How to Evaluate NCAA Success in Attaining its Stated Mission. Implications for Athletes’ Rights and Social Justice

Abstract

Most major organizations have mission statements that define their purpose or reason for existing. A mission statement is meaningful only if it acts as a unifying force for guiding strategic decision making and achieving long term goals. Well defined mission statements also serve as a yardstick for measuring organizational effectiveness in attaining stated goals. With this is mind, the purpose of this paper is to discuss methods that can be used to determine whether the NCAA is achieving its educational goals or merely using its mission statement as support for an “unrelated business.” Differences between Federal Graduation Rates, Graduation Success Rates, and the Academic Progress Rate are examined. Implications of the NCAA’s statement of purpose for social justice and athletes’ rights are also discussed.