National
Collegiate
Athletic
Association
DRAFT
Association-Wide
Draft Strategic Plan
Report Date: December
1, 2003
Prepared by:
TECKER
CONSULTANTS, L.L.C.
427
609-396-7998
Process Overview
The National Collegiate Athletic
Association has embarked on a process of strategic long-range planning, which
will guide the development process for both: (a) a new strategic plan and (b)
an ongoing process for thinking and planning strategically that will be
integrated throughout the enterprise.
The planning process design will be
grounded in an approach that guides decisions about strategy in a framework of
four planning horizons. The approach involves crafting a comprehensive
strategic direction based on the balance between what must not change – the timeless principles of the
organization’s core purpose and core values, and what future vision must stimulate change – what the
organization seeks to become within
a 10-30 year horizon, characterized by the articulation of an Envisioned Future
– consisting of an Envisioned Future Goal and a Vivid Description –
what it will be like to achieve the goal.
Critical factors. The articulation of the envisioned future guides the organization as it considers the factors that will affect its ability to achieve its goals. Building foresight about the 5- to 10-year horizon--assumptions, opportunities, and critical uncertainties in the likely relevant future as well as emerging strategic mega-issues--suggests critical choices about the potential barriers the association will face. This foresight also suggests the responses the association will need to consider in navigating its way toward achievement of its 10- to 30-year goal.
Strategic plan and operational planning. The linkage continues into the 3- to 5-year horizon through the development of a formal long-range strategic plan, in which the association articulates the outcomes it seeks to achieve for its stakeholders. How will the world be different as a result of what the association does? Who will benefit, and what will the likely results be? Further, the articulation of strategies will bring focus to the Association’s annual operational allocation of discretionary resources. Action plans, checkpoints, and milestones will be developed through a process of operational planning, indicating the Association’s progress toward each goal in every planning year.
A strategic long-range plan is not intended as a substitute for an annual program or operating plan. It does not detail all the initiatives, programs, and activities the association will undertake in the course of serving its membership and the industry, nor can it foresee changes to the underlying assumptions on which key strategic choices were based. Instead, the strategic plan will articulate what the Association is not doing today but must be doing in the future to be successful.
The following report articulates draft consensus to-date on key elements of the future NCAA association-wide strategic plan.
This plan is inclusive of all entities that compose the NCAA. In this document, these terms are used with the following meaning: Key Terms ·
The “Association” is the
“corporate entity” composed of member institutions, conferences, the
governance structure (e.g. boards, cabinets, committees) and affiliated entities
(e.g. coaches associations) , as well as student-athletes, coaches and
athletics administrators. ·
The “membership” of the
Association is primarily the colleges and universities. It is campus-based. ·
The “national office” is the employees
in |
Draft
Core Ideology
Core ideology describes an organization’s consistent identity that transcends
all changes related to its relevant environment. Core ideology consists of two
notions: core purpose – the
organization’s reason for being – and core values –
essential and enduring principles that guide an organization.
Draft Core Purpose
To govern competition in a fair, safe,
equitable and sportsmanlike manner, and to facilitate the institutional
integration of intercollegiate athletics into higher education so that the
educational experience of the student-athlete is paramount.
Draft Core Values
The Association, through its member institutions, conferences and national office staff, shares a belief in and commitment to:
· The collegiate model of athletics in which students participate as an avocation, balancing their academic, social and athletics experiences.
· The highest levels of ethics, integrity and sportsmanship.
· The pursuit of excellence in both academics and athletics.
· The supporting role that intercollegiate athletics plays in the higher education mission, enhancing the sense of community and strengthening the identity of member institutions.
· An inclusive culture that fosters equitable participation for student-athletes and career opportunities for coaches and administrators from diverse backgrounds.
· Respect for institutional autonomy and philosophical differences.
·
Presidential leadership of
intercollegiate athletics at the national, conference and campus levels.
Draft
Envisioned Future
Envisioned future conveys a concrete, but yet unrealized vision for the organization.
Draft Envisioned Future Description
·
Intercollegiate athletics will be understood as
a valued enhancement to a quality higher education experience.
·
Student-athletes will be better prepared to
achieve their potential for having participated in intercollegiate athletics,
and they will regard athletics endeavors as a valued part of their
undergraduate education.
·
The chief executive officers of member
institutions will set expectations for intercollegiate athletics and exert
leadership at campus, conference and national levels.
·
Member institutions will view their Association
as an essential partner in effectively governing intercollegiate competition
and facilitating the integration of academics and athletics.
· There will be a balanced perspective about the role of intercollegiate athletics in higher education. Academic success among student-athletes will enable the Association and its members to positively influence the perception of college sports.
·
Individuals at all levels of intercollegiate
athletics will hold themselves accountable to the highest standards of
behavior.
·
The public will view the Association as a
trusted organization, with its purpose and practices clearly supported.
Foresight
about the Relevant
5-10
Year Future
The Association’s strategic long-range plan must be based in part
on a projected view of the future environment of intercollegiate athletics and
the relevant world at large. Foresight about
the relevant future is what will make the long-range plan strategic. Building foresight requires a look at
three levels of future orientation - current
conditions, which represent our view of what exists today, trends, which reflect what conditions
we can see today and the predictions we can make about what direction the
conditions will move in, and
assumptions, which reflect our beliefs about what will happen or how things
might be in the future, not necessarily based on what we see today. When
conditions change, strategy needs to be adjusted. An annual review of this
thinking will help the association ensure the ongoing relevance of its
strategy.
Demographics
Changing demographics will affect sports participation patterns, which in turn will affect intercollegiate sports sponsorship.
· There will continue to be more women than men who are interested in a college education and qualified to obtain one. Intercollegiate athletics will need to create more opportunities for this growing population of female college students to participate. This responsibility will carry with it the obligation to attract more female fans and to engage more women alumni. If more professional opportunities are provided to women, they will be more likely to compete in sports.
· The growth of the Hispanic population will be an especially important factor as athletics interests ally with culture and ethnicity. Sports such as soccer may experience significant growth.
· The aging population will affect traditional college enrollment, which will have ramifications for interest in sports events. The role of nontraditional students will become more important as they are sought to support and participate in intercollegiate athletics. Without successful efforts to attract young people, football and basketball attendance will decline because of an aging fan base.
Business/Economics
Economic conditions may affect competition within intercollegiate athletics. In most cases, the gap between expenditures and revenue will widen.
· The acquisition of funding for intercollegiate athletics will be especially difficult during economic downturns; further, funding may not reach previous levels, even in future “up” cycles.
· Institutions will be pressured to increase funding subsidies for intercollegiate athletics.
· The share of government funding for higher education will diminish, which will affect college athletics. Athletics departments may rely increasingly on private support. Consumers, rather than government, will bear a greater share of the costs associated with higher education.
· Programs within institutions and institutions themselves will merge to make the most of existing resources.
· Economic “haves” and “have nots” in intercollegiate athletics will be more clearly identified, a circumstance that may effect competition, sports sponsorship and rules compliance, among other things.
· Public and private institutions will have increasingly different perspectives on economic issues involving athletics.
· Professional sports may offer alternative systems for player development.
·
Traditional
academic institutions will be challenged in the marketplace by nontraditional
alternatives, such as “for-profit” institutions, online colleges
(and courses) and other education providers. Such economic challenges likely
will decrease traditional funding for athletics programs. Economic conditions
will increase the pressure for institutions and athletics programs to become
more commercial and entrepreneurial.
·
The
nature of contests may move away from the competition itself and increasingly focus
on the events surrounding the contests. Colleges may compete to produce
increasingly complicated athletically related events.
· The number of students who can afford college will decrease. Those who do attend will require increasing amounts of financial aid. Students will have to make more sacrifices (for example, full-time jobs, greater debt burden) to attend college.
Legislation
Legislatures and courts at state and federal levels will be more inclined to intervene and to regulate intercollegiate athletics issues if they perceive that discriminatory, exploitative or unsafe practices exist.
· Institutions of higher education will be held more accountable for their athletics practices. Gender-discrimination and affirmative-action issues will continue to be of special interest on the federal level.
· Litigation will increase if stakeholders perceive that elements of the college athletics structure are not fair.
· Federal and state financial assistance may diminish as higher education is perceived as being more about individual good than public good (see the Business/Economics section).
· The overall purpose and value of intercollegiate athletics may be questioned as fiscal challenges grow. Governments may encourage academic performance by tying funding to graduation rates. College athletics will be pressured to create academic eligibility standards that help ensure graduation.
Technology/Science
Science and technology will have a continuing and increasing influence on higher education and intercollegiate athletics.
·
Science
and technology will affect athlete performance. Factors that may enhance
performance include equipment, a better understanding of exercise
science/physiology and drugs/dietary supplements. Safety concerns will
accompany performance advances. Enforcement of drug and safety violations will
become more difficult and the expectations of the public higher.
· Technology will continue to fragment the media and the audience for intercollegiate athletics events. Athletics programs will be challenged to use communications technology to their advantage (in some cases, technology may actually discourage attendance). Media will continue to create expectations for instant gratification. Coaches and student-athletes will need to be educated about the public nature of their positions as media seek provocative stories.
· Technology will affect the delivery of education. Technological changes will permit classroom instruction to become more individual, which in turn will permit all students — including student-athletes — to have more customized curricula. Learning that occurs outside of a classroom will become more common.
Political/Social Values
Evolving social priorities will require intercollegiate athletics to adjust in an appropriate, effective and timely fashion.
· Intercollegiate athletics will be faced with a conflict between financial opportunities and the welfare of student-athletes. Conflicts are possible as coaches, driven by the pressure to win, demand more of student-athletes while most student-athletes seek to take greater advantage of their educational opportunities.
· Continued threats of terrorism will mean less personal freedom, more potential for violence at sports events and increased costs. Colleges will be required to confront an attendant decrease in civility. Students of the future are more likely to have an activist bent than current students.
· Without reasons to believe otherwise, the public will become increasingly concerned about the treatment of student-athletes.
· Media will seek to shape public expectations. This may affect college athletics as decisions are driven by public perception rather than what is right. This will heighten the challenge to resist traditional corruptive attitudes in college athletics (“win at all costs,” “get mine now,” etc.).
· Athletes will become more specialized. This will affect the pre-college development of athletes as they choose a sport at an early age. Access to sports development and participation will depend more on socioeconomic factors. Multi-sport athletes in college will become rarer. College athletics may move more toward participation-centered, rather than audience-centered, contests.
· The distinction between college and professional athletics will continue to blur as athletes turn professional before their college education is complete (or, in some cases, before it has begun).
· Faculty governance will become more actively involved in campus athletics issues and will challenge the perceived intrusion of athletics on academic interests (budget, student-athlete time demands, facilities, capital expenditures, salaries).
· Third-party efforts at organizing or “unionizing” certain student-athletes will increase as certain student-athletes perceive that their needs, rights or values are being compromised. Legislators, especially at the state level, will take up these causes.
3-5
Year Outcome-Oriented Goals
Goals are outcome-oriented statements that
represent what will constitute the organization’s future success. The
achievement of each goal will move the Association towards the realization of
its vision. Each goal will be accompanied by a set of (a) objectives, which represent key issues affecting the
Association’s ability to achieve the goal and articulate milestones
against which to measure progress; and (b) strategies,
which describe how the Association will commit its resources to make its vision
a reality.
The national office, in consultation with the governance structure, will develop strategies to accomplish each objective as well as measurements.
1.
Athletics
as an Integral Part of the Higher Education Experience
Student-athletes will be better educated and prepared for increased achievement and success.
Objectives
1.1 Increase
support of reform efforts that emerge from the governance structure.
(Primary
responsibility: governance structure and national office. Secondary responsibility: member institutions.)
1.2 Increase the number of student-athletes who succeed academically.
(Primary responsibility: member institutions. Secondary responsibility: member conferences and governance structure.)
1. 3 Increase opportunities for student-athletes to integrate their academic, athletics and social interests.
(Primary responsibility: member institutions. Secondary responsibility: member conferences and governance structure.)
1. 4 Enhance the role of athletics administrators as effective leaders and increase the role of coaches as advocates for the values of intercollegiate athletics.
(Primary responsibility: member institutions. Secondary responsibility: member conferences, affiliated organizations and national office.)
2.
The Student-Athlete Experience
Student-athletes will be enriched by a collegiate athletics experience based on fair and reasonable standards, and a commitment to sportsmanship.
Objectives
2.1 Increase the application of fairer and more flexible regulations that favor student-athletes.
(Primary responsibility: national office and governance structure. Secondary responsibility: member institutions and conferences.)
2.2 Increase
the opportunities for women to participate in intercollegiate athletics at all
levels.
(Primary
responsibility: member
institutions. Secondary
responsibility: national office,
governance structure and affiliated organizations.)
2.3 Increase
sportsmanship in intercollegiate athletics among student-athletes, coaches and
fans.
(Primary
responsibility: member institutions and conferences. Secondary responsibility: governance
structure, affiliated organizations and national office.)
3. Informed Governance and Decision-Making
Member institutions and conferences will have access to
data, research and best practices that assist in the governance and management
of intercollegiate athletics.
Objectives
3.1 Increase opportunities
and support for chief executive officers to participate and make more informed
decisions about intercollegiate athletics.
(Primary responsibility: governance structure, national office and member conferences. Secondary responsibility: member institutions.)
3.2 Increase opportunities for member institutions and conferences to share best practices in support of the Association’s core values (for example, managing commercialism, risk management, crisis management).
(Primary responsibility: national office. Secondary responsibility: member institutions and conferences.)
3.3 Increase
the number and quality of research initiatives on relevant issues (for example,
academics, finances, health and safety) to help member institutions and
conferences make informed decisions.
(Primary responsibility: national office. Secondary responsibility: governance structure, member institutions and conferences.)
3.4 Increase opportunities for affiliated organizations to provide input for more informed decision-making.
(Primary responsibility: governance structure and affiliated organizations. Secondary responsibility: member institutions and national office.)
4. Effective National Office Administration
The national office will be operated in an accountable, effective and efficient manner.
Objectives
4.1 Increase
partnerships with the membership. Better
define the role of the national office.
(Primary
responsibility: national office and
membership. Secondary
responsibility: governance
structure and member conferences.)
4.2 Increase flexibility, responsiveness
and efficiency with interpretations, enforcement and appeals processes. Expedite investigatory processes for
major infractions.
(Primary responsibility: national
office and governance structure. Secondary responsibility: member institutions
and conferences.)
4.3
Increase the timeliness, clarity, conciseness and
effectiveness of membership communication.
(Primary
responsibility: national office;
Secondary responsibility: governance structure, member institutions and
conferences.)
4.4 Increase the use of state-of-the-art
technology to improve the effectiveness and efficiencies
of Association processes.
(Primary responsibility: national
office and governance structure. Secondary responsibility: membership and
conferences)
5. Perceptions
of the Association and Intercollegiate Athletics
The public will
gain a greater understanding of and confidence in the integrity of
intercollegiate athletics and will more readily support its values.
Objectives
5.1 Increase
the public’s confidence in the Association as a whole.
(Primary
responsibility: national
office. Secondary responsibility: member institutions and conferences.)
5.2 Increase
awareness of and advocacy for the positive values of intercollegiate athletics
among the media, the public and within the membership.
(Primary
responsibility: member institutions
and conferences. Secondary responsibility:
national office.)
.