Who are we?
The Coalition on Intercollegiate Athletics (COIA) works to help faculty understand changes in requirements, demands, and resources for college athletes. We want to help faculty recognize signs of problems facing student-athletes and understand what faculty members can do if they notice threats to student-athletes’ health or safety.
The Coalition on Intercollegiate Athletics (COIA) is an alliance of faculty senates from NCAA Division I schools. COIA’s mission is to provide a national faculty voice on intercollegiate sports issues. Areas of concern include academic integrity and quality, student-athlete welfare, campus governance of intercollegiate athletics, commercialization, and fiscal responsibility. The Coalition is committed to the development of effective strategies and proposals for significant, long-term reform in college athletics. COIA works with university faculties, administrations, and national associations concerned with higher education, to implement these strategies and proposals.
Currently, Division I schools that have faculty senates are eligible to be members of COIA. During the past several years, COIA has produced a number of white papers and other documents that lay out recommendations for reform. These recommendations offer best practices that can be used by schools to examine their own policies and practices with regard to intercollegiate athletics. Many of these recommendations have also been discussed with the NCAA as possible action items.
The faculty governance body of any NCAA Division I school can be a member of COIA (see How to Join COIA). We are an ad hoc group and operate without a staff or budget. Our direction is determined by our member senates, and we warmly welcome any NCAA Division I senate that votes to join the COIA on the basis of a general agreement with the principles laid out in our policy papers and reports.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice Statement
We, the steering committee members of the Coalition on Intercollegiate Athletics, believe diversity, equity, and inclusion improve the learning environment for all student-athletes and enhance excellence. We support all dimensions of diversity including, including age, race, sex, class, national origin, creed, educational background, religion, gender identity, disability, gender expression, income, marital status, parental status, sexual orientation, and lived experiences. We believe that social justice is a right of all people.
Interested in joining us for our COIA National Meeting 2024? Please continue to check our website for more information!
COIA National Meeting 2023 (April 21, 2023)
On April 21st, 2023, COIA hosted the annual meeting. The agenda with session video links included is below.
AGENDA with Embedded Session Recordings
2023 Annual Meeting of the Coalition on Intercollegiate Athletics (COIA)
THE FACULTY ROLE IN COLLEGIATE ATHLETICS
The Bush School, Washington DC. 1620 L St NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20036
Updates on NCAA Transformation: Jennifer Fraser, NCAA Director of Division I; Binh Nguyen, Director of Academic and Membership Affairs.
Play Recording HERE
Employment Status and Other Threats to Amateurism: Are student-athletes employees? Do they still have to go to class? What is the impact of NIL? Tom McMillen from LEAD1, Donna Lopiano from Drake Group, Gabe Feldman from Knight Commission, and Peter Schoenthal from Athliance.
Play recording HERE
Online Gambling: How to Recognize the Dangers. Discussion of how students and faculty may be impacted by on-campus betting and what to do Ronald Rychlak, FAR from the University of Mississippi.
Play recording HERE
Student-Athlete Health and Safety Panel: Discuss how faculty can respond to information received from student-athletes and athletics department personnel (health and academic). What are policies? How does HIPAA impact interactions? What support is available for students? Better understand the processes that go into returning a student-athlete to the classroom. Jeri Zemke and Greg Gardner, Athletic Trainers; Dr. Christina Carter, U of Tulsa, Director of Academic Advising; Dr. Jake Resch, U Virginia TBI Researcher.
Play recording HERE
How to Start a Mental Health Program for Student-Athletes on a Shoe String: Dr. Jonathan Sladky and Kelly Hee, MSW.
Play recording HERE