INDIANAPOLIS --- A number of current issues and hot topics in college sports and higher education will be discussed during the upcoming 2007 NCAA Convention in Orlando, Florida. The annual gathering of delegates from NCAA member colleges and universities will be held January 5-8, 2007, at the Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center and centered on the theme of “An Association Providing Leadership in Changing Times.”

Along with business sessions to discuss and vote on pending legislation, the Convention will provide NCAA membership with an opportunity to honor the athletic and academic achievement of student-athletes during the Honors Celebration, which includes the presentation of the Today’s Top VIII Awards, Silver Anniversary Awards, the Theodore Roosevelt Award and the President Gerald R. Ford Award. Former National Football League (NFL) commissioner Paul Tagliabue will receive the 2007 Theodore Roosevelt Award, and Christine Grant, former director of women’s athletics at the University of Iowa, will receive the NCAA President’s Gerald R. Ford Award at the Convention. 

The 2007 Convention agenda will include a number of menu sessions dedicated to the issues and topics facing student-athletes and higher education today. The topics include sessions on emerging trends in eligibility issues, cultural trends impacting intercollegiate athletics, sports wagering, sportsmanship, technology and recruiting, and sports doping, among others.

There will be a panel discussion as a part of these menu sessions on “Emerging Eligibility Issues,” which will address questions related to trends in initial eligibility, the Division I academic performance program and the recent amateurism certification process.

The convention will also feature a panel discussion on “The Impact of Changing Cultural Trends in Intercollegiate Athletics,” which will help define the impact of the hip hop culture on college sports, as well as explore other changing culture trends that can have an impact on college sports and campuses. The panel is designed for administrators and coaches to assist them in understanding the subtleties of conflict management in contemporary cultures. Another panel examining current cultural trends will be “The Fusion of College Basketball, Racial Diversity, Media, Art and Urban Life,” which will discuss basketball’s impact on economic, racial and social boundaries in popular culture across the globe. The discussion will be moderated by Kevin Anderson, director of athletics, United States Military Academy and include panelists Bill Russell, former Boston Celtics professional athlete; Dr. Harry Edwards, professor emeritus of sociology, University of California, Berkeley; and Dr. Jamie Williams, director of athletics, Academy of Art University.

Several member university administrators will also be on hand during the panel titled “Sportsmanship Lessons Learned – What Happens When Things Go Wrong?” The panel will discuss recent public displays of negative sportsmanship on their campuses and what they would recommend to every administrator as they prepare for future seasons of competition. This session will feature a town hall meeting format where athletics directors Paul Dee, University of Miami, and Pete Garcia, Florida International University, will discuss what they learned from the brawl that took place during their most recent football game this season. In addition, the panel will feature Jacquelin Johnson, chancellor, University of Minnesota, Morris, whose university experienced the death of a student during a post-game celebration on the university’s football field in 2005. Also, Alan Patterson, commissioner of the Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference and the chair of the NCAA Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct, will share his thoughts and insights on the topic.

Another menu session at Convention will focus on sports wagering. The session will provide an update to the Sports Wagering Task Force Report by reviewing new sports wagering initiatives, as well as providing a description of the goals and objectives of the upcoming 2007 Sports Wagering survey. The discussion will also address questions regarding educational initiatives, trends in sports wagering and internet gambling, and updates on the federal sports wagering legislation.

The issue of technology in recruiting has been a concern for some time for NCAA member college and universities, and the panel “Technology and Recruiting: An Overview” will further examine the issues involved. The session will provide general background regarding electronic communication methods during the recruiting process, perspective from student-athletes on the recruiting experience, as well as discuss issues within the ongoing development of recruiting models.

The “Yours, Mine and Ours: Sports Doping among Collegiate and Elite Athletes” session will bring together a panel of experts to address the issue and potential solutions to deter the use of performance-enhancing substances among college and elite athletes. The session will be moderated by Frank Uryasz, president, The National Center for Drug Free Sport Inc., and panelists will include Dr. Gary Green, United States Soccer Federation/Major League Baseball; Herman Frazier, director of athletics, University of Hawaii; and Evelyn Ashford, former student-athlete and Olympian.

Preliminary findings from two NCAA national studies will also be shared during a breakout session at the Convention. The Study of College Outcomes and Recent Experiences (SCORE) and the Growth, Opportunities, Aspirations and Learnings of Students (GOALS) studies mark the NCAA’s most ambitious effort in understanding the lives and experiences of student-athletes on campus.  SCORE is an in-depth review of more than 8,500 former student-athletes as it relates to academic attainment, career trajectories, health and well-being and satisfaction of their college experience. The GOALS data examines similar issues of approximately 21,000 current student-athletes at more than 600 colleges and universities, in addition to issues related to time commitments.

The full schedule of menu sessions is below and additional information can be found online at http://www1.ncaa.org/convention/2007/assoc_wide_menu_sessions.pdf.

2007 NCAA Convention Menu Sessions

Friday, January 5 (1:30 – 3:00 pm)

New Media: Grasping the Opportunities of Changing Technology

Risk Management in Athletics

Emerging Eligibility Issues

Friday, January 5 (3:15 – 4:45 pm)

Thinking Through the Unthinkable Crisis Planning and Management

Marketing and Fundraising Strategies for Small Colleges and Universities

The Fusion of College Basketball, Racial Diversity, Media, Art and Urban Life

Sports Wagering Update

Saturday, January 6 (9:00 – 10:30 am)

Integrating Academics and Athletics

Sportsmanship Lessons Learned – What Happens When Things Go Wrong? A Town Hall Meeting

Leadership: Transcending Buzzwords and Providing Transformative Experiences

Technology and Recruiting: An Overview

Saturday, January 6 (10:45 am – 12:15 pm)

The Changing Fan Culture for Division III

Keeping Up with the Times: Meeting the Changing Needs of Today’s Student-Athletes

Yours, Mine and Ours: Sports Doping Among Collegiate and Elite Athletes

Diversity Leadership Report: Best Practices within the Association

Saturday, January 6 (1:30 – 3:00 pm)

NCAA Division II Partnership with CSTV and Other Media Opportunities for Division II

Preliminary Findings from the SCORE and GOALS Studies

Hot Topics in Gender Equity