Knight Commission Recommendations

Reduce academic transgressions

?Athletes should go through the same academic process as other students (admission criteria, academic support, requirements for progressing toward a degree)
?Improved graduation rates: by 2007, teams that do not graduate at least half of their players should not be eligible for conference championships or postseason play
?Scholarships should be tied to specific athletes until they graduate
?The length of playing, practice and postsea-sons must be reduced 
?The NBA and NFL should be encouraged to develop minor leagues so that athletes not interested in undergraduate study can take another route to professional careers 
 

Stop "the financial arms race"

?Reduce expenditures in big-time sports 
(football and basketball)
?Ensure that women's athletic programs and Title IX compliance are not used as excuses for increasing costs while expenses in big-time sports are not checked
?Consider coaches' pay in the context of institutions that employ them
?Require that agreements for coaches' outside income be negotiated with institutions, not coaches 
?Revise the plan for distribution of revenue from the NCAA contract with CBS for broadcasting rights to Division I men's basketball championship. The plan should reflect values centered on improving academic performance, enhancing athletes' collegiate experience and achieving gender equality
 

Discourage commercializationof student-athletes

?Colleges and universities should determine when games are played, how they are broadcast and which companies can use their athletic contests as advertising vehicles
?Encourage colleges and universities to reconsider all sports-related commercial contracts against the backdrop of traditional academic values
?Work to minimize commercial intrusions in arenas and stadiums
?Prohibit athletes from being used as advertising vehicles
?Support federal legislation to ban legal gambling on college sports in Nevada; encourage college presidents to address illegal gambling on campuses