Knight Commission recommends financial changes, cutting football scholarships

The Knight Commission released a 24-page report today recommending changes in the allocation of NCAA funds based on academic achievement rather than team or conference success.

The four priorities under the report ask for: greater transparency of spending among athletics departments, altering the NCAA postseason funds from purely athletic performance toward academic excellence, demanding NCAA participation for schools only with an Academic Progress Rate (APR) for schools no less than 925 (about 50 percent graduation rate) and a reduction of football scholarships by eight to 10.

"In the Commission's view, addressing misplaced spending priorities requires answering some searching questions: Are financial incentives at the national, conference, and institutional levels rewarding behaviors that are aligned with the core values of higher education, institutions' educational missions, and amateur athletic competition?" according to the report. "Or are they creating a "winner take all" market in which there are very few winners? More often we see the latter."

It's the third report issued by the Knight Commission, which was formed 21 years following multiple scandals involving intercollegiate sports in the 1980s. It consists of multiple university administrators.

The report highlighted that schools spend between four and 11 times more on student-athletes rather than regular students, a growing concern for the commission. The report also projected athletics budgets will exceed $254 million by 2020 for the top schools.

The report asks the NCAA to change its distribution formula from winning in postseason tournament play to an even dispersal among schools achieving academic success through APR. The NCAA calculates each school's APR by tracking eligibility, retention and graduation rates for scholarship student-athletes. Each athlete can earn up to two points each semester, one by staying eligible and another by staying with the institution. Each school is required to score at least 925 or become subject to penalties, including lost scholarships.

NCAA interim president Jim Isch praised the commission and its findings, writing "The NCAA and its member schools are overwhelmingly in concert with the Knight Commission.” But he added that many of the schools and conferences already have enacted on some provisions outlined in the report.

“As simple as it sounds, we don't think establishing a specific postseason penalty trigger of 925 for all teams is fair, especially to those teams that are improving,” Isch wrote in a statement. “Our current penalty structure that accounts for improvement is fair and has the desired effect – an emphasis on academic success.”

The commission also seeks to limit games, along with reducing football scholarships. Currently Football Bowl Subdivision schools can give 85 football scholarships. Isch said any of the commission members could submit a proposal to the NCAA seeking changes.

"It's important to keep in mind as a member-led association, proposals that require governance action can be advanced by any member of the NCAA," Isch wrote.

Knight Commission Report: Restoring the Balance 2010