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Do BCS schools have an advantage over non-BCS schools in APR rankings? An early examination.

2009; Volume: 12; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

1543-9518

Adrien Bouchet, Matthew Scott,

Sports Analytics and Performance

Introduction Since 1989, the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics has worked to ensure that intercollegiate athletic programs operate within the educational mission of their college and universities (Knight, 1989). The Knight Commission's 1991 landmark report, Keeping Faith with the Student-Athlete: A New Model for Intercollegiate Athletics, presented a road map that captured the essence of what it takes to reform college sports: a one-plus-three model in which the one, presidential control, is directed towards the three, academic integrity, fiscal integrity, and a certification process to verify that integrity (Knight, 1991). Part of the implementation process of the academic integrity portion of the model was the Academic Progress Report (APR). The APR was the NCAA's response to calls for academic integrity. It is intended to ensure eligibility for student-athletes and to serve as a check and balance on athletic departments. The ARP also serves to monitor whether the institutions are properly providing for student-athlete academic needs. The scores are meant to provide institutions with a clear set of goals for each team and to set a higher priority on academics in collegiate athletic departments. We want to change the behaviors of the teams and the institutions and the athletic program so we're all headed toward the success of student-athletes on the field and in the classroom, NCAA President Myles Brand said. Everyone--coaches, ADs, presidents, and student-athletes--should understand that's the order of the day (NCAA, 2008). The APR began collecting data during the 2003-2004 academic year and released its first report in 2005. The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) was created in 1998 to ensure the two top ranked teams in college football played in the national championship game. One unintended consequence of the BCS is that it has served to delineate six power conferences from other Division I conferences. These conferences--Southeastern, Pac Ten, Big Ten, Big XII, Atlantic Coast, and the Big East--are comprised of the majority of football and basketball playing schools in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (D1-FBS). The six conferences--branded the BCS--were given an automatic bid into the BCS bowl games (Rose, Sugar, Orange, and Fiesta) each year. This au bid has guaranteed millions of additional dollars to the participating conference, which the other mid-major conferences are not guaranteed. Budgets of athletics programs at Division I universities vary in range. This holds true for academic advising budgets as well. With the implementation of the Academic Progress Report (APR), all programs now have the same requirements and standards to obtain. The purpose of this study is to identify whether the programs with more money have an unfair advantage over programs with smaller budgets by examining APR scores as well as budgets from both BCS and non-BCS schools. Review of Literature Previous studies have shown that money does not always lead to academic success. According to Costrell, Hanushek, and Loeb (2008), determining the dollars necessary to provide an adequate education is not an easy task (p. 24). The money an institution has must be spent properly. This statement is backed up by University of Washington Economics professor Paul Hill. Hill states, Money is not the main barrier to performance. The main barrier to performance is how to use money more effectively (in Spalding, 2007). Costrell et al. also found that there is no consistent amount of money that can be spent per student to ensure academic success. Wenglinsky (1997) found that some types of academic spending are beneficial whereas others are not. Spending money to improve the level of teachers and learning assistants does not lead to better academic success. Instead, spending money to ensure a higher number of staff members so that students can have the most one on one time with their instructor is more beneficial. …