Personal Story Interviews

My two interviews thus far have been of compliance directors at UGA and Kennesaw State. After speaking with them, I have shifted my focus a bit on my story. Instead of examining the differences between Power 5 and smaller Division I compliance programs, I’m going to look into the lack of subpoena power in the NCAA and how it affects the ability to conduct investigations and enforcement processes.

After reviewing my interviews, I might want to revisit Mr. Senour and Mr. Flippen to get more details on their opinions on NCAA enforcement and see if they have any specific experience with investigations. My interview category has only been compliance directors so far, but now I need to consult the legal actors that work for and represent institutions in order to get their input on the process. Dr. Suggs helped give me the following interview list, which I’m hoping to get through.

Janet Judge, Sports Law Associates

Chris Schoemann & Mike Glazier, UGA legal consultants

Erik Christiansen, NCAA

Chuck Smrt, The Compliance Group

Julie Roe Lauch & David Price, former NCAA enforcement chiefs

Gene Marsh, Jackson Lewis Birmingham

Mike Buckner, Holland & Knight

Glada Horvat, UGA academic eligibility adviser

NCAA compliance open records

The main records I think I will be looking at for my personal story will be the NCAA infractions of the schools in my story. These lists should be available of the NCAA compliance website, but the database is actually very cumbersome and is proving pretty difficult to use. I’m also thinking about looking into the finances of each school, including salaries of compliance directors. Open Gov should provide these figures for officials at state schools and I can look into the schools’ taxes as we did in a previous assignment to compare different conferences and their distributions to member schools.

Georgia Volleyball in a Graphic

I covered Georgia volleyball last season, and it was clear that the team did not fair well against conference opponents. Honestly, I could have chosen a variety of statistics to show weaknesses in Georgia’s offense and defense, but I picked three that I think show a complete picture of the team’s shortcomings.

The Bulldogs finished 0-18 in Southeastern Conference play in 2015 and 5-25 overall. They also finished last in the SEC in kills, assists and digs. I chose to make a Tableau graphic to illustrate these stats, because they represent issues in offense, defense and team play. As is obvious in this graphic, Georgia’s average stats per set are significantly lower than all of its conference opponents. It would not be difficult to argue that any one of these stats accounts for the Bulldogs’ record, but I think showing all three gives a more accurate picture of the season. Accordingly, Texas A&M has the highest combined average per set in kills, assists and digs. The Aggies were the 2015 SEC champions.

Revised Story Memo

Given the time constraints of the semester, I think the best angle for my personal story would be to focus on the have/have-not issues in terms of NCAA compliance. This would likely manifest as a case study type of story, comparing the programs at Georgia and a smaller NCAA school in the area.

I would still like to explore the bigger picture questions I listed in my first memo, but it will be on a smaller scale and focused on just a few scales. I’m hoping to find some valuable statistics and information from the NCAA to extrapolate on trends I might find, but my reporting will be focused on compliance programs at UGA and another school, like Savannah State or wherever I can get access.

Key questions

Which schools have NCAA compliance programs? Is money a major factor?

Are these programs effective?

What do compliance directors do in their daily work?

How are athletes and athletics affected by these programs?

Does the NCAA view Power 5 schools differently than smaller schools in terms of compliance and enforcement?

Personal Story Memo

I want to get into the changing NCAA regulations in collegiate sports, and the difference in the compliance programs between Power 5 schools and other, smaller conferences. This story will likely involve a good amount of number-crunching and analytic work, which is exciting for me.

Topic: Trends in NCAA regulations, compliance programs

Key questions
1. How have NCAA regulations changed In the past 20 years or so?
– Compare regulations and what constitutes a violation, according to NCAA bylaws from 2016 and any other available years.
2. Has there been an increase/decrease in violations during this time? Why?
-Chart major violations over the past 20 years or so. Are they infractions of new regulations? Is there a “learning curve” for changing NCAA regs?
3. Who has NCAA compliance programs? Are they concentrated in Power 5 schools?
– Search major school websites and contact athletic departments, check policies of Power 5 conferences
4. What do these compliance programs actually do? Are they effective?
– Interview compliance directors and other officials who oversee the programs
– Chart the violations and infractions of major universities with compliance programs
– Interview athletes and coaches from these schools to find out the culture of compliance and NCAA regulations in their programs
5. How do schools without compliance programs monitor their athletes and programs to avoid violations?
– Compare Power 5 schools with “have not” universities in terms of the frequency and severity of infractions
– Interview athletes and coaches at these schools for comparison
6. Case studies of NCAA violations
– Charleston Southern
– Todd Gurley
– SMU “death penalty”
– etc.

I’m seeing infographics galore for this story, including maps, charts and other visual comparison and trend tools.

This has the potential to be a deep story, so I know it will evolve as I start researching and I might not be able to cover everything I have listed. But in an ideal world, these are the questions I would like to dig in to for my personal story.

NFL Players Infographic

Let me start by saying, I really love infographics. If done well, I think they are a great tool for displaying information in an interesting, quick and visually appealing way. I use infographics in my stories whenever possible.

Anyway, I chose one of my favorite simple infographics for this post, the “most mentioned NFL players” from 2012. Though this graphic is not new or flashy, I’ve always felt that it gets the job done and I really appreciate the creativity.

To me, this graphic satisfies all of Tufte’s tenants and the basic principles of design. It shows contrast in a very blatant and easily understandable manner, and does not contain any jargon. There is also a helpful explanation for the criteria used to determine the “most mentioned players,” so the information seems verifiable and not arbitrary. Additionally, the use of simple bar graphs adds a great deal to this graphic without overwhelming a reader. The audience could spend 10 minutes looking through each bit of information in this graphic, or take one look at it and have the gist – Tim Tebow was the most popular. To me, that is a huge factor in making a successful infographic.

Personal Story Ideas

Age Regulations in the NBA and NFL

As I’ve mentioned before, I think it would be interesting to look into the long term impacts of draft eligibility rules regarding age. More than 10 years after the NBA adopted the “one and done” rule, it would be interesting to take a broad look at the players who left college early and how their careers turned out. The same holds true for football.

2. Bilateral Advantage

One of the topics I’ve come across while studying for the Paralympics is the idea of “bilateral advantage.” This is the theory that double-amputee athletes, like Oscar Pistorius, have an athletic advantage over single-amputees and able-bodied athletes. I’m hoping to dig deeper into this topic in Rio.

3. Athlete Dismissal

“Off the field issues” and program dismissals have always been points of contention in college sports. Many coaches and athletic directors have been scrutinized as being too lax on athletes who get into legal trouble or otherwise violate conduct policies. Others are known to dismiss athletes without a second thought. Still, other programs have reputations for taking on athletes with “troubled” pasts at other schools. I’d love to look into this.

4. NCAA Regulations and “Likeness”

Keeping with my interest in law, the NCAA’s monopoly over college athletes is a hot topic. I would like to look into the NCAA’s policies regarding athletes and both sides of the argument about paying athletes and the use of their likeness. I think this is a good opportunity to look into big-time schools’ compliance programs and notable punishments.

5. Title IX in the SEC

Our discussion about the equestrian team sparked my interest in how other big football programs, in the SEC and across the country, balance their men’s programs to satisfy Title IX requirements. To me, the idea of such a massive equestrian team to ensure UGA football can continue is a bit crazy but very creative. I’m sure other schools have come up with other solutions and this would be a good opportunity to look into this and revisit the idea of Title IX to see if current athletes believe they are being treated fairly.

6. Liability of teams and personnel for injuries

One more just for kicks. An important legal debate in sports is the liability of teams and coaches – let’s say at the college level – for injuries sustained by players. Hundreds of civil suits have been filed against athletic departments and coaches, as players and their families have alleged negligence that resulted in injury. This begs the question, what are the obligations of a team/organization/coaching staff to protect players from injury? This could also be extended to mental health.

Age Regs Background

So, I’m not sure that I want to dedicate my personal story to this topic, but I have always found it really interesting. That being said, here are some stories I’ve found on the topic.

This story, written in 2014 shortly before the Kentucky Wildcats played for the national championship, laments the “one and done” rule since all five freshmen expected to start for UK were expected to leave for the NBA. This journalist believes the regulations exploit athletes during college and then deprive them of an education.

I also found this opinion piece, which makes an interesting point. Most people know the names and legacies of Coach K, John Calipari, Tom Izzo, etc. but would be hard-pressed to name a player on their current roster, because nearly the entire roster changes from year to year. The writer also believes that the quality of college basketball has deteriorated since the rule was implemented in 2006.

In this story, the journalist suggests the NBA adopt a new draft eligibility policy similar to the NFL’s policy. Under this new rule, basketball players would not be eligible for the draft until three years after their high school graduation, perhaps extending their time in college.

In terms of football, the plight of age regulations is not so severe. However, many players choose to leave school early and enter the NFL draft. As this story points out, 37 percent of players who leave early are not picked in the first seven rounds, jeopardizing their chances at making a roster and a living in football.

Finally, this article discusses Nick Saban’s view on his players declaring for the draft before graduation. Saban generally supports his players that receive first- or second-round looks, but tells the others they should wait it out. He also brings in speakers to caution his players on the woes of short NFL careers with no college degree.

If I were to write on this topic, I think my main driving questions would be:

Does leaving early for the draft (NBA or NFL) increase a player’s profitability or span of his career?

What percentage of professional players have college degrees?

If basketball players were allowed to enter the draft right after high school, how many would actually be ready for NBA play?

What is the average length of a pro career in each of these leagues?

What do retired professional athletes typically do for a living after playing?

Would staying in college longer and/or graduating typically hurt a player’s chances to be drafted?

Saving String

Clark has some great suggestions and tips on preparing for writing in general, most of which I do to some extent but have never consciously considered. I think I could do better on “doing my homework” in some cases, as I find myself having to ask follow up questions while writing some of my stories.

I also have a goal for this semester to read more for form than content. More often than not, I skim quickly through stories by journalists I love on the bus, and then never think to read them again. As a writer myself, I know the amount of time and painstaking effort that goes into writing a story and I feel that I’m being a bit disrespectful for not taking my time and appreciating the writing.

In terms of saving string, I’m excited about this class because I don’t think I have ever taken on a story that allows for so much time and research. This will likely be my biggest string-saving endeavor to date. I’m a sucker for having physical copies of my material, so I usually keep a folder with printed copies of articles I’ve found pertaining to my topic. I also make notes in journals or notebooks, often sketching potential outlines or infographics when I get an idea. Though not directly related to writing, I save string for upcoming events, like my law school application. I’ve printed the application information and keep it in a folder with my LSAT scores and the business card of an advisor from my dream school. I’m a bit of a pack rat so I like the idea of saving string, but during this semester I want to make more of a concerted effort to look for information about my topics and give myself more than enough information to write these stories.

The Out-of-Door Academy

I spent my first two years of high school at a massive public school in Sarasota before transferring to a small private school for my junior and senior years. I chose to find an article on the latter and came across this little gem of a story. I was in fourth grade when this article was written, and my school did not yet have a football program. But the basketball team was well-known and my best friend’s big brother was a senior and ODA’s star player. Essentially, this story is about the fact that my small school did not have a regular point guard and instead relied on contributions from two talented seniors to take on that role. This team was exceptionally talented for such a small school and sent multiple players to all-conference teams.

I really enjoyed finding this story because I went to just about every home game during the 2004 season with my best friend and am still close with the players featured in the story. My friend’s brother, David, walked on at Vanderbilt the following year and is a real grown up now, but I sent him the link to this story to remind him of how awkward and shy he was in high school!