ENGL C1000E (Lawrence) IX in Action

This book exposes how big-time college sports have long operated as a business that undermines higher education’s mission. Tracing the NCAA’s defense of the amateurism myth, it argues that academics have never truly been the priority in Division I athletics. The authors call for separating major college sports from universities and restructuring them as independent business enterprises.

Champions in the Classroom addresses the challenges student-athletes face in balancing sports and academics. Penny Turrentine offers historical context, practical strategies, and a “Playbook” written in athletic language to help students identify strengths, overcome academic obstacles, and succeed in the classroom.

In this concise guide to commercial college athletics, John C. Barnes offers an overview of the industry’s history, current challenges, and future directions. Addressing issues like Title IX, media deals, and commercialization, he provides a clear, balanced resource for administrators, coaches, and policymakers.

The Game of Life by James Shulman and William Bowen examines how the growing intensity of college sports affects higher education’s mission. Using data from 90,000 students across three decades, the authors reveal how athletics shape campus culture, academic preparation, and institutional priorities. They show that while sports can enrich college life, their increasing commercialization and cultural dominance often pull even elite schools away from their educational purpose.

The Myth of the Amateur by Ronald A. Smith traces the long history of pay and hypocrisy in college sports, beginning with the first Harvard–Yale regatta in 1852. Smith reveals that athletes have always been compensated in some form, despite the NCAA’s claims of amateurism. Covering issues of class, race, gender, and law, the book exposes how financial interests have shaped college athletics from the start.

A comprehensive view of gender inequality in sports, this book details the continued struggle against unequal pay, discrimination, and sexism despite the landmark law of Title IX.

The NCAA and the Exploitation of College Profit-Athletes dismantles the myth of amateurism in college sports, exposing it as a racialized and exploitative system. The authors argue that profit-athletes should be recognized as employees and back their case with historical, legal, and financial evidence. They propose a new model based on labor contracts or collective bargaining to ensure fair compensation and working conditions.

More than 99 percent of student-athletes will go pro in something other than sports. This book is for those college athletes (and their advisors and families). It provides advice and insights for the typical student-athlete on how to navigate the college experience and name, image, and licensing rights and to prepare for life after graduation.

Special Admission reveals how college sports reinforce, rather than disrupt, racial and class privilege. Through over 100 hours of interviews with college athletes, Kirsten Hextrum shows how white, middle-class youth gain disproportionate access to elite universities through athletic recruitment. She demonstrates that athletic merit depends on resources concentrated in white suburban communities, allowing these athletes to maintain and amplify their social advantages.

Unwinding Madness delivers a sweeping critique of the NCAA, arguing that commercialization has corrupted college sports and undermined universities’ educational missions. The authors call for replacing the NCAA with a new governing body that restores academic integrity, protects athlete rights and health, and ensures fairer treatment. Their reform plan aims to balance financial sustainability with the true educational purpose of college athletics.

Pay to Play: Race and the Perils of the College Sports Industrial Complex examines how race and exploitation intersect in big-time college sports. Tracing the history of amateurism and the control of Black athletes, the book exposes how billions in profits exclude those who generate them. It concludes by advocating for fair compensation and structural reform to transform college athletics.

Title IX, Pat Summitt, and Tennessee’s Trailblazers by Mary Ellen Pethel chronicles the rise of women’s sports in Tennessee and beyond following the landmark 1972 law prohibiting sex discrimination in education. Through profiles of fifty athletes, coaches, and administrators—from icons like Pat Summitt and Candace Parker to lesser-known pioneers—Pethel captures five decades of progress, struggle, and triumph. Blending storytelling and scholarship, the book offers a vivid, behind-the-scenes history of how Tennessee’s trailblazers helped shape the national landscape for women’s athletics.