Protecting Collegiate Olympic Sports

in the New DI Era

Recording & Resources

CLICK TO VIEW KEY POINTS IN VIDEO

• Discussion of facts
• Overview of stakeholder solutions
• Overview of Knight Commission solutions with opportunity incentives
• Overview of attendees' polling results

Originally presented at the 2025 NACDA Convention.

"Now all of you can help — take the facts you hear today and talk about them. Talk about them with your colleagues. Talk about them on campus. If people don't understand the facts and the severity of the situation, which many don't, they will not support solutions. It's clear that you cannot solve a problem that you don't even see."

Beth Brooke, Knight Commission member & USOPC Board Member

– Actions Leaders Can Take Now –

1. Get educated on the facts and potential solutions and educate others on campus.
2. Share your solutions and ideas with us: info@knightcommission.org.
3. For DI Leaders (Presidents, Athletics Directors, Senior Woman Administrators, and FARs): Participate in a survey from Elon University Poll, in partnership with the Knight Commission, arriving in your email inbox soon.

"Did you know that the United States Olympic team doesn't receive any federal funds? We are the only National Olympic Committee in the entire world with no government funding. Why do you suppose that is? Well, it's because a large number of our participants are honing their skills, practicing and competing on the campuses of our nation's colleges and universities."

Bob Bowlsby, Knight Commission member & former USOPC Board Member

Did You Know?

• Current or former U.S. collegiate athletes won 84 percent of the Team USA medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
• In 2024, more than 152,000 DI athletes participated in college sports other than football and men’s and women’s basketball.
• Generating more than $370 million annually, there is currently a federal tax on sports gambling operators (0.25 percent), but the revenue is not earmarked for a specific use (e.g., supporting collegiate Olympic sports, Team USA).

Funding of Olympic sports a bargaining chip as NCAA seeks antitrust help, AP sources say

Eddie Pells, Associated Press | June 26, 2025

These twins were college divers. Then the new NCAA rules changed everything.

Jesse Dougherty, Washington Post | July 6, 2025

Dozens of Olympic Sports Have Been Cut in Wake of House v. NCAA Settlement

Amanda Christovich, Front Office Sports | June 19, 2025

The Knight Commission announced phase two of the C.A.R.E. Model Conference Grant program, providing grants from a pool of $100,000 in 2025 to Division I Conferences that implement the C.A.R.E. Model principles related to the distribution and use of “shared athletics revenues.”

The 2025 deadline for applications for C.A.R.E. Model Conference Grants is July 25. For more information, contact: CAREModelGrant@knightcommission.org.

Learn more on what it means to be a C.A.R.E. Champion here.