US Congressman Bobby Rush Answers NCPA's Call For Gov't Reform of the NCAA

Congressman Rush: "Paying student athletes over and above the value they receive from athletic scholarships could be part of the remedy."

September 16, 2011

Following an NCPA-Drexel University study calling on the federal government to reform the NCAA, US Congressman Bobby Rush announced that he will convene a series of panels to examine various problems in college aports.  In a Wall Street Journal article, Congressman Rush stated, "Paying student athletes over and above the value they receive from athletic scholarships could be part of the remedy."

The study, authored by NCPA President Ramogi Huma and Drexel University Sport Management professor Ellen Staurowsky, holds that the NCAA is incapable of reforming itself.  The study cites a 2009 Knight Commission report based on interviews with 90 of 120 FBS college presidents.  The Knight Commission concluded, "In sum, presidents would like serious change but don’t see themselves as the force for the changes needed, nor have they identified an alternative force they believe could be effective."

NCPA President Ramogi Huma stated, "The Knight Commission's findings are significant because college presidents control the NCAA and all of its rules.  If they have lost control, only the federal government has the power to reform NCAA sports."  The NCPA says it is taking its fight for reform to Washington DC because there is nowhere else to go.  

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