Lies ... deception ... oh my
posted by LW, Thursday, June 25, 2009
Like the latest on the divorce of John and Kate...
Ha!
Speaking of lies and deception, who out there is outraged when you read about the NCAA's efforts to cover up investigations of its member schools?
The Columbus Dispatch has been doing some fine reporting on athletics departments and universities improperly using the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act to shield information from the public. Now the Dispatch tells us that the NCAA has for years used FERPA to shield itself from scrutiny.
A six-month Dispatch investigation found that universities also use FERPA, as it's commonly called, in ways that largely cut off public scrutiny of a $5 billion collegiate-sports industry that is funded by fans, boosters, media organizations and, at most schools, taxpayers.
Former U.S. Sen. James L. Buckley, author of FERPA in 1974, said the law is being used in ways he never intended.
Besides using FERPA as a shield, the NCAA also has turned to using a secure Web site to share information with universities about rules violations. To view the information, the NCAA requires schools to sign confidentiality agreements.
The contents of that Web site, the NCAA says, are exempt from any state's public-records laws because the documents belong to the organization based in Indianapolis and not to the public universities that are subject to public disclosure.
Because the records reside on the Web site and not in the hands of university officials, the universities say they aren't required to release them -- despite the fact that they rely on that information to make decisions about athletic department operations and punishments for rule-breakers.
Though the NCAA has used the Web site for about five years, few outside the closed world of collegiate athletics knew about it.
If the NCAA and its member schools want the benefits of private entities, no problem. All they need to do is forgo the benefits that come with being public entities. Things like tax-exempt status, state funding, state benefits, and on down the line.
Until then, they need to quit insulting the intelligence of all of us, man up, and make their records available like all other public entities are required to do.
Wow, how about Duke's backcourt situation in 2009-10? Elliot Williams is gone, and that's a huge blow for the Blue Devils because Williams showed a lot of promise late last season.
Jim Young of The ACC Sports Journal wonders: How did it come to this?
The BCS Presidential Oversight Committee swatted the Mountain West Conference's playoff proposal into the 10th row, and committee chairman David Frohnmayer says the current system is adequate.
I stopped reading when he mentioned schools' academic interest. Not sure if he had a straight face when he talked about that.
Somehow Florida's athletics budget increased $5.9 million to $89 million despite significant cutbacks. That extra coin from the SEC's huge TV deal probably came in handy.
Is it just me, or has non-conference scheduling received almost as much attention recently as Sanford's South American Stimulus Vacation?
Matt Hayes of The Sporting News gives his take on the ACC's out-of-conference foes.
For those of you -- both of you -- who are geeked about the NBA Draft, Paul Strelow of The State actually took time from his vacation to offer a mock draft.
And Travis Sawchik of The Post and Courier took it a step further by not only composing a mock draft, but composing one of players who aren't even in the draft.
LW
For questions or comments on this blog entry, please visit The West Zone message board.
Link to this entry - Discuss this entry - Return to Blog Home
We interrupt this controversy on our governor's "whole sparking thing" to bring you discussion on more weighty matters.
Like the latest on the divorce of John and Kate...
Ha!
Speaking of lies and deception, who out there is outraged when you read about the NCAA's efforts to cover up investigations of its member schools?
The Columbus Dispatch has been doing some fine reporting on athletics departments and universities improperly using the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act to shield information from the public. Now the Dispatch tells us that the NCAA has for years used FERPA to shield itself from scrutiny.
A six-month Dispatch investigation found that universities also use FERPA, as it's commonly called, in ways that largely cut off public scrutiny of a $5 billion collegiate-sports industry that is funded by fans, boosters, media organizations and, at most schools, taxpayers.
Former U.S. Sen. James L. Buckley, author of FERPA in 1974, said the law is being used in ways he never intended.
Besides using FERPA as a shield, the NCAA also has turned to using a secure Web site to share information with universities about rules violations. To view the information, the NCAA requires schools to sign confidentiality agreements.
The contents of that Web site, the NCAA says, are exempt from any state's public-records laws because the documents belong to the organization based in Indianapolis and not to the public universities that are subject to public disclosure.
Because the records reside on the Web site and not in the hands of university officials, the universities say they aren't required to release them -- despite the fact that they rely on that information to make decisions about athletic department operations and punishments for rule-breakers.
Though the NCAA has used the Web site for about five years, few outside the closed world of collegiate athletics knew about it.
If the NCAA and its member schools want the benefits of private entities, no problem. All they need to do is forgo the benefits that come with being public entities. Things like tax-exempt status, state funding, state benefits, and on down the line.
Until then, they need to quit insulting the intelligence of all of us, man up, and make their records available like all other public entities are required to do.
Wow, how about Duke's backcourt situation in 2009-10? Elliot Williams is gone, and that's a huge blow for the Blue Devils because Williams showed a lot of promise late last season.
Jim Young of The ACC Sports Journal wonders: How did it come to this?
The BCS Presidential Oversight Committee swatted the Mountain West Conference's playoff proposal into the 10th row, and committee chairman David Frohnmayer says the current system is adequate.
I stopped reading when he mentioned schools' academic interest. Not sure if he had a straight face when he talked about that.
Somehow Florida's athletics budget increased $5.9 million to $89 million despite significant cutbacks. That extra coin from the SEC's huge TV deal probably came in handy.
Is it just me, or has non-conference scheduling received almost as much attention recently as Sanford's South American Stimulus Vacation?
Matt Hayes of The Sporting News gives his take on the ACC's out-of-conference foes.
For those of you -- both of you -- who are geeked about the NBA Draft, Paul Strelow of The State actually took time from his vacation to offer a mock draft.
And Travis Sawchik of The Post and Courier took it a step further by not only composing a mock draft, but composing one of players who aren't even in the draft.
LW
For questions or comments on this blog entry, please visit The West Zone message board.
Link to this entry - Discuss this entry - Return to Blog Home
Donnie Patterson. Donnie Patterson is the founder of Patterson Tax Service, located in Easley, S.C. He has been active in tax preparation since 1970, and offers a full range of tax and bookkeeping services.
Larry Williams. Larry has covered the daily beat at Clemson since 2004. Williams, who worked for the Charleston Post & Courier from 2004-08, joined Tigerillustrated.com in November of 2008. He may be reached by email at ldubya08(at)gmail.com. Replace (at) with @.