Insider study reveals massive concern over college athletics

A new survey among NCAA Division I campus leaders reveals a troubling trend developing in college athletics in the age of NIL and athlete revenue sharing.

Nearly two-thirds (62%) of respondents stated that the mission, finances and structure of college sports are headed in a “negative direction.” College presidents were the most pessimistic, with 80% agreeing with that assessment.

Nearly all respondents stressed the importance of holding student-athletes accountable for their academic responsibilities. For example, at least 98% agree that athletes must remain full-time students who eventually graduate.

It’s no wonder, then, that 86% oppose the expanded transfer portal, which, since last year, allows athletes to change schools an unlimited number of times. More than two-thirds of all presidents believe it has led to an “extremely negative” impact.

Nearly 90% of presidents believe Division I sports will be negatively impacted by the NCAA v. House settlement, which allows institutions to share athletic revenue with athletes. Approved in July, the ruling has forced colleges to increase student fees and share auxiliary revenue with cash-strapped athletic departments. Consequently, more than three-quarters of all respondents shared concern about athletics programs’ overreliance on institutional resources.

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“This is a massive change in the way we’ve always done business in college athletics, and it’s rightfully unsettling for anyone involved,” says Karen Weaver, academic director of the collegiate athletics certificate program at the University of Pennsylvania.

With football and men’s and women’s basketball generating the most revenue for school athletic departments, respondents feared how the House settlement would affect Olympic sports, which generally don’t turn a profit. Most leaders favored federal funding initiatives that could support Olympic-style sports, such as the creation of a tax or fee on sports gambling services.

Revenue sharing, along with NIL deals, may also create a “worse situation” for female athletes, according to 55% of respondents.

“College sports don’t have a revenue problem; it has a spending problem,” Peter Roby, a senior consultant to the NCAA, said at a news conference. “The need to protect women’s programs in federal legislation has been discussed, and I certainly support that approach.”

Most respondents supported national standards to regulate NIL compensation and rules that supersede conflicting state laws.

The survey, conducted by the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics and the Elon University Poll in August, collected responses from 376 university presidents and chancellors, athletics directors and other leaders.