Date of Completion

11-25-2019

Embargo Period

11-25-2019

Advisors

Joseph Cooper, Laura Burton, Jennifer McGarry, Mansour Ndiaye

Field of Study

Sport Management

Degree

Master of Science

Open Access

Open Access

Abstract

On September 27, 2017, the Federal Bureau Investigation (FBI) arrested ten individuals connected to National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men’s basketball for charges, including bribery, wire fraud, and money laundering. In response to the public release of this investigation, the NCAA formed the Commission on College Basketball (CCB) to address “fairness and opportunity for college athletes, coupled with the enforcement capability to hold accountable those who undermine the standards of our community” (Emmert, 2017). Ultimately, the purpose of this study is to analyze the NCAA’s response to the FBI investigation into men’s college basketball. The creation of the CCB as a direct result of the FBI investigations, coupled with the recommendations for reform, suggest the NCAA is more concerned with protecting their ideological hegemony than improving the quality of life of and professional development opportunities for collegiate athletes. Additionally, college sport reform groups and public media responses to the investigation, as critical of the NCAA (Medcalf, 2018; Wolken, 2018; The drake group, n.d.; Knight commission, 2018). A critical discourse analysis (CDA) is utilized to reveal how the responses by the NCAA reflect their escalating commitment (Staw, 1976) towards amateurism as well as the role of the interest-convergence tenet of Critical Race Theory (CRT; Bell, 1980, 1992).

Major Advisor

Joseph Cooper

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