IRCA/ICAC supports Knight Commission model for D1 transformation
Intercollegiate Coach Association Coalition (ICAC) press release:
Twenty-one members of the Intercollegiate Coach Association Coalition (ICAC), representing over thirty intercollegiate sports, support the Knight Commission proposal to tie revenue distribution and spending in NCAA Division I programs to the broad educational mission of intercollegiate athletics. The C.A.R.E. model - Connecting Athletics Revenue with Education - recommends restructuring distributions from the NCAA, the College Football Playoff, and DI Conferences, to align with programming that serves student-athlete education, health, safety, well-being, gender and racial equity, and broad-based sports participation.
“The ICAC was formed to give coaches a collective voice on matters involving program support, legislation, and sustainability,” said ICAC executive director Rob Kehoe. “Early in the pandemic, ICAC members contributed to blocking an attempt to reduce sport sponsorship minimums in Division I, and we continue to direct our efforts to support initiatives that promote broad based sports sponsorship, and, to oppose trends that present a direct threat to Olympic sports at D I schools. Without structural change that incentivizes the sponsorship of broad-based programming at the highest levels of Division I, Olympic sports will continue to be sacrificed and opportunities for talented student-athletes extinguished.”
The NCAA appointed a Constitution Committee in August to identify areas where the organization needed reform. The Knight Commission’s C.A.R.E. model was developed to address the incongruities between the goals of higher education and the incentives for revenue distribution in the current system.
The coaches’ associations that support the Knight Commission C.A.R.E. model are:
American Baseball Coaches Association
American Hockey Coaches Association
American Volleyball Coaches Association
American Water Polo Coaches Association
College Gymnastics Association
College Rifle Coaches Association
Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (Women)
College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America
Golf Coaches Association of America
Intercollegiate Men’s Lacrosse Coaches Association
Intercollegiate Rowing Coaches Association (Men)
Intercollegiate Tennis Association
Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association
National Collegiate Equestrian Association
National Fastpitch Coaches Association
National Field Hockey Coaches Association
National Wrestling Coaches Association
United Soccer Coaches
U.S. Fencing Coaches Association
Women’s Golf Coaches Association
Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association
About the Intercollegiate Coach Association Coalition (ICAC): The ICAC was established in 2017 as an organization to support the intercollegiate coaching profession, to engage in communication pertaining to matters that impact intercollegiate athletics, to represent the views and voice of college coaches, and to share association related information to benefit and support ICAC members.
Statement of support from the Intercollegiate Rowing Coaches Association (IRCA):
IRCA, although a new organization, is pleased to align and stand with our fellow collegiate sports during this unprecedented time for college athletics. Tectonic shifts are occurring and while most of the emphasis has been in Football and Basketball, the vast majority of kids competing today in college are not in those two sports but their value to American culture, to their respective schools and alumni, is just as profound. The Intercollegiate Rowing Coaches Association is proud to join any effort that protects and even broadens these opportunities.
An important point of note is that voicing our support for this proposal is voicing our interest in improving access and opportunities for Olympic sports. It is not a vote for anything, just an acknowledgment of our support for this proposal and initiatives like it that would have a positive impact on the future of men’s rowing.
About the Intercollegiate Rowing Coaches Association (IRCA): Founded in the spring of 2020, IRCA is a membership organization that represents the coaches of men's varsity heavyweight and lightweight collegiate rowing in the United States. Our mission is to promote the coaching profession by providing opportunities for education, discussion, and mentorship, while proactively working to broaden and enhance the student-athlete experience.
