Collegiate athletic programs have often been referred to as the "front porch" of an institution. Coaches, athletic teams, student athletes, and athletic department staff serve as a "link between the immediate campus family and the larger community. It is this front-porch principle that makes managing intercollegiate athletics a unique and…

Stanford University's unique combination of high academic standards and successful, broad-based intercollegiate athletics provides a model for other institutions, and it is working hard to continue to attract smart, talented athletes. (MSE)

National Collegiate Athletic Association rules changes address recruiting practices, services provided to athletes, expenditures, coaching limitations, coach certification, playing season and practice limitations, scheduling, association membership, amateurism, academic standards, financial aid, and championship competition. (MSE)

Excerpts from the National Collegiate Athletic Association Presidents' Commission policy paper on intercollegiate athletics reform address such issues as the college experience of athletes, awarding of student financial aid, eligibility, the effects of competition, recruitment policies, program effects on institutions as well as athletes, and…