A nightmare occurred at the University of Maryland in 2018 when freshman football player Jordan McNair died of heatstroke after an offseason practice. The confluence of events caused this nightmare scenario—a warm, humid day with a heat index over 90 degrees; practice was suddenly relocated to another field because the designated practice area (the football stadium) was under construction; the workouts were started before ATCs arrived on site and were fully set up (including cold water pools), and the strength coach running the practice did not recognize the signs of heatstroke that McNair was demonstrating.

That same year, I authored an op-ed in the Baltimore Sun about what may have precipitated this pressure placed on coaches, athletes and administrators-both financial and prestige. This situation can typify the unintended pressures that come as presidents and trustees try to move their institutions quickly up the ladder in college sports.

The question all senior leaders should ask is: could something like this happen at my school?

Today, my guests are two health care professionals who have seen college athletics from the inside, both as team medical professionals and now as administrators in the United States. Both represent the U.S. Council for Athletes Health, an organization dedicated to strengthening institutional education, consulting, compliance (with existing health care mandates) and support for the newly mandated Athletics Healthcare Administrator, now required under NCAA rules.

Dr. Chad Asplund is a 20-year sports medicine practitioner at the professional, Olympic, collegiate and recreational levels. Dr. Asplund is the executive director of the U.S. Council for Athletes’ Health, as well as a sports medicine physician and Professor of Family Medicine and Orthopedics at the Medical College of Georgia. Chad currently serves as the medical director for USA Basketball, and a team physician for USA Hockey and Georgia Southern University. He also is the past president of the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine, the largest physician-only organization for sports medicine physicians.

Angie Beisner focused her career on the care and prevention of athletic injuries within collegiate organizations for more than two decades before bringing her extensive knowledge to USCAH operations in June 2021.

Before joining the U.S. Council for Athletes Health, she most recently was the head athletic trainer at Ohio State, she was also named the lead athletic trainer for the USA U19 Men's Lacrosse team.

Student Athlete Health, Safety and Wellbeing: A Lack of Accountability and Prioritization Poses the Greatest Risk to College Sports

Opinion Editorial/Blog

Written by James Borchers, MD, MPH

President and CEO of USCAH

With the Big Ten Conference signed a brand-new media rights contract worth $1.23 billion annually, all of college sports took notice. Exceeding the NCAA’s March Madness contract, the Big Ten will soon deliver between $70 and $100 million to each school in the conference. It’s a staggering number and has positioned the conference as one of the top two in all of Division I sports.

My guest today is former Fox Sports President and CEO of Thompson Sports Group, LLC, Bob Thompson. Bob and I first spoke when I was researching the formation and financial structures behind the Big Ten Network for my dissertation at the University of Pennsylvania. He was a wealth of information then, and this conversation extends that discussion to 2022. Mr. Thompson is considered one of the most knowledgeable authorities in the sports television industry.  During his more than 25 years at Liberty and Fox Sports, Mr. Thompson negotiated more than 200 television rights agreements with professional sports teams, leagues, and collegiate conferences and has been directly involved in the launch of 18 regional and national cable networks.

Presidents must understand this enormously influential landscape-while you may bring in consultants and lawyers to navigate the details, having a fundamental appreciation of the how this world is changing and where your school sits in the pecking order is crucial in how you approach the outsized expectations of your coaches, alumni and boosters.

One of the key points comes near the end—we talk about the issues surrounding data and data acquisition by media companies. Presidents should understand all the innovative (and some would argue intrusive) data gathering techniques that add the true financial heft to these contracts. While it may seem secondary when you sign the contract, as gambling becomes more ingrained in our ecosystem, this will create the need for serious ethical conversations about who owns the student-athlete’s personal data.

When the news broke in 2010 of an academic scandal on the campus of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, at first involving members of the football team, few knew that the issue would eventually expand to include more than 3100 students and student-athletes taking 200 “paper courses" offered by the African and Afro-American Studies Department. Among many other outcomes, UNC Chapel Hill was put on probation by the regional accreditation association, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. Carolina was restored to full accreditation by the SACSCOC the following year, and later, the NCAA decided not to hold the institution in violation of their rules. 

In fall 2013, UNC-Chapel Hill was under new leadership, including a new Chancellor, new Provost, and new Athletic Director. They needed a clear and comprehensive understanding of the academic life cycle for student-athletes in order to move forward. 

Former Provost James W. Dean, Jr. and Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham convened a 10-person team of campus leaders to do something that we believe no other university had done before: comprehensively document and assess all academic processes that affect student-athletes from the time that they are recruited until after they graduate. With Chancellor Carol L. Folt’s direction and support, Dean and Cunningham led the Student-Athlete Academic Initiative Working Group in this effort, acknowledging that Carolina needed to make changes to address these issues, restore trust, and promote academic integrity. 

Most institutions sweep high-profile athletics scandals under the rug. UNC instead chose to build a culture of continuous improvement, where everyone on campus plays a coordinated role in student-athletes’ success.

Today's conversation goes behind the scenes with one of the key leaders in this effort, which still continues today. Dr. Debbi Clarke led the Working Group out of the Provost’s Office for more than nine years. Debbi takes us behind the scenes of a leadership puzzle – does change begin at the top with new leadership? Or from the bottom up, led by faculty and other key voices on campus? At UNC, it’s been both. They continue to address the issues they faced in a way that has drawn interest from university leaders across the country. As Clarke says "You're building a new culture. It's a really hard thing to do. We recognized what went wrong, and how it went wrong, and said, ‘This is what we're going to do to fix it." It's a remarkable transition. For more information: https://apsa.unc.edu

With all the talk about Division I undergoing massive transformation, what is going in NCAA Divisions II and III? According to my guest, Chuck Mitrano, long-time commissioner of the Empire 8 Conference in New York, quite a bit. Chuck joins the conversation from two perspectives-one as a sitting commissioner, and one as a member of the NCAA Championships Committee, which provides oversight for all 28 post-season events. In both positions, he interacts with presidents and NCAA staff.

We cover a wide range of topics on the future of Division III, and discuss the Empire 8's substantive proposal on mental health safety nets for athletes on campus. We also discuss what happened in January, 2022.  The NCAA reverted back to the “one school, one vote” rules that were eliminated in the late 1990s, a huge opportunity to influence the direction of NCAA policy. Chuck walks us through why that happened, and in particular, the discussions surrounding increasing the amount of money DIII receives from the CBS/Turner contract (currently at 3.18%). This impacts how Division III championships are funded and managed. 

Chuck brings deep experience to the conversation while overseeing a conference that has as many 15 schools (full and associate members).

“Higher education institutions across the country are contending with significant headwinds. However, with a shared sense of purpose, a creative spirit, and sustained focus, PC can emerge stronger than ever and build a tremendous foundation for the next 140 years.”

That was a part of the inauguration speech that Matthew vandenBerg gave at Presbyterian College in Clinton, South Carolina in Fall 2021. His vision for Presbyterian is slowly taking shape, but it has come with both highs and lows. Taking office in February 2021 (in the middle of the pandemic), I wanted to ask Matt to take us behind the scenes of a first time president with a terrific track record in both fundraising and friend raising at his previous stops.

Like so many presidents, he was confronted by challenges from the moment he walked on campus, and, like so many times, athletics is a part of that. In our conversation, he walks us through a very delicate situation that emerged on campus in Spring 2022, when the Howard University women's lacrosse team arrived on campus and was verbally mistreated by a few members of the student population. It gravitated into a national story, and it was clearly a moment that many presidents face in putting espoused values into action. 

We talk about Presbyterian as a very small Division I campus, with non-scholarship football, trying to manage success and expectations for athletes, coaches and administrators in the fast changing world of NCAA Division I sports. It's a great conversation for anyone who has ever thought about becoming a small college president.

Two years ago, America was embroiled in racial and social justice protests, kicked off by the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis by a police officer. Higher education, like so many other industries, took the opportunity to look inward and ask, “how are we doing when it comes to racial and gender equity”?

For the Presidents of the West Coast Conference and Commissioner Gloria Nevarez, this was a time that needed more than hand wringing and platitudes. It required the resolve to do better. One area they choose to hold themselves to a higher standard was diversifying the hiring of coaches, staff and administrators on both the campuses and in the conference office.

I invited Nevarez and University of San Diego President James T. Harris to join me on my podcast to talk about the recently released data, measuring how effective they’ve been in matching the method to the message.

(Please note that Gloria joined the podcast by phone)

You can read my companion article for Forbes here.

Over the past few months, there have been at least five high-profile student athlete suicides on campuses across the nation. It’s a frightening and sobering trend that requires colleges and universities to take a serious look at their infrastructure in place to support the mental health and wellbeing of athletes as well as the broader student population. Universities and colleges are aware that they need to continue to combat the stigma around mental health and ensure that they have the resources and professionals in place for those who need it, but post-pandemic, this is just one of many challenges vying for limited resources and attention of university leadership. 

Many institutions “think” they have the appropriate structure and processes in place to support student mental well-being, but do they really “know” that? Some institutions may have “deep” resources available, but students aren’t necessarily accessing them. 

There are creative ways to tackle this important issue and I have two guests today who are working with colleges and universities to do just that. From fully evaluating existing risk and compliance programs, to helping bring together varied student activism and grass roots initiatives, they help provide a lens to universities to clearly evaluate the issue and offer actionable solutions to formalize structures for positive behavioral interaction and support. 

Universities need to identify the gaps in their safety net and make sure that mental health resources are being deployed and used efficiently and effectively.

Rachel Baribeau, a former sports broadcaster and founder of the movement, I’m Changing the Narrative Since 2018, Rachel has been visiting college campuses to speak with student athletes, coaches, administrators, etc., to promote the importance of mental health, leadership, self-care, domestic violence prevention, social justice, life after sports, and interpersonal relationships. As a mental health advocate, Rachel works to fight stigma and creates a willingness within the college community to build an environment that supports mental well-being through her on campus speaking engagements, and continual follow-ups with tangible materials and resources. 

Adrienne Larmett, senior manager in Baker Tilly’s risk advisory practice, specializing in higher education. Adrienne focuses on what steps institutions need to take to offer the resources college athletes and students need. Additionally, she assesses risk and completes regulatory assessments to ensure campuses are proactively aligning their efforts to be impactful, and in compliance.

Additional resources mentioned in the podcast:

IACS Standards - International Accreditation of Counseling Services (iacsinc.org)

In NCAA Division I, New Data Shows Burnout Is Rampant Among Administrators

Vanderbilt University Athlete 'Letter to College Sports'

Photo by Tim Gouw on Unsplash

Since the Great Recession of 2008-2010, enrollment in Pennsylvania's 14-campus state university system has notably changed, with some campuses growing in enrollment, and others losing students precipitously. The Commonwealth's annual system funding was recently ranked 46th out of 50 states, a dismal statistic. Yet, there are "help wanted" signs everywhere from employers who want to hire college educated employees. What gives?

Pennsylvania is far from alone in facing a challenge of increasing costs and fewer graduates. Other state systems around the country are in various stages of the same existential crisis. The solution cannot be just to raise tuition and fees-national research shows student debt is averaging $30,000. 

To complicate things further, intercollegiate athletics plays a crucial role in attracting, retaining and engaging students on campus. Many of these campuses have highly successful NCAA Division II (and I) athletic programs, with some sports winning NCAA titles. All have loyal alumni and faculty who care deeply about good teaching. 

Next year, six of the 14 campuses will integrate into two entities, and will show off new names and administrative structures. No campuses were closed. The hope is these reimagined universities will be more responsive to the needs of their regional workforces and the 21st century economy, attracting a scholar and an athlete who wants a dynamic education at an affordable price. All will keep their NCAA athletic teams and identity, no small accomplishment. There are many good lessons in this conversation for other higher education system professionals and for those who work on system campuses to absorb.

My guests today are two of the leaders, the CEO and the Board Chair, Daniel Greenstein and Cynthia Shapira. Dr. Greenstein is the chancellor of Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education. Since 2018, Dan has served as the chief executive officer of the State System (PASSHE), which operates Pennsylvania’s 14 public universities, serving nearly 100,000 degree-seeking students and thousands more enrolled in certificate and other career-development programs. The chancellor works with the Board of Governors to recommend and develop overall policies for the System. 

Dr. Shapira is Chair of the Board of Governors, and president of the David S. and Karen A. Shapira Foundation, leading the development and implementation of the foundation's philanthropic initiatives.  She was appointed by Governor Tom Corbett to the Pennsylvania Commission on Women and served on Governor Wolf's Advisory Board on Education and Workforce Development. In 2017, she was honored as a Distinguished Daughter of Pennsylvania.

Dan and Cindy were recently recognized by "City and State Politics and Policy" as recipients of the 2022 Higher Education Power 100 in Pennsylvania.

Mentioned in the podcast (and recommended by both Dan and Cindy): Arthur Levine's new book, The Great Upheaval: Higher Education's Past, Present, and Uncertain Future, a complimentary read for this conversation.

The term used by Cindy refers to the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems.

NIL Collectives have exploded in the last few months. Defined as a group of donors/boosters/fans and others who pool their money to reward a college athlete for enrolling/succeeding or transferring to your favorite school, the evolution in this area of NIL is confusing to say the least.

Today on the podcast, I’m joined by an expert in this area, attorney Mit Winter. Mit is with Kennyhertz Perry in Kansas City, MO. Mit is recognized as a leading college athlete name, image, and likeness lawyer and is sought out by clients and the media for this expertise. In combination with his background as a former Division I college basketball player at the College of William and Mary, Mit is uniquely suited to assist and advise athletes, universities, and other clients with legal matters surrounding name, image, and likeness opportunities and businesses.

In addition to NIL issues, Mit and I discuss the evolution of intellectual property for both the institution and the athlete, and whether the NIL deals might get so big for some athletes that they might forgo entering the pro sports landscape a bit longer (because the deals in college could be HUGE).

We’re coming off a spectacular 2022 season called March Madness, where all of America stops and pays attention to college basketball, whether its men’s or women’s. If we’re lucky, fans can be treated to magical moments, even magical runs where a team plays well above its tournament seeding.

In 2022, Saint Peter’s University from New Jersey made one of those magical runs as the 15th seed, upsetting perennial tourney favorite Kentucky in their opening game, followed by another upset of Murray State. Almost immediately, social media and journalists crowed that these two wins would elevate Saint Peter’s financially and reputationally. Wild claims were asserted about what impact a Cinderella run might mean.

Conjecture is one thing, but actual analysis and research is quite another. My guests today have done the research on the benefits of a run through the NCAA tournament, winning at least 2 games as the lower seed. They will walk us through what the statistics show, and the actual benefits of, a winning streak in the post season. This is especially important for senior campus leaders who want to separate fact from fiction.

My Forbes article on Saint Peters.