Poll: University presidents, athletics directors sour on competition trends

By David Beasley
The Center Square

Leaders at U.S. colleges and universities in the top athletic division aren’t happy with the way the high-level competition is trending, including the increasing costs of the programs and the transfer portal for athletes, according to a new poll.

The report by the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics and Elon University, “College Sports at a Crossroads,” is based on surveys of leaders of Division I colleges and universities, including presidents and athletic directors.

“Division I leaders as a whole indicated overwhelmingly negative views on the future of Division I college sports and the concern about financial sustainability,” Amy Privette Perko, Knight Commission CEO, said at a news conference Thursday.

Nearly two-thirds of leaders believe Division I is “headed in a negative direction,” Perko said.

“This frank assessment is most pronounced among university presidents, with 80% of them who believed that Division I is headed in a negative direction,” she said.

Leaders expressed “deep concerns” about the financial challenges of supporting sports programs with school funds.

“Expressing the greatest amount of concern were leaders most responsible for finances,” such as presidents and athletic directors, Perko said. The results signal intense budgetary strain that is affecting schools at all competitive levels.”

Sixty-nine percent of the Division 1 leaders supported national laws that impose limits on college sport spending.

The leaders also expressed strong support for maintaining academic standards for college athletes.

The new transfer portal for college sports is very unpopular with college leaders, with 86% saying it is having a negative impact, and 50% saying the impact is “extremely negative.”

The portal allows student athletes to transfer to another school without having to sit out a year, which was previously the rule.

Leaders were split on a recent change that allows players to be paid for the commercial use of their names or pictures, but did not believe colleges should make players employees.

Leaders expressed strong support for sports that don’t bring in any revenue, such as gymnastics, swimming and track and field because these sports helped train athletes for the U.S. Olympic team.

“Just as a reminder, our U.S. Olympic team is almost entirely dependent on the collegiate system for the training and development of our Olympic athletes,” Beth Brook, a member of the Knight Commission, said Thursday. “The United States is the only country in the world that does not receive any federal funding for Team USA Olympic sports development.”

According to the survey, however, 74% of Division I college leaders support federal funding to help pay for college Olympic sports, with 82% favoring a federal tax on sports gambling to provide that assistance.