Education 545
Organization and Administration of Intercollegiate Athletics
Syllabus
Revised and Final
Spring, 2001
Wednesdays @ 2-4 p.m.
J. Douglas Toma
Graduate School of Education
Higher Education Division
I.
Introduction and Overview
Our overall objective will be to develop an appreciation of:
· the historical, philosophical,
and sociological bases of intercollegiate athletics
· intercollegiate athletics within
the context of the university as a complex organization
· the influence of external regulation
and external constituencies upon the administration of intercollegiate athletics
and the university
· how intercollegiate athletics
programs at individual institutions are structured and financed
· the psychological, social, and
academic development of student athletes
In covering the topics listed below, we will focus, in particular, on two key
sets of issues. The first is the importance of considering issues of diversity
in administrative decision making at colleges and universities. These issues
involve race, ethnicity, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, socio-economic
status, religion, and other areas that mark difference. The second is the importance
of financial constraints upon the administration of higher education and thus
in intercollegiate athletics.
We will combine practical and theoretical perspectives in addressing these
topics, regularly including practicing university administrators, athletics
administrators, and other experts in our discussions.
II.
General Information
A.
Date, Time, and Place
We will meet at 4200 Pine Street, Fourth Floor, from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m. each
Wednesday from January 17 through May 9, with the exception of March 14 and
April 11, when we are not scheduled to meet.
B.
Course Website
By enrolling the course, you have access to our Blackboard site, which you
can access at https://courseweb.upenn.edu
using your PennNet ID and password.
C. Office and Office Hours
You may reach me outside of class by visiting my office, via telephone, or
through electronic mail. My preference is that you contact me by e-mail, whenever
possible. I check e-mail messages at least daily. My e-mail address is: toma@irhe.upenn.edu.
You may reach me by telephone via the Institute for Research on Higher Education
at 215-898-4585. The fax number at IRHE is 215-898-9876. My office is located
on the fourth floor of 4200 Pine Street.
D. Office Hours
I hold office hours by appointment. Please contact me directly, via electronic
mail, to schedule an appointment.
E.
Instructor
J. Douglas Toma (Ph.D., J.D. University of Michigan) is Senior Fellow at the
Institute for Research on Higher Education and holds a visiting faculty appointment
in the Higher Education Management program. Doug explores organizational and
legal issues in higher education and has been a frequent contributor to the
top scholarly journals in higher education, including the Journal of Higher
Education, the Review of Higher Education, and Research in Higher
Education. Before coming to Penn, Doug was assistant professor of higher
education and coordinator of the doctoral program in the Urban Leadership and
Policy Studies Division at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
III.
Texts
We will use nine texts in the course:
· Andrew Zimbalist, Unpaid Professionals:
Commercialism and Conflict in Big-Time College Sports (1999, Princeton University
Press).
· James J. Duderstadt, Intercollegiate
Athletics and The American University: A University President's Prospective
(2000, University of Michigan Press)
· John R. Gerdy, The Successful
College Athletics Program: The New Standard (1997, ACE-Oryx)
· Allen L. Sack and Ellen J. Staurowsky,
College Athletes for Hire: The Evolution and Legacy of the NCAA's Amateur
Myth (1998, Praeger)
· James L. Shulman and William G.
Bowen, The Game of Life (2001, Princeton University Press).
· Walter T. Champion, Sports
Law in a Nutshell (2000, West)
· John Feinstein, The Last Amateurs:
Playing for Glory and Honor in Division I Basketball (1999, Little Brown)
· Edwood Reid, If I Don't Six
(1999, Anchor)
· Patricia Adler and Peter Adler,
Backboards and Blackboards: College Athletes and Role Engulfment (1991,
Columbia University Press).
These texts are available through the Penn Bookstore, located at Walnut and
36th Streets.
In addition, other reading is posted on the course web site. Finally, I may
distribute other reading in class from time to time.
IV.
Assignments and Expectations
A.
500 Word Papers
Over the course of the semester, there are four of these papers assigned.
They are due at the beginning of class. The idea of the paper is for you to
make a sophisticated argument clearly and concisely while providing evidence
for and illustrations of your major points. One suggestion is to write a slightly
longer paper as a first draft and to tighten it as you revise. I will return
these papers, with comments, at the next class session.
B.
Course Assignment
The major assignment in the course is to explore a common topic, with each
of six groups completing a research project related to it. The topic is what
the experience intercollegiate athletics can suggest to higher education institutions,
more broadly, in building community from difference.
Three of the groups will conduct a comprehensive review of the research literature
related to an aspect of the topic. These include:
· Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation
in Intercollegiate Athletics and American Higher Education (Group 1)
· The Psychological, Social, and
Academic Development of Intercollegiate Athletes and the American College Student
(Group 2)
· Defining Community in American
Higher Education (Group 3)
Each group will be responsible for a paper of 30-40 double-spaced pages (9000-12000
words), including at least 40 citations from scholarly sources. Along with
the paper, each group should include photocopies of the relevant portions of
books cited and of all articles or chapters cited.
The other three groups will analyze and write-up raw data on the topic, focusing
on one of three sets of subtopics related to traits that facilitate inter-group
cooperation in intercollegiate athletics:
· Sharing a common
goal (Group 4)
· Engaging in
intense, frequent interaction (Group 4)
· Sharing adversity in the form
of hard work, suffering, and sacrifice (Group 5)
· Having a common
"enemy" (Group 5)
· Recognizing that each individual
has something important to contribute (Group 5)
· Holding team
members accountable (Group 6)
· Having coaches
who guide them (Group 6)
· Exposure to
difference from an early age (Group 6)
Each group will be responsible for 15-20 pages (4500-6000 words) on each
subtopic.
There are several deadlines throughout the course for turning in outlines and
drafts.
In preparing the course assignment, there are a few ground rules.
· Both literature reviews and data
analyses need to be integrative - they should be organized into themes and subthemes.
In both, this means that the group should work to divide the citations or data
into categories and present it in a holistic manner within these categories.
Above all, those working on literature reviews should avoid the trap of highlighting
one author, then another, then another to exhaust a given topic.
· It is important a logical order
to present the categories - and thus the overall argument.
· The entire paper should also be
connected by strong transitions.
· Writers should avoid the use of
passive voice.
· Writers should avoid scholarly
conventions that are meaningless - phrases like "many commentators have written."
Just say what they have written in a declarative statement.
We will divide into groups and assign tasks on January 24.
C. Electronic Mail
Sometime before the second class meeting on January 24, everyone must send
me an electronic mail message at the address listed above. I will post any
messages related to the class meeting scheduled before a given week before midnight
on the Tuesday before the class, so be sure to check your messages accordingly.
D. Attendance, Class Participation, and Behavior
I expect that you will contact me, preferably by electronic
mail, if you will not be able to attend any class meeting. I will not tolerate
repeated absences and will take appropriate action if they occur. Your attendance
is obviously essential to your class participation, which is an important element
of your final grade. I define participation broadly to include your careful
attention to discussions, as well as your direct contributions to our discussions.
Finally, I expect your adherence to University of Pennsylvania policies on plagiarism
and student academic conduct.
E. Group Work
If you encounter a problem working within a group that you
are unable to resolve in a satisfactory manner on your own, it is your responsibility
to notify me of the concern in sufficient time for us to attempt to work through
the problem. In other words, I need to hear of a problem far enough before
the time at which something is due in order to take steps toward resolving it.
V. Evaluation
I will use two primary criteria in determining your course grade. The first
is the quality of your contributions in class and your regular class attendance.
The second is the level of sophistication that you display in your written work,
both papers you complete as an individual and those you do as part of a group.
Both are products of your attention to the assigned readings and your class
attendance. I encourage you to read carefully and bring any questions that
you might have to the attention of the class. I also encourage you to plan
ahead to avoid conflicts with our scheduled class meetings.
In evaluating group work, all members of the group receive the same grade.
Finally, I do not assign a relative value or weight to any assignment in determining
overall grades, instead viewing all work in total.
VI. Topics and Meetings
Please read the material listed under each topic for the class meeting indicated.
A.
Introduction and Overview
Wednesday, January 17 @ 2-4 p.m.
B.
"Winning Through Diversity:" Course Assignment
Wednesday, January 24 @ 2-4 p.m.
Reading:
· Wolf-Wendel, Toma, and Morphew,
There's No "I" in Team (course website)
· Wolf-Wendel, Toma, and Morphew,
How Much Difference (course website)
· review interview transcripts (course
website)
Assignment Due:
Send me an electronic mail message at toma@irhe.upenn.edu
C.
Current Issues in Higher Education and Intercollegiate Athletics
Wednesday, January 31 @ 2-4 p.m.
Reading:
· Toma and Cross, Contesting
Values (course website)
· Duderstadt, Intercollegiate
Athletics, Chapter 1-3, 5
· Sack and Staurowsky, College
Athletes for Hire, Introduction
Assignment Due:
500 Word Paper: What values are most important in American higher education,
and how does intercollegiate athletics both advance and hinder the expression
and realization of these values? Consider both "revenue" sports and other types
of participation (as discussed in Toma and Cross).
D. Historical and Philosophical Bases of Intercollegiate Athletics
Wednesday, February 7 @ 2-4 p.m.
Reading:
· Toma, Football Saturdays,
selections (course website)
· Duderstadt, Intercollegiate
Athletics, Chapter 4
· Zimbalist, Unpaid Professionals,
Chapter 2
· Sack and Staurowsky, College
Athletes for Hire, Part 1 (Chapters 1-4)
· Shulman and Bowen, The Game
of Life, Chapter 1
OPTIONAL:
Image at Buffalo: The Division I Case
Wednesday, February 7 @ 430 - 630 p.m.
Guest: Michael Cross, Assistant Director of Athletics, Princeton University
Reading:
· Case distributed at previous class
E. The Uses of Intercollegiate Athletics
Wednesday, February 14 @ 2-4 p.m.
Reading:
· Toma, Football Saturdays,
selections (course website)
Assignment Due:
Citations and Outline Due, Groups 1, 2, 3
Passages Selected and Subthemes Identified, Groups 4, 5
F. Commercial Pressures and Amateur Ideals
Wednesday, February 21 @ 2-4 p.m.
Reading:
· Zimbalist, Unpaid Professionals,
Chapter 2, 5-7
· Duderstadt, Intercollegiate Athletics,
Chapter 7-8
· Shulman and Bowen, Chapters 9-11
· Toma, Football Saturdays,
selections (course website)
· Sack and Staurowsky, College
Athletes for Hire, Part 2 (Chapters 5-7)
Assignment Due:
500 Word Paper: Is what high-profile spectator sports provide for institutions
in terms of external relations and campus community worth the challenges associated
with commercial pressures and professionalism?
G.
Organization and Administration of the Athletics Department
Wednesday, February 28 @ 8 - 11 a.m.
Return to 30th Street Station by 1:00 p.m.
SITE VISIT: PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
Reading:
· Feinstein, The Last Amateurs
H.
Regulation in Intercollegiate Athletics
Wednesday, March 7 @ 2-4 p.m.
Reading:
· Duderstadt, Intercollegiate
Athletics, Chapter 6
· Zimbalist, Unpaid Professionals,
Chapter 8
· Sack and Staurowsky, College
Athletes for Hire, Chapters 8
· Champion, Sports Law, Chapters
16-17, 19, 21
Assignment Due:
Rough Draft Due, All Groups
NO CLASS, Spring Break
I.
Reform and Restructuring in Intercollegiate Athletics
Wednesday, March 21 @ 2-4 p.m.
Reading:
· Duderstadt, Intercollegiate
Athletics, Chapters 10-14
· Zimbalist, Unpaid Professionals,
Chapter 9
· Gerdy, The Successful College
Athletics Program, Parts 1-4
· Toma, Football Saturdays and
March Madness, selections (course website)
· Shulman and Bowen, The Game
of Life, Chapters 13-14
· Knight Commission Report: Keeping
Faith with the Student Athlete
Assignment Due:
500 Word Paper: Assuming that the current regulatory scheme in intercollegiate
athletics is unworkable, particularly relative to high-stakes spectator sports,
what might be a realistic set of alternatives for governing intercollegiate
competition? Consider the potential social, economic, and political barriers
to reform. You may also argue that the current scheme works, but you need to
explain both how and why it does?
J.
Recruiting and Admission
Wednesday, March 28 @ 2-4 p.m.
Reading:
Shulman and Bowen, The Game of Life, Chapters 2-8, 12
Assignment Due:
Second Draft Due, All Groups
OPTIONAL:
Eligibility at Penn: The Athletic Department Case
Wednesday, March 28 @ 430 - 630 p.m.
Guest: Steve Bilsky, Director of Athletics, U-Penn
Reading:
· Case distributed at previous class
K.
Legal Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics
Wednesday, April 4 @ 2-4 p.m.
Reading:
· Champion, Sports Law, Chapters
18, 22-23 (skim 2, 7, 9)
Assignment Due:
Literature Review Due, Group 1
NO CLASS, AERA Annual Meeting
Wednesday, April 11
Reading:
· begin Reid, If I Don't Six
· begin Adler and Adler, Backboards
and Blackboards
L.
Issues of Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation in Intercollegiate Athletics
Wednesday, April 18 @ 2-4 p.m.
Reading:
· Zimbalist, Unpaid Professionals,
Chapters 3-4
· Duderstadt, Intercollegiate
Athletics, Chapter 9
· Literature Review (Race, Gender,
Orientation), Group 1 (course website)
Assignment Due:
Literature Review Due, Group 2
M.
Student-Athletes: Psychological, Social, and Academic Development
Wednesday, April 25 @ 2-4 p.m.
Reading:
· Literature Review (Athletes),
Group 2 (course website)
· finish Reid, If I Don't Six
· finish Adler and Adler, Backboards
and Blackboards
Assignment Due:
Literature Review Due, Group 3
Data Analysis Due, Group 4
500 Word Paper: On balance, is intercollegiate competition more beneficial
or more harmful for student-athletes? Take a side and remember to differentiate
between spectator sports and other forms of competition.
N.
Building Community from Difference in American Higher Education: Lessons from
Intercollegiate Athletics, Part 1
Wednesday, May 2 @ 2-4 p.m.
Reading:
· Literature Review (Community),
Group 3 (course website)
· Data Analysis (Part 1), Group
4 (course website)
Assignment Due:
Data Analysis Due, Group 5
Data Analysis Due, Group 6
O.
Building Community from Difference in American Higher Education: Lessons from
Intercollegiate Athletics, Part 2
Wednesday, May 9 @ 2-4 p.m.
Reading:
· Data Analysis (Part 2), Group
5 (course website)
· Data Analysis (Part 3), Group
6 (course website)
