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New Game Plan for College Sport
The most critical issues in intercollegiate sport are examined here from a variety of perspectives. The same general challenges, in varying forms, have confronted those responsible for intercollegiate sport from 19890 to the present day. The time has come to reexamine these problems in the light of new research (such as the Knight Foundation Commission on Intercollegiate Athletes) and new analyses; and to review our old solutions to see where they should be adapted, where maintained, and where abandoned. Part of the mission of New Game Plan for College Sport is to act as a forum for conflicting opinions on how to improve our college sports enterprise. It is not a theoretical piece, but instead relies on the wisdom and experience of those who have had significant roles in sport to discuss how far we may have come from the ideals of sport and what we still can do to correct our course. The analyses presented here, prepared by experts on the issues, explore such essential topics as the commercialization of sport; race and gender; legal issues; gambling; performance enhancing drugs; and the academic peril faced by too many student athletes. The same general challenges, in varying forms, have confronted those responsible for intercollegiate sport from 1980 to the present day. Now the time has come to reexamine these problems in the light of new research (such as the Knight Foundation Commission on Intercollegiate Athletes) and new analyses; and to review old solutions to see where they should be adapted, where maintained, and where abandoned. Part of the mission of New Game Plans is to serve as a forum for conflicting opinions on how to improve our college sports enterprise. It is not theoretical, but instead relies on the wisdom and experience of those who have had significant roles in sport to discuss how far we have come from the ideals of sport, and what we can do to correct our course. The analyses are prepared from varied perspectives by experts who offer in-depth exploration of such essential topics as
344 pages, Hardcover
First published March 30, 2006
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March 11, 2008
Minor, J., & Hirko, S. Book review: New Game Plan for College Sport. Review of Higher Education, Spring 2008.
Reviewed by: James T. Minor, Assistant Professor of Higher Education, and Scott Hirko, doctoral student, Higher, Adult, and Lifelong Education, Michigan State University.
Last year during a higher education forum, a well known, former university president of a football powerhouse was asked about the status of “big time” collegiate athletics. His response was that restoring integrity to Division I college sports requires university presidents willing to “fall on their swords” in the name of reform. For more than a decade the higher education community has complained about runaway collegiate athletics while witnessing few substantive changes.
Given athletic budgets have grown faster than overall university budgets in the last ten years, college sports deserves greater attention among those concerned about the well-being of higher education. Richard Lapchick’s compilation of essays in New Game Plan For College Sport addresses a wide range of issues with an impressive variation of voices. The book provides commentary from faculty, athletic department personnel, university presidents, conference commissioners, leaders of athletic organizations, and athletes. The book is intentionally pragmatic and experience-based rather than theoretical. Part one of the volume dedicates ten chapters to problems in college sports such as poor academic performance among student-athletes and corruption. The book begins with a useful historical analysis from Welch Suggs. Then, Lapchick, in Chapter 2, discusses the integrity of the athletic enterprise with a list of “problems” and scandal uncovered during his research two years preceding the completion of this book (2003-04). Using the term “problem” establishes a negative tone that rings throughout the book. Even though several of the chapters discuss positive developments such as the inclusion of women in college sports, the book clearly problematizes the enterprise. We also found a lack institutional context making it occasionally difficult to understand the complexity of decision-making on individual campuses.
John Gerdy in chapter three examines the ballooning cost of athletics in an era of never-ending tuition increases and limited resources. Despite findings that there is no relationship between increased spending on college athletics and an increase in donor giving, attendance, student applications, or winning, the proclivity to spend more is scrutinized. Still, Gerdy’s chapters offer an anecdotal and hollow discussion on the failure of college sports and its attempt to model professional athletics. Sharon Stoll and Jennifer Beller in the following chapter are more convincing with their discussion of ethical dilemmas in college sport calling administrators and coaches to address moral judgment and reasoning in athletics. They claim “environmental forces in sports today do not support ethical action” (p. 86). Part one of the book concludes with short chapters explicating the problems of race, gender, gambling, performance enhancing drug use, sports agents, and the media’s negative influence.
Part two of the book is the most insightful. Lapchick compiles the voices of multiple university constituents allowing them to comment from their vantage point. Unlike part one where all the authors agree that college sports are damnable, part two offers various perspectives on possible reasons. Chapter 12, titled “Presidents Forum,” brings together four university presidents to discuss their relationship with athletic directors, philosophy for hiring coaches, and cost containment. The next chapter brings together four conference commissioners who discuss the future of college sports, National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) policy, and the notion of sportsmanship. Subsequent chapters represent views from athletic directors, student-athletes, faculty, and the former C.O.O. of the NCAA. Adding validity to the book are two uncommon themes concerning the academic performance of student-athletes and faculty influence in decision-making.
Daniel Boggan, Jr. in chapter 17 sums up the issues presented in the book and notes that advancing reform of college sports requires aligning NCAA and institutional goals with presidential leadership. However, Boggan fails to mention how the NCAA’s historical impact on higher education and society caused many of the issues it now aims to address. Lapchick concludes with recommendations borrowed from each of the authors. Regrettably, the recommendations seem forced and lack an analysis of their feasibility in current NCAA, institutional, and societal environments. New Game Plan For College Sport seriously questions the value of college sports given the many challenges that exist. In too few places does the book consider the positive contributions of sports in higher education or the value of this enterprise in American society. For a more balanced view to complement this book, we recommend consulting Football U: Spectator Sports in the Life of the American University (2003) by J. Douglas Toma.
In the end Lapchick’s collection provides coverage of relevant issues and the many problems of intercollegiate athletics today. Academicians will find it useful for insights from individuals on the front lines but must forego intellectual fulfillment or highbrow analyses on academic capitalism. The book does encourage dialogue by raising questions and providing ideas for institutions to tackle. Yet, the book might have been better titled “What’s Wrong with College Sports” given there really is no new game plan. We question whether this book actually moves the conversation about reforming collegiate athletics forward. After reading it one might have the sense that nothing is likely to change. The problems seem persistent and the solutions seem insubstantial in comparison. Consequently, the answer provided by the university president on reforming college sports in last year’s forum is as good as any provided by the book.
References
Toma, J. D. (2003). Football U: Spectator Sports in the Life of the American University. Ann Arbor, MI: The University of Michigan Press.
Reviewed by: James T. Minor, Assistant Professor of Higher Education, and Scott Hirko, doctoral student, Higher, Adult, and Lifelong Education, Michigan State University.
Last year during a higher education forum, a well known, former university president of a football powerhouse was asked about the status of “big time” collegiate athletics. His response was that restoring integrity to Division I college sports requires university presidents willing to “fall on their swords” in the name of reform. For more than a decade the higher education community has complained about runaway collegiate athletics while witnessing few substantive changes.
Given athletic budgets have grown faster than overall university budgets in the last ten years, college sports deserves greater attention among those concerned about the well-being of higher education. Richard Lapchick’s compilation of essays in New Game Plan For College Sport addresses a wide range of issues with an impressive variation of voices. The book provides commentary from faculty, athletic department personnel, university presidents, conference commissioners, leaders of athletic organizations, and athletes. The book is intentionally pragmatic and experience-based rather than theoretical. Part one of the volume dedicates ten chapters to problems in college sports such as poor academic performance among student-athletes and corruption. The book begins with a useful historical analysis from Welch Suggs. Then, Lapchick, in Chapter 2, discusses the integrity of the athletic enterprise with a list of “problems” and scandal uncovered during his research two years preceding the completion of this book (2003-04). Using the term “problem” establishes a negative tone that rings throughout the book. Even though several of the chapters discuss positive developments such as the inclusion of women in college sports, the book clearly problematizes the enterprise. We also found a lack institutional context making it occasionally difficult to understand the complexity of decision-making on individual campuses.
John Gerdy in chapter three examines the ballooning cost of athletics in an era of never-ending tuition increases and limited resources. Despite findings that there is no relationship between increased spending on college athletics and an increase in donor giving, attendance, student applications, or winning, the proclivity to spend more is scrutinized. Still, Gerdy’s chapters offer an anecdotal and hollow discussion on the failure of college sports and its attempt to model professional athletics. Sharon Stoll and Jennifer Beller in the following chapter are more convincing with their discussion of ethical dilemmas in college sport calling administrators and coaches to address moral judgment and reasoning in athletics. They claim “environmental forces in sports today do not support ethical action” (p. 86). Part one of the book concludes with short chapters explicating the problems of race, gender, gambling, performance enhancing drug use, sports agents, and the media’s negative influence.
Part two of the book is the most insightful. Lapchick compiles the voices of multiple university constituents allowing them to comment from their vantage point. Unlike part one where all the authors agree that college sports are damnable, part two offers various perspectives on possible reasons. Chapter 12, titled “Presidents Forum,” brings together four university presidents to discuss their relationship with athletic directors, philosophy for hiring coaches, and cost containment. The next chapter brings together four conference commissioners who discuss the future of college sports, National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) policy, and the notion of sportsmanship. Subsequent chapters represent views from athletic directors, student-athletes, faculty, and the former C.O.O. of the NCAA. Adding validity to the book are two uncommon themes concerning the academic performance of student-athletes and faculty influence in decision-making.
Daniel Boggan, Jr. in chapter 17 sums up the issues presented in the book and notes that advancing reform of college sports requires aligning NCAA and institutional goals with presidential leadership. However, Boggan fails to mention how the NCAA’s historical impact on higher education and society caused many of the issues it now aims to address. Lapchick concludes with recommendations borrowed from each of the authors. Regrettably, the recommendations seem forced and lack an analysis of their feasibility in current NCAA, institutional, and societal environments. New Game Plan For College Sport seriously questions the value of college sports given the many challenges that exist. In too few places does the book consider the positive contributions of sports in higher education or the value of this enterprise in American society. For a more balanced view to complement this book, we recommend consulting Football U: Spectator Sports in the Life of the American University (2003) by J. Douglas Toma.
In the end Lapchick’s collection provides coverage of relevant issues and the many problems of intercollegiate athletics today. Academicians will find it useful for insights from individuals on the front lines but must forego intellectual fulfillment or highbrow analyses on academic capitalism. The book does encourage dialogue by raising questions and providing ideas for institutions to tackle. Yet, the book might have been better titled “What’s Wrong with College Sports” given there really is no new game plan. We question whether this book actually moves the conversation about reforming collegiate athletics forward. After reading it one might have the sense that nothing is likely to change. The problems seem persistent and the solutions seem insubstantial in comparison. Consequently, the answer provided by the university president on reforming college sports in last year’s forum is as good as any provided by the book.
References
Toma, J. D. (2003). Football U: Spectator Sports in the Life of the American University. Ann Arbor, MI: The University of Michigan Press.
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