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This collection has access restrictions. For details, please see the restrictions.
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the FAQ section for more information.
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Collection Overview
| Size | 59.0 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 25,200 items) |
| Abstract | The Knight Foundation Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics (Knight Commission) was established in 1989 with the purpose of drafting a reform agenda for the administration of intercollegiate sports. The Commission was dissolved in February 1996. Records of the Knight Commission include correspondence of Commission members with individuals and corporations involved in intercollegiate athletics and letters to the Commission from interested citizens; transcripts of Knight Commission meetings, notes taken by governors, and master copies of briefing books distributed at the meetings; personal files of Commission members; various reports and memoranda on intercollegiate athletics commissioned by the Knight Foundation and other organizations; bills paid by the Knight Commission; drafts and final versions of Knight Commission reports; videotapes, DVDs, and audiotapes of advertising and news coverage relating to the Knight Commission's work and to college athletics generally; and other items relating to the Knight Commission's work. Included are many items relating to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and to other collegiate sports organizations. |
| Creator | Knight Foundation Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics. |
| Language | English |
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Information For Users
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Subject Headings
The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
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Historical Information
In 1989, the Knight Foundation issued the following statement of purpose for the Knight Foundation Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics (Knight Commission):
The Knight Foundation has established this Commission because it believes that excesses in intercollegiate athletics are seriously eroding the integrity of colleges and universities and distorting the basic purposes for which these institutions were chartered. The Foundation also believes there is an important place for a properly-administered program of intercollegiate athletics in American institutions of higher learning. Indeed, competitive sports have long been an integral part of campus life. Regrettably, however, recent surveys show that a majority of citizens believe that flagrant rules violations, greed, fraud, and hypocrisy now pervade intercollegiate sports. These surveys also reflect widespread public doubt that the universities and colleges can or indeed will take forceful action on their own to eradicate these distressing conditions. These conditions can no longer remain unchallenged; we believe they can and must be eliminated. Clearly, trustees, presidents and chancellors, faculty, students, alumni, and sports fans generally must collectively gather the will to correct the problem before the intercollegiate sports programs we cherish and the institutions we respect and love are irreparably damaged. The Knight Foundation, through this Commission, commits itself to help restore institutional integrity and renew the well-being of intercollegiate sports as a wholesome part of the academic community.
The Commission was officially dissolved in February 1996 (see press release in folder 490).
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Scope and Content
Records of the Knight Foundation Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics (Knight Commission) include correspondence of Commission members with individuals and corporations involved in intercollegiate athletics and letters to the Commission from interested citizens; transcripts of Knight Commission meetings, notes taken by governors, and master copies of briefing books distributed at the meetings; personal files of Commission members; various reports and memoranda on intercollegiate athletics commissioned by the Knight Foundation and other organizations; bills paid by the Knight Commission; drafts and final versions of Knight Commission reports; videotapes, DVDs, and audiotapes of advertising and news coverage relating to the Knight Commission's work and to college athletics generally; and other items relating to the Knight Commission's work. Included are many items relating to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and to other collegiate sports organizations.
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Series Quick Links
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Series 1. Knight Commission Reports, 1991-1993.
Drafts and final versions of the three reports issued by the Knight Commission between 1991 and 1993. Also included are criticisms and suggestions for the reports sent by outside readers to the Knight Commission and requests for copies of the reports from interested citizens and organizations. Note that, for the most part, original folder titles have been retained.
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Subseries 1.1. Report Drafts.
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Subseries 1.2. Final Reports.
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Subseries 1.3. Responses and Requests for Reports.
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Series 2. Meeting Materials, 1990-1993.
Transcripts of the roughly 13 Knight Commission meetings held between 1990 and 1993. Also included are master copies of the briefing books distributed to meeting participants, notes taken by various Commission members, and meeting summaries. Materials relating to particular meetings are followed by items relating to meetings of various task forces and miscellaneous materials that originally accompanied the meeting materials. Note that, for the most part, original folder titles have been retained.
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Subseries 2.1. Transcripts of Proceedings.
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Subseries 2.2. Meeting Notes and Summaries.
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Subseries 2.3. Briefing Books.
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Series 3. Chair, Commissioner, and General Files, 1990-1993.
Files of Creed Carter Black and Maureen E. Devlin. Also included are files containing personal information on Knight Commission members and a long rule of general office files in two runs that are arranged roughly alphabetically within each run. Files are in the original order as received, and, in most cases, original file titles have been retained. Because of the idiosyncratic nature of some of the file titles, researchers are advised to scan each subseries list for materials of potential interest.
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Subseries 3.1. Creed Carter Black Files.
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Subseries 3.2. Maureen E. Delvin Files.
See also Addition of February 1996
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Subseries 3.3. Commissioner Files.
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Subseries 3.4. General Files (1).
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Subseries 3.5. General Files (2).
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Series 4. Monthly Correspondence and Bills, 1990-1993.
Correspondence of the Knight Commission arranged by month, January 1990 to July 1993. Also included are bills paid by the Knight Commission over the same period.
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Series 5. Videotapes and Audiotapes, 1989-1993.
Videotapes and audiotapes containing Knight Commission advertising, news and talk show coverage of the Commission's activities, and other related items. The majority of the videotapes are VHS; however, tapes numbered VT-4687/20-25 are in BETA format. Original order and titles have been retained.
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Series 6. Additions.
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Addition of August 1995 (Acc. 95102), circa.
1991-1995.
NOTE: materials have been roughly sorted into the categories shown below.
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Addition of February 1996 (Acc. 96011), 1995.
| Box 33 |
Notes, reports, and other materials relating to the work of the Knight Commission. #04687, Subseries: "Addition of February 1996 (Acc. 96011), 1995." Box 33 |
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Addition of April 1996 (Acc. 96037), 1929-1996.
Files of Creed C. Black, including correspondence, reports, press releases, and other materials relating to the work of the Knight Commission. Included is a photocopy of "American College Athletics" by Howard J. Savage, produced for the Carnegie Foundation in 1929. This was the last independent study of college athletics until the Knight Commission was created.
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Addition of October 2006 (Acc. 100508), 1982-2007.
Correspondence, notes from Commission meetings, transcripts, reports, briefing materials, articles, and newspaper clippings relating to collegiate sports. Included are materials relating to NCAA Conventions, Knight Commission hearings, and organizations dealing with athletes and academics. Note that original file folder titles have, for the most part, been retained.
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Addition of 2006: General Files, 1982-2007
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Addition of 2006: Subject Files
Note that original file folder titles have, for the most part, been retained.
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Addition of March 2007 (Acc. 100611), 2006-2007.
Reports, DVDs, and transcripts of Knight Commission Executives Meetings.
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Items Separated
Processed by: SHC Staff
Encoded by: Kathryn Roth, January 2008
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