ABSTRACT

The low profile, decentralized, and incremental nature of most decisions in college sports coupled with a lack of diversity of thought and ideas at the most powerful, visible levels of leadership, presents real challenges for approaching the issues of college sports. In college sports, there are powerful organizations and interests. Whether it is admission to college for a single athlete or a television contract to secure exclusive broadcasting rights, there are many stakeholders. Athletes, coaches, administrators and department staff, and university faculty all have a role in adhering to the “core mission, goals and values of American higher education”. American population, higher education’s student population, and the college athlete population have all changed. For example, in 2016, the total US undergraduate population was 40% students of color and in Autumn 2019 women undergraduates at public institutions were projected to make up approximately 56% of the total undergraduate population.