Need to preserve country’s school talent?

National Collegiate Athletic Association Model may have an answer

By Charith Gamage

“Don’t compare yourself with Amal; he is a beast. Ground or paper he can get through any of that,” onetime friends claimed as they confronted a classmate, Amal (not real name). Students at school knew how good Amal was with his grades and sports.

Amal was a promising student, but the university entrance exam, as he approached it, was competitive on a whole new level. Amal knew he had to make some huge routine changes to take on the challenge.

He needed to spend most of his time studying while also attending additional tuition classes, totally altering his groove. Amal wasn’t used to such a lifestyle; he was a sportsman who would go out on the ground to do what he likes and relieve any stress. Sports did not only help Amal gain fame, it was also a way of expressing himself. But with time, as he cloistered himself in with the stress of competitive exams, he lost his momentum.

Eventually, Amal ended up missing the initial targets on the examination, but it was not the end. To add insult to injury Amal also missed out on entering competitive sports, as his skills declined over time.

For a teenager in the Sri Lankan formal education system, being a top-level sportsman/sportswoman (athlete) in school, while maintaining high grades and obtaining minimal university entrance qualifications is a gruelling task. Consequently, the Sri Lankan education system is rife with such stories. It can encourage students to select their path at a very early stage and force them to focus on it throughout school life. These caveats result in the country’s labour force losing diversity and are responsible for stripping academics and sportsmen of talent.

By contrast, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) of US colleges could serve as a blueprint for retaining and best facilitating versatile students like Amal, by promoting education and sports at the same time. Consequently, while the country’s education system and labour force can benefit from this diversity, it can also be used to effectively head-hunt promising athletes for national and international representation.

NCAA business model

NCAA is a non-profit organisation that oversees college athletes and organises athletic programmes of colleges and universities. While its 90 championships in 24 sports across three divisions attract about half a million collegiate athletes each year, college football, basketball, baseball, and soccer are among the most popular sports sanctioned by the college sports giant. The organisation operates under the mission “…equipping student-athletes to succeed on the playing field, in the classroom and throughout life…”

NCAA’s support for college athletes in collaboration with universities mainly comes in the form of athletic scholarships that cover fully or partially costs of tuition, board, and course-related books during their undergraduate studies. In addition, NCAA funds member schools and 90 championships related to 24 sports, sometimes even covering athletes’ travel expenses. The institute also supports insurance policies and nutritional needs while also promoting health and safety (related to injuries, drug testing, mental health and so on).

On the other hand, the NCAA finances these expenses through lucrative television contracts, marketing rights, championship ticket sales, and alumni donations. Before the revenue shortfalls due to the COVID-19 pandemic, NCAA generated more than 1 billion US Dollars in revenue per year.

How to adapt the NCAA model into Sri Lanka

While overhauling Sri Lanka’s existing education system is a discussion for another day, the truth is that even in the present context, some elements of the NCAA system exist. They are, however, scattered through the country’s university system and final years of schooling. Some or most of the leading Sri Lankan schools offer admission to talented athletes to play for their school teams during the final years. Their long-running ‘big match’ culture and other sports events such as school rugby tournaments attract corporates and rich alumni. On the other hand, on some occasions, the country’s higher education system offers lenient university entrance opportunities to those who perform well in sports.

Consequently, when adapting such a model, one should consider a programme that covers both final years of schooling and university. Sports are more popular at school level, and universities are more academic centred. A proposed system or body should bring these pieces together, enhancing, standardising and centralising towards a national plan. Thereby, such a body can effectively

* identify sports with a greater potential

* absorb potential candidates and lessen their academic stress

* organise championships

* generate revenue and

* channel them back to universities and schools for funding purposes

Starting at the latter stage of the school years and allowing leading schools to take the lead, this programme can then be linked with universities via a lenient entrance system with financial assistance towards a multi-year programme that allows them to participate in sports while engaging in academic activities.

In return, the centralised agency will bear the cost of education on behalf of the schools and universities and provide assistance to improve sports facilities, including better access to national and international coaches while keeping school-level events streamlined to make national and international representation. Even though such a programme is started with seed funds, with success, it will break the vicious cycle of low revenue potential school sports as it moves onto more notable international achievements.

Attracting funds and what’s in it for corporates

The model must be well connected to the business community and made an investment opportunity to be sustainable. Two of the fundamental questions regarding this are: Where do schools or universities figure in this and why would corporations sponsor it?

In the case of the NCAA framework, there are institutions equally focused on generating revenue by winning games and uplifting the overall sports ecosystem through strategic positioning. David Brandon and Pat Haden, former athletic directors of the University of Michigan and the University of Southern California respectively, are two examples for how leading institutions set up and run this business model under the framework of the NCAA. David was the CEO of Domino’s Pizza chain, while Pat, a partner at a private equity firm, both with business backgrounds, piqued the interest of those universities to gel them with the corporates. In particular, although Brandon’s time led to some controversies, his tenure managed to generate considerable amounts of funds, which were reinvested to revamp the university’s sports facilities, such as major renovations of the football stadium.

On the other hand, from the corporate perspective, in a survey of NCAA sponsors, including leading brands such as American Airlines, Coca Cola, Gillette and Pizza Hut, they mentioned that affiliation with sports, access to intercollegiate athletics and media exposure are among the main reasons for their sponsorships. In addition, as championships become popular, they can use tickets as incentives for their employees and introduce prizes during promotions. Among other reasons for reaching a broader consumer base, tie-in programmes and image improvements are crucial benefits that lead corporations to join these programmes.

Implications of NCAA model

The NCAA model is not free of criticism:

* Their monopoly on US college sports and bureaucracy

* The fewer scholarships compared to the large number of college athletes

* Rigorous rules for players to maintain ‘amateurish’ status that prevents them from being sufficiently compensated

However, on the bright side, a successful and well-coordinated ‘Business Model’ enforced by college players has multifaceted benefits for Sri Lanka. Exposing students to sports at a younger age has developmental, emotional and social benefits. It helps tap talent at the grassroots level and absorb them, and provides them with a platform and competition to showcase their talent. This helps them balance education with sports. The model provides opportunities to generate funding through high-quality championships, more spectators and corporate sponsorships, which are then channelled towards institutions to sustain the system.

In addition, the domino effect of those efforts are far-reaching, as it creates a productive celebrity culture backed by popular social media. Ultimately, such a holistic system will bring hope to students like Amal, to play a critical role in adding diversity to the education system, shaping the country’s future labour force and boosting its sports achievements in the international arena.

(The writer, an alumnus of UC Berkeley and the University of New Mexico, US, is a PhD candidate at Monash University, Australia. He could be reached at charith.gamage@monash.edu)