When March Madness begins on March 14, 2023, it’s a sure bet that millions of Americans will be making wagers on the annual college basketball tournament. The American Gaming Association estimates that in 2022, 45 million people – or more than 17% of American adults – planned to wager US$3.1 billion on the NCAA tournament. That makes it one of […] … learn more→

When Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin collapsed during a Jan. 3, 2022, NFL football game, much of the public attention was on the pressures athletes face to perform despite the perils they face on the field. However, as a scholar who specializes in youth sports, I have found that this pressure often begins well before a […] … learn more→

When people talk about how college athletes can now get paid from their name, image and likeness – more commonly referred to as “NIL” – the focus is often on players at schools with big-time sports programs. This makes sense given the sheer size of some of the NIL deals that have been scored as […] … learn more→

A coat hanger. A broomstick. A pool cue. All these objects were used in a series of sexual assaults in recent years in which the perpetrators allegedly targeted high school boys who play sports. The perpetrators always had easy access to their alleged victims. That’s because they were teammates. In the world of education, sexual […] … learn more→

The Supreme Court has consistently banned school-sponsored prayer in public K-12 schools, whether at the start of the school day, during graduation ceremonies or before football games. Under the Equal Access Act, the Supreme Court has affirmed that students may organize prayer and Bible study clubs during non-instructional hours. Even so, school staff and outside adults may not actively participate. Lower courts […] … learn more→

Few people outside Jersey City had heard of the No. 15 seed Saint Peter’s Peacocks before they upset No. 2 seed Kentucky in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Two days later, Saint Peter’s beat No. 7 seed Murray State to advance to the Sweet 16 and become the darlings of the men’s college basketball world. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski […] … learn more→

When it comes to landing a spot on a college sports team, a student’s chances are profoundly affected by their parents’ wealth and education. Even college sports recruitment favors white suburban athletes. Those two findings come from our collective research as sport sociology and education scholars. As former college athletes, we have lived and studied what it takes to become a […] … learn more→

Only one week after the NCAA changed its endorsement rules on July 1, 2021, women college athletes found themselves on billboards in Times Square in New York, launching a clothing line collaboration and signing sponsorship deals for brands including a wireless carrier and a fast-food chain. Women college athletes have historically been far more limited in their ability to profit off their athletic skills compared to their male […] … learn more→

Just days after the NCAA changed it rules in June 2021 to let college athletes seek endorsement deals, a college quarterback in the South announced a sponsorship deal with a beverage company. About the same time, another college football player, a wide receiver in the South, signed an endorsement deal with a national retailer. In […] … learn more→

Now that the Supreme Court has ruled that student-athletes are able to earn money from their name, image and likeness, more than a dozen states have enacted laws to govern the practice. These states include Illinois, Ohio and Pennsylvania. For example, the name, image and likeness law in Illinois defines what compensation can be for and the role that colleges can […] … learn more→