Scandal and Reform in Collegiate Athletics.
In recent times, increasing concern has been raised over the status of "big time" collegiate athletics. NCAA investigations have turned up widespread and often repeated instances of serious rule infractions. Cheating in the area of recruitment and payoffs by "boosters" to star players seem ubiquitous. Indeed, as of the early part of 1989, twenty-five institutions were under NCAA sanctions for "improper recruiting," "improper benefits to athletes," or similar forms of misconduct [2, p. A-40]. Most noteworthy, at Southern Methodist University, repeated and flagrant rule violations prompted the NCAA to impose on the university's football program the "death penalty"a prohibition on the scheduling of games [9, 19]. The resulting national publicity triggered a pervasive and poignant reconsideration of the place of athletics within academia. Other problems also plague collegiate sports. Revelations of athletes' drug use ranging from alcohol to cocaine to steroids have earned considerable media attention [1]. Inquiries into athletes' substance abuse reached a high point in the aftermath of the tragic, cocaine-related death of Len Bias, a Maryland basketball player. The NCAA has responded by subjecting athletes to a mandatory, random drug testing program. Though the policy has been challenged in the courts as an invasion of privacy, a recent United States District Court decision deemed the testing program constitutionally sound [13].