Karen Weaver Discusses the Campus-Wide Impact of NCAA Athletics Reform

In a featured episode of The Key, Inside Higher Ed’s weekly podcast, Karen Weaver offers timely insight into how recent NCAA policy shifts are transforming the role of college athletics across higher education.

Weaver, an adjunct assistant professor in Penn GSE’s Policy, Organizations, Leadership, and Systems Division, explains how developments such as name, image, and likeness (NIL) compensation, the transfer portal, and the imminent $2.8 billion House antitrust settlement case are pushing college sports toward a more professionalized and financially complex model.

“The problem is that the money that has come into so much of college athletics at the highest level is just astronomical,” said Weaver. With multimillion-dollar coaching salaries and major investments in athletic facilities, she notes that the feel and priorities of campus life are changing.

Weaver also highlighted the academic strain placed on student-athletes and their advisors, as a result of increased transfers. “The transfer portal has created an enormous burden on academic counselors and faculty when athletes are supposed to make normal progress toward a degree—all of that is very confusing now.”

As higher education adapts, Weaver encourages campus leaders to consider long-term structural solutions, such as collective bargaining. “It’s messy,” she acknowledged, “but it’s a legitimate outlet to try to address all of these issues.”

Listen to the full episode of The Key here.