PositiveSports.net

Study: The Price of Poverty in Big-Time College Sport

A newly released study by National College Players Association (NCPA) and Drexel University Department of Sport Management blames colleges sports scandals on a black market created by unethical and unpractical NCAA restrictions on college athletes. This study will surely have its detractors, but it should give pause to parents and coaches of athletes with aspirations to play Division I college sports. From the press release:

Examining football and basketball teams from Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) colleges, the study calculates athletes' out-of-pocket educational related expenses associated with a "full" scholarship, compares the room and board portion of players' scholarships to the federal poverty line and coaches' and athletic administrators' salaries, and uses NFL and NBA collective bargaining agreements to estimate the fair market value of FBS football and basketball players. The study...shows that the average scholarship shortfall (out-of-pocket expenses) for each "full" scholarship athlete was approximately $3222 per player during the 2010-11 school year. The report also found that the room and board provisions in a full scholarship leave 85% of players living on campus and 86% of players living off campus living below the federal poverty line. The study estimates the fair market value of the average FBS football and basketball player to be $120,048 and $265,027, respectively.

Read the full press release and link to the full study at the NCPA website.

 

Up2Us Announces Major Expansion of Coach Across America

Up2Us Announces an Innovative, New AmeriCorps Program Up2Us, a network of over 300 sports based youth development (SBYD) organizations, spanning the country from Boston to Los Angeles, is thrilled to announce a Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) three-year pilot grant in the amount of $1.1 million to roll-out an innovative coaching model designed to inspire and reinvigorate a generation of Young Americans threatened by obesity and complacency. Coach Across America (CAA) is the first nationwide effort to mobilize highly trained AmeriCorps members as SBYD experts and coaches, to serve, teach and support under-resourced youth and the youth development organizations that provide programming in these vulnerable communities. Coach Across America member activities will combat childhood obesity through vigorous physical activity, play and nutrition education; discourage participation in anti-social activities by providing meaningful and attractive alternatives; and will encourage youth to stay in school by bolstering self-image, esteem and character through mentoring and participation in intentional sports programming. In the first year, youth development organizations across the nation will host the first class of 98 CFA Corps Members. The program will provide comprehensive training certifying members as SBYD experts, coaches, assistant coaches, health/nutrition leaders, camp coordinators, parent coordinators, volunteer organizers, referees and program/event planners. Together, members will impact more than 10,000 young people, and members will also engage an additional 1,000 volunteers in their activities.

One Executive Director, of an Up2Us member organization, summed up the critical situation replicating itself all over the nation, "We see kids everyday that have low-self image and little positive interaction with their peers or adults, because they basically have no opportunities to play. As a result, they start failing in school, dropping out and engaging in much riskier behavior. All it takes to change that is a trained coach and a ball." Coach Across America is primed to provide the essential, missing elements needed to bring meaningful change to our children and youth who are waiting on the sidelines: a team to call their own, a safe place to play and a coach.   Learn more at Up2Us.org

UGA professor's research shows black athletes exploited physically, neglected academically

March 18, 2010

(PhysOrg.com) -- University of Georgia professor Billy Hawkins says fans should consider several numbers that tell a lot about the current structure of intercollegiate athletics. And it is not a pretty picture.

Click here to read the full article...