The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "collegic athletics" ...
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HBO: NCAA Head Games
Five years into football’s concussions crisis, one group of athletes may be in more danger than any other: college football players. That’s because while leagues from the NFL down to Pop Warner have sharply reduced contact in practice to limit the amount of hits to the head, the NCAA has yet to mandate any rules. A six-month Real Sports investigation found that, over the course of a year, the average college football player is exposed to 70% more hits to the head than an NFL player. All these hits can add up and make it harder for the brain to function and do the work of being a student. In other words, young men going to college purportedly to improve their minds are often doing precisely the opposite—they are damaging them. Once these athletes leave college they’re on their own to deal with the potential consequences. The NFL provides long-term medical care for its football players. The NCAA does not.
Tags: broadcast; college football; athletes; concussions; health; NFL; NCAA; medical care
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"Fiesta Bowl Under Fire" "BCS The Money. The Games"
Discovery of violations of state and federal campaign finance laws at the Fiesta Bowl and widespread financial mismanagement, including employees being reimbursed for taking luxurious out-of-town trips and visits to strip clubs. The investigation of the BCS found that public universities lose money playing in BCS games; bowls spend heavily on gifts for schools' top athletic officials; pay for the highest executives at the BCS bowls more than doubled since they reunited in the late 1990s; and three of the top bowls accepted large government subsidies even as their revenue and assets have grown.
Tags: BCS; Fiesta Bowl; college; football; fraud; financial mismanagement
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How Student Fees Quietly Boost College Sports
The investigation found that many college and universities had not been disclosing how much of the student fees was going toward the athletic budgets. In some cases, student fees for athletics can account for as much as 23% of the total mandatory tuition and fees charge.
Tags: university athletics; college sports; Division I; state schools; tuition
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"NCAA - College Athletic Fees"
In this months-long report, USA Today analyzed hundreds of "financial reports" that college athletic programs are "required to release to the NCAA." They found that many schools are relying more on student fees to finance sports programs (without student's knowledge). The investigation also reveals a growing "unrest" at many universities in response to the financial "divide between sports and academics."
Tags: Football Bowl Subdivision; Coalition of Intercollegiate Athletics; Big East Conference; University of Cincinnati; Nebraska State; Louisiana State; Atlantic Coast; Big Ten; Big 12; Pacific-10; Southeastern
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"Little Leagues, Big Costs"
This five-day series chronicles the experiences with youth sports of high school and college athletes and coaches. By establishing "baseline data" that has been previously unreported, Dispatch reporters found a "corrupted" sports program overrun with angry parents and practices that cause severe injury to young athletes. Rising costs and financial competitions are added pressures to the industry.
Tags: youth-sports; IRS 990s; NCAA; NCAA Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act; Nexis; Ohio State; Gene Smith; Ohio High School Athletic Association; OHSAA; OSU
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Trip to nowhere
“At least seven college sports teams, along with parents and boosters, lost a combined $544,000 in payments to a travel company”. This company scheduled a number of trips for these teams, which they never took because the company either cancelled or never booked the trip. The owner of the company denies any wrong doings and would not give an explanation to the teams, parents, and boosters as to where their money went.
Tags: Transports Athletics; Dale Brannan; transportation; financial; schools; universities; athletic departments; sports; athletic director
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NCAA: Mixed Messages
The phrase “student-athlete” has been used for a number of years, but recently it seems unsuitable for college athletics. In this series, a number of issues are spotlighted and they include “academics, the arms race, television money, the use of likenesses and images, and the myth of the four-year scholarship”. The main purpose of this series was to display the recent activities of college athletics and let you decide if the phrase “student-athlete” still applies.
Tags: athletic department; FOIA; Florida State; Rutgers University; sports; networks; money; grades; classroom; education
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Risky business; Bus safety an issue for colleges
The investigation found that "at least 85 Division I universities used charter bus companies during 2007 and 2008 with deficient federal safety ratings." Further, "about 35 have used companies with an overall conditional rating, which mean they have a more serious record of infractions." A number of things contributed to account for the companies’ bad safety records, these includes crashes, speeding tickets, unqualified drivers, and worn out vehicles.
Tags: FOIA; athletics; athletic department; transportation; sports; teams; travel; inspections; operations
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Secrecy 101
"Universities hide information about their athletics departments behind a student-privacy law designed to keep grades private." Further, it hides athletes, who have done a number of unethical and some illegal activities. Also, coaches are using the law to hide their own bad behavior. All this information stunned the senator who created the law and he believes the "institutions are putting their own meaning into the law."
Tags: education; college; Senator James L. Buckley; NCAA; Ohio State; FOIA; Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA); federal; sports; public records; censor; academics
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Football Scholarships
This story investigates how a number of football players that play for Kent State received full ride scholarships. They received these scholarships without the ACT scores to receive them or any scholarships for that matter. Furthermore, there are a number of other students who have the grades and ACT scores to receive these scholarships, but don’t because the money is all used up.
Tags: college; athletics; athletic department; students; education; football field; players; Kent State University; Director of Admissions