ABSTRACT
When athletics programs were first introduced on high school and college campuses in the late 1800s, they were student-directed activities. Quickly, however, concerns about injury rates, recruiting abuses, professionalization, and commercialization provided the impetus for creating governing bodies to establish rules and enforcement mechanisms to address these issues. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) was established in 1906 to govern college athletics, and there are now more than 1,000 member institutions. The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), originated in 1937, is the governing body for nearly 300 smaller institutions. Other governing bodies in college sport include the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA), the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA; an organization that governs athletics for approximately 50 very small colleges), and the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA).
