the quiz were wide-ranging and insightful. My specific comments on each question are below:
Question #1
A majority of students (correctly) explained that the class was required as part of their major. Others said it looked like the best class relative to other offerings. Several students expressed an interest in working as a college athletics administrator as a reason for taking the class. Two students cited a desire to develop their sports-related critical thinking skills. One student wanted to learn more about Title IX and the financial side of sports.
Question #2
A slight majority of students concluded that Dr. Sperber is a hypocrite. A significant minority of you made good use of quotes to back your position. One student (with a sociology background) wrote about a “split-sports” personality. Several students mentioned the Division III model. One student appealed to the “American psyche that often runs wild with athletic patriotism.”
Question #3
A majority of students disagreed with Dr. Friedman’s quote. FYI, he passed away in 2007. One student mentioned the correlation between sports competition and the USA’s place as the world’s lone superpower. Another pointed to the inherent educational value of sports itself. Several students argued by analogy and cited music performances, theater, and art shows as “spectacles.” Similarly, a number of students cited how colleges often “entertain” students and the community members. Two students mentioned the USA’s military academies (Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard). Several students mentioned the Ivy League model. Others took issue with Dr. Friedman’s use of the word “transmit.” One student pointed to the “stress relief” associated with sports participation (and watching sports as a spectator). The same student argued that sports provide a lot of jobs (e.g. announcers, coaches, janitors, salespeople). A couple students mentioned the “Flutie Effect.” One student mentioned the various “clubs” that schools have and made an analogy to college sports teams. One student mentioned an incident at UVA which I wasn’t aware of. Another student inquired about the book selection. I will comment on this during class. One student appealed to the “rhetoric of the athlete.” One student posited that too much emphasis is on football and men’s basketball.
I will go over some of these comments at the start of my lecture on February 4, 2008. In addition, I posed pointed questions to a few of you. Please let me know your answer(s) before or after class sometime in the coming weeks.
Details from The Chronicle’s Brad Wolverton here. The USA Today also has a short article. Please read both articles. They are short. You do not need to read the actual settlement for purposes of the class. I will point out the highlights in the introductory portion of my lecture on February 4, 2008.
I just finished drafting Quiz #2. Like Quiz #1, it will account for 5% of your final grade. There are four essay questions. Each is worth 1% of your final grade. There are also two short answer questions. Each is worth 0.5% of your final grade. Possible topics to be covered on Quiz #2 include:
1. NCAA Governance
2. Title IX
3. Athletic/University Donations
4. Student-Athlete Image Rights
5. Payments to College Student-Athletes
6. Case Studies - Ohio State, Vanderbilt, and Chicago
7. Case Study - George Mason basketball
8. Case Study - Jeremy Bloom
9. College Sports and Antitrust
10. Internationalization of College Sports
11. Ross v. Creighton
12. Knapp v. Northwestern
13. Simpson v. Colorado
I. Introduction
II. Select Issues
A. Internationalization of College Sports
B. College Sports - An Antitrust Overview
III. Select Case Studies
A. Jeremy Bloom
B. George Mason University
IV. Looking Ahead
V. Quiz #1
I posted three additional readings on OnCourse earlier today (you probably received two auto-generated emails about them). Please print all three off and read them before class on January 28, 2008.
I just finished drafting Quiz #1. There are three essay questions. Quiz #1 is worth 5% of your final grade. For the quiz, all you need to bring is a pen or pencil. Paper will be provided. Quiz #1 is “closed book.”
The January 28, 2008 class will be divided into two parts. During the first part, we will discuss the assigned reading and I will lecture. Please bring all of the reading materials. I envision that the first part will last 60-75 minutes. After a 10 minute break, Quiz #1 will commence. You will have sixty (60) minutes to complete the quiz.
The Chronicle of Higher Education’s Brad Wolverton summarizes the NCAA’s annual convention here. Please read this article before class on January 28, 2008. If you can’t access the link for some reason, I have also posted the short article on OnCourse.
Please read this New York Times article before class on January 28, 2008. This is the article I mentioned in class on January 14, 2008.