About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

11 Marq. Sports L. Rev. 9 (2000-2001)
A Brief History of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Role in Regulating Intercollegiate Athletics

handle is hein.journals/mqslr11 and id is 27 raw text is: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE NATIONAL COLLEGIATE ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION'S ROLE IN REGULATING INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETICS RODNEY K. SMITH**:: I. INTRODUCTION As one whose scholarship focuses on religious liberty and sport, I am often asked why I write in such seemingly disparate areas. My typical response is that given my interest in the role of religion in society, I certainly should be interested in sport, the religion of the American peo- ple. This response invariably engenders a slight smile and chuckle.' I fear that there is some truth to the statement. Although I do not have the statistics necessary to prove it, my impression is that as many adults are zealously devoted to the game on any given day as are devoted to a worship service at a religious institution. As a people, we seem almost fixated on sport and devote much space in newspapers and newscasts to sport, with little space being allocated to religion. Yet, the discourse re- garding sport is generally just description of events occurring, and rarely peers more deeply into the ramifications of specific issues', or of the * Presented on January 8, 1999, as part of the Law and Sports Section of the Association of American Law Schools symposium titled The NCAA's Evolving Role in Governing Intercollegiate Athletics. Rodney K. Smith, Herff Chair in Law, Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, The Uni- versity of Memphis. Professor Smith has served as a member of the NCAA Infractions Ap- peals Committee and as a Dean at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, the University of Montana, and Capital University. The author acknowledges the research assistance of Robert Walker. 1. I often wonder whether the response is based on a feeling that I have said something cute, or whether it is founded in a deeper disquietude over the fact that I may just be right. 2. Sports sections are filled with description and occasional polemics over aspects of the role of sport in society, but that discourse rarely goes beyond the superficial as to specific issues raised. For example, commentators repeatedly argue that intercollegiate athletes should be paid without discussing in any depth the ramifications of their suggestions on the athletes and educational institutions. Marty Lang, Pay-For-Play Versus NCAA, at http:Iwww. linkmag.com/link/FebMar_99/990121ccl-sports.html (Feb.-Mar. 1999). Academics, who un- derstand the need to study major phenomena that affect our culture in great depth, often shun the exploration of deeper ethical and moral issues related to sport. For example, once during lunch with a group of my faculty colleagues, a fellow faculty member asked me what I thought about the game that weekend. I responded that I did not watch the game. Almost aghast, he wondered out loud, how can you teach sports law and not watch the game. As academ- ics, like our journalistic counterparts, we are too often caught up in the anecdotal moment of

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most