A day after Gene Smith told CBSSports' Dennis Dodd the current collegiate sports model was "unsustainable for the populous at large," the NCAA is rolling up its sleeves and getting to work... next month.
From the NCAA:
A group of college presidents, athletics administrators, faculty, students and conference commissioners will convene in Indianapolis Aug. 4-5 to build the foundation for the future of college sports.
Participants were invited because of positions they hold in the Division I governance structure or affiliated organizations.
The Division I Strategic Summit participants include all members of the Board of Directors (including the student-athlete, athletics director, faculty athletics representative and senior woman administrator who serve on that group); Presidential Forum members from conferences that do not have representation on the board; the chair and vice chair of the Council; the chairs of the seven standing Council committees, the Committee on Academics and the Committee on Infractions; leaders from affiliated organizations who serve on the Council and the Board of Governors members from Divisions II and III.
Among the topics on the agenda:
- The Division I collegiate model of amateur athletics , including the key features of the Division I student-athlete experience and use of resources within athletics.
- How college sports should assist students while they are in college, including academic achievement and appropriate demands on time.
- How college athletics should assist students to prepare for life after college, including those who wish to pursue athletics through professional pursuits and other high-level opportunities such as the Olympics.
- The overarching principles for how the division should operate, including examining the current subdivision structure and the role of conferences.
Sounds like quite the banger in Indianapolis.
