The NCAA: Legislating and Litigating The College Sports Government

Abstract

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has a long history of interacting with the United States government, including Congress and the courts. Its relationship with each has helped shaped the present state of the association. This thesis attempts to expose the laissez-fair attitude that the government has taken with the NCAA and the effects of this attitude. It will cover a spectrum of problems that have troubled the NCAA since the 1960s, including conflict with the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), disciplinary procedure, education for student-athletes, title IX enforcement, diversity in college sports, a college football playoff, and various other complaints regarding intercollegiate athletics. Each of these issues appeared before Congress and the court system on many occasions and the usual approach taken was trust toward the NCAA. This trust has led to a lack of change or reform on the part of the NCAA.