Newswise — Sport scholars, university administrators, practitioners, journalists and students will discuss hot topics in college sports April 15-18 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The 2009 Scholarly Conference on College Sport features an all-day symposium from 8:15 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on April 16 at the William and Ida Friday Center for Continuing Education. The event is free and open to the public.
The "Issues in College Sport Symposium" includes the following sessions:
"Special Admit Limbo: How Low Can You Go?" (8:35 a.m.) Panelists will discuss special admissions practices among collegiate athletic departments. To what extent do schools adjust their academic standards to accommodate prospective student-athletes? "¢ Richard Lapchick, DeVos Sport Business Management Program endowed chair and director, University of Central Florida"¢ Pellom McDaniels, University of Missouri-Kansas City, historian and former NFL defensive end"¢ Carrie Leger, N.C. State University director of academic support programs"¢ John Blanchard, UNC-Chapel Hill senior associate athletic director
"The ESPNification of College Sport" (10:25 a.m.) Panelists will discuss the increasing level of commercialization in college sport. What effect do huge television rights agreements and the 24-hour news cycle have on college athletics? "¢ Jay Bilas, ESPN analyst, attorney, former Duke basketball player"¢ Burke Magnus, ESPN senior vice president, college sport programming"¢ Leonard Moore, assistant vice president, diversity and community engagement, University of Texas at Austin"¢ James Rayburn, Raycom Sports executive producer and vice president of operations"¢ Sonny Vaccaro, former sports marketing executive with Nike, Reebok and Adidas
Keynote speaker Jerry Bloom (1:30 p.m.) "¢ Bloom, a football player and skier, will discuss his personal journey in athletics, his dealings with the NCAA and his perspective on the business of college athletics. He is a former University of Colorado football player, former wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers, and a three-time World Champion skier.
"The College Sport Arms Race" (3 p.m.) Panelists will discuss the increase in revenue generation and spending among athletic departments. Schools are allocating more resources to new facilities and coaching salaries. Is this a positive practice? "¢ Andrew Zimbalist, economist, Smith College"¢ Robert Malekoff, assistant professor of sport studies, Guilford College"¢ Dick Baddour, UNC-Chapel Hill athletic director"¢ Kelly Mehrtens, UNC-Wilmington athletic director
The student-run event is sponsored by the College Sport Research Institute and the department of exercise and sport science in UNC's College of Arts and Sciences.
Registration fees are required for the remainder of the three-day conference. Highlights include the "Tee Off for Tar Heels" golf tournament, and discussions with author and former All-American Davidson College basketball player John Gerdy, former NBA and NHL CEO Bernie Mullin, University of Maryland athletics director Deborah Yow and New York Times sports columnist Bill Rhoden. Athletic departments that wish to sponsor groups of students may contact Kendra Hancock at [email protected].
For a complete schedule and registration information, visit www.csriconference.org and www.teeoff4tarheels.com.
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