While intercollegiate athletics are an important part of the college community, they are also big business. Each year, college sports generate billions of dollars in revenues for the NCAA and its member institutions. As with other business organizations, the enormous revenues generated through athletic programs create pressure to win and, with that pressure, temptation to engage in conduct inconsistent with universities’ institutional mission and the rules of the NCAA.
There have been numerous attempts to address the special compliance challenges confronting universities and their athletic departments. The NCAA has amended its constitution and bylaws frequently, attempting to legislate compliance through voluminous regulations of matters large and small. Separately, a blue-ribbon panel established by a private foundation has made recommendations aimed at protecting the ideal of the amateur student-athlete. And some commentators have suggested paying college athletes as a means of relieving the tension between the prohibition of financial remuneration and the billions in revenues generated by the athletes’ efforts.
