The purpose of this preliminary study was to examine the opinions of athletic directors, faculty athletic representatives, senior women administrators, and head coaches regarding the impact of the academic performance rate (APR) in intercollegiate athletics. The participants of the study returned a total of 127 questionnaires, but only 75 were used due to non-responsive or incomplete answers to questions. The participants were asked one open-ended question about the impact of the APR in intercollegiate athletics. The data was analyzed for common themes and results found that overall, 64% of the participants felt the APR will have a positive impact on college athletics. The respondents felt the APR will help improve the graduation rates of student-athletes as well as make head coaches more accountable for the type of student-athlete being recruited. On the other hand, 32% of the respondents felt the APR will have little or no impact on intercollegiate athletics and were very critical of athletic reform as a whole. This inquiry was pursued in an effort to understand how these views may influence the implementation of the APR and, in the broader sense, future athletic reform.

The subject of academic corruption in intercollegiate athletics has been of significant concern and empirical inquiry for over 100 years. There are many character and ethical issues that pervade intercollegiate athletics such as academic fraud, cheating in recruiting, sense of entitlements, illegal inducements from boosters, and academic fraud. The author makes an argument that many of the problems relating to the culture of college sports and character development cannot be repaired without changing the culture with regard to academics and academic integrity. The faculty driven movement toward academic integrity in college sports is explored, along with the efforts of outside groups, such as The Drake Group and the Coalition on Intercollegiate Athletics (who have emerged as the leading faculty driven reform movements), along with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the area of reform. Reform plans by these groups are juxtaposed with historical considerations; along with the relationship academic integrity has to reclaiming the morals and character of college athletics.

This study examined the perceptions of Senior Woman Administrators’ (SWA) involvement in financial decisions through the utilization of open-ended questions. Additionally, this research analyzed the actual versus desired level of participation in financial decision making areas by (SWA) utilizing gender role stereotyping as a framework. Prior studies have indicated the importance of experience with financial decisions and budgets for SWA to advance their intercollegiate athletics careers. The qualitative analysis of the perceptions of the SWA indicated partial support for the desire to have increased involvement in key financial decision making. Furthermore, the quantitative analysis revealed in each of the decision areas (operations, budgeting, capital outlay, salary considerations, media broadcast contracts, and sponsorship advertising), a significant main effect was found in which SWA indicated a desire for greater participation in decision making.