This Week’s Report: “College Football”

College football, the nation’s No. 3 spectator sport in popularity and a multibillion-dollar business, is under increasing scrutiny. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is proposing changes aimed at tightening academic standards and helping players, who earn millions for schools. But the NCAA has little power to control schools’ lavish spending on the sport.

The game has drawn even more critical attention in recent days because of the unfolding child sex-abuse scandal at Penn State, which involves a former assistant coach and has resulted in the abrupt firing of legendary head coach Joe Paterno.

Associate Editor Ken Jost explores the full range of issues surrounding college football in this week’s timely and highly informative CQ Researcher. The report is especially useful for classes and papers on sports management, higher education administration, ethics and contemporary culture.

--Thomas J. Billitteri, Managing Editor