College Sports Research Institute (CSRI) Conference a Big Success
By Heidi Taylor
In case you missed this year’s two day CSRI conference at Chapel Hill here is a run down of the events and topics that were covered.
Day One
The first day of the conference that took place at UNC Chapel Hill consisted of three one-and-a-half hour panel discussions followed by an address from keynote speaker Jeremy Bloom. The three panels were as follows:
1. Panel one was titled, Special Admit Limbo: How Long Can You Go? The focus of this panel was a topic largely regarded by most as something that has not changed and continues to be debated in the arena and probably will for some time, namely the commercialization of sports and players’ eligibility. The discussion centered on students’ rights to play in regards to outside commercialization and influence.
2. Panel two was called, the ESPNification of College Sports. This panel focused on the commercialization of sport and its relation to actual college play.
3. College-Sports Arms Race: Is there an End in Sight? Panel number three focused on college spending in regards to sports and the increasing amount colleges are required to spend in order to stay at a competitive level.
The end of day three wrapped up with a keynote address by Jeremy Bloom, three-time world champion and two-time Olympian competition skier. The focus of the speech was on the questions that colleges need to be asking in terms whether college athletics are a business or simply amateur sport.
Day Two
Day two focused on presentation of academic research in the field of sports and sport business in relation to colligate athletes. The forum centered around two keynote speeches.
The presentations were vast and diverse in terms of their content and a complete summary would be lengthy. But one noteworthy presentation reported research on a college athlete’s efforts expended in class vs. practicing for sports. The study concluded that practice for sport greatly outweighed any other scholastic undertaking that a college athlete faced.
The two keynote speakers were Dr. John Gerdy of Ohio University, who spoke on the way intercollegiate athletics had begun to model professional sports, and Dr. Bernie Mullin of The Aspire Group, who lectured on the difference between the NBA and college basketball.
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