A New Collegiate Model: Intra-Collegiate Athletics at BYU Idaho

Aaron Kelly, a highly respected college sport consultant, is charged with the task of presenting a new model of intercollegiate athletic administration to a panel of leaders in the field. Coincidence and research led him to a successful National Junior College Athletic Association athletic program that was discontinued in pursuit of a new model of competitive intra-collegiate athletics when the institution transitioned to a four-year university. Given the purpose of athletics within the academe to facilitate an educational experience difficult to replicate through any other opportunity, (Brand, 2006; NCAA 2010; Rader, 1999) this program sheds light on a new way to view this tradition we have come to know as college sport. The purpose of this case is to highlight the tremendous potential for innovation that exists within the intercollegiate athletic model. While financial challenges make it difficult for many institutions to sponsor broad-based intercollegiate athletics programs, this model presents a design that can reduce expenditures and provide additional participation opportunities for education through athletics. As Kelly prepares for his presentation, he questions whether this model is ideal and how the landscape of intercollegiate athletics might be affected if implemented on a national scale.

Duke Scholars

Author Robert Turner II Population Health Sciences