Authors: John Adamek

Corresponding Author:
John Adamek, CSCS
4 Truman Place
Moonachie NJ, 07074
Jfadamek21@gmail.com
201-543-9142

John Adamek is a strength and conditioning coach owner of Sports Science Integration. He is also a graduate student at the United States Sports Academy.

Academic Fraud in Revenue and Nonrevenue Sports

ABSTRACT
The purpose of this paper is to provide a historical overview of academic fraud in collegiate revenue and non-revenue sports, with a focus on distinguishing whether or not revenue sport programs are more likely to be at risk for academic fraud. The hypothesis is that as nonrevenue sports at universities begin over performing thus transitioning to a revenue sport, does an increased risk of academic fraud exist amongst those involved with the university. Method. The Legislative Service Database was used to gather data on academic infractions that occurred between 2003 and 2014 on universities participating in the FBS and FCS subdivisions. Data was then matched with the U.S. Departments of Education’s Equity in Athletics Data Analysis to identify the net generated revenue of the athletic department during the time of the infraction. Results show that traditional revenue sports (Men’s Basketball and Football) account for 73.9% of academic fraud cases. Of the total number of athletic programs involved in academic fraud over half, 56.5% were revenue generating. This paper should be used to educate and direct future researchers and the NCAA on developing a system to identify and manage the potential risks of academic fraud by sport and university.
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