ABSTRACT
A college's intercollegiate athletics program provides a good lens by which to view the institution's academic mission and educational philosophy. It brings into the spotlight the best and worst aspects of American higher education. College sports are highly structured, formal collective bodies with governing by-laws, a commissioner, and contractual obligations. Analysis of college sports will include not only exploration at the campus level but also will provide an introduction to such organizations as the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the Knight Commission on the Future of Intercollegiate Athletics, the Drake Commission, and various other conferences and associations to which institutions belong. College and university trustees are simultaneously powerful and silent in the governance of intercollegiate athletics. As with all institutional policies, they are the ultimate arbiters on recommendations made by the president and even the athletics director.
