Black coaches from high schools and colleges gathered for the first annual meeting of the Black Coaches Association, established to address the issue of Black representation and influence in the collegiate coaching ranks. The meeting focused on preparing Black coaches for jobs and on developing networks. (MLW)

The Supreme Court ruled that the National Collegiate Athletic Association is not a governmental entity, enhancing the NCAA's powers by exempting it from constitutional guarantees that governments must act according to due process of law. A dichotomy between the ability of universities to implement NCAA penalties is seen. (MLW)

Nearly 40 percent of all Division I college basketball programs have either fired or lost their coaches in the last two years, reflecting instability in the profession and a shift in emphasis among institutions, favoring playing for program revenue over sports for education reasons. (MSE)

A Nevada Supreme Court decision lifted an injunction protecting the University of Nevada at Las Vegas from National Collegiate Athletic Association sanctions but let a lower court decide whether to uphold a 1977 injunction barring suspension of the university's basketball coach. The future course of events is unclear. (MSE)

Virtually all reform measures proposed at the National Collegiate Athletic Association annual meeting pass by wide margins. Changes include reduced coaching staffs and scholarships, phasing out of athletic dormitories and training tables, limiting practice and playing time, reduced recruitment expenditures. However, substantive change is not seen…

After a six-month investigation that found a pattern of academic abuses in North Carolina State University's men's basketball program, the University of North Carolina system's Board of Governors has adopted a broad package of sports reforms. Some of these recommendations are presented. (MLW)

Administrators at Southeast Missouri State University may gamble on a controversial public relations strategy that would depend on a big-time sports program to increase enrollment. Utica College, however, will return to the NCAA's Division III after spiraling sports costs and inability to gain entrance to a suitable conference. (MLW)

Academic discipline cases at Auburn and Arizona State have focused attention on special treatment for athletes. In both cases, stiff penalities imposed on athletes by faculty or student-faculty committees were radically cut back by top administrators. (MLW)

The presidents' commission of the National Collegiate Athletic Association proposed fewer and smaller changes than expected in rules for intercollegiate athletics, especially in the revenue-producing sports in the highest division, but the panel plans a series of studies of the more difficult problems facing college sports. (MSE)

The model contract should define the circumstances under which a coach may be fired with cause; what the university owes the coach if it fires him without cause; and what the coach owes the university if he terminates the agreement. Experiences at Clemson University and North Carolina State University are described. (MLW)

A rift among college presidents perils the drive to reform college sports. Cost-cutting measures proposed by the presidents were defeated by NCAA members. Five athletic directors with widely differing programs view their own budget dilemmas, and college officials assail the decision permitting ineligible athletes to play professional football.…

Stanford University's unique combination of high academic standards and successful, broad-based intercollegiate athletics provides a model for other institutions, and it is working hard to continue to attract smart, talented athletes. (MSE)

The University of Iowa's president has vowed to bar freshmen from intercollegiate sports even if the National Collegiate Athletic Association does not agree. The move is intended as a leadership stand, to allow freshmen to get an academic foothold before entering competition. The football coach and the governor disagree. (MSE)

A report by a panel of retired college presidents endorsed giving presidents more power in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, cost cutting, the abolition of freshman eligibility, and greater sharing of sports revenues. Efforts to reform college sports are critical because the integrity and credibility of universities are at risk. (MLW)