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Notes on show: Original Airdate 02/08/2005 		 
Topic: Ethics in Sport
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Guest: myles brand
Myles Brand, National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) President
What is it? Once upon a time, student athletes were students first, athletes second; the Olympics was about amateurism and the pursuit of excellence, not the pursuit of endorsements; and professional athletes enhanced the physics through rigorous work-outs, not through performance enhancing substances.  No doubt athletic excellence is at an all time high, but are ethics in athletics at an all time low?

About the Guest

Myles Brand assumed his duties as president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association January 1, 2003. He is the fourth chief executive officer of the Association.

During his first year-and-a-half, Brand has presided over passage of the most comprehensive academic reform package for intercollegiate athletics in recent history – a package that refocuses the attention of student-athletes, coaches and administrators on the education of student-athletes. Brand has also changed the national dialog on college sports to emphasize the educational value of athletics participation and the integration of intercollegiate athletics with the academic mission of higher education. His tenure has helped reestablished the indispensable role of university presidents in the governance of college sports.

Brand was himself president of two major universities. From 1994 through 2002, he was president of Indiana University, an eight-campus institution of higher education with nearly 100,000 students, 17,000 employees and a budget of $3.4 billion. Brand also served as president at the University of Oregon from 1989 to 1994.

Born May 17, 1942, Brand earned his bachelor's degree in philosophy from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1964, and his Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Rochester in 1967. Brand's other administrative posts include provost and vice-president for academic affairs, Ohio State University, 1986-89; coordinating dean, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Arizona, 1985-86; dean, faculty of social and behavioral sciences, Arizona, 1983-86; director, Cognitive Science Program, Arizona, 1982-85; head, department of philosophy, Arizona, 1981-83; chairman, department of philosophy, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1972-80. He began his career in the department of philosophy, University of Pittsburgh, 1967-72.

Brand has also served on the Executive Committee of the Board of directors, Association of American Universities (AAU), and as board chair, 1999-2000; a member of the board of directors, 1992-97, and executive committee, 1994-97, of the American Council on Education (ACE); and a member of the board of directors of the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges (NASULGC), 1995-98. He served too as a board member of the American Philosophical Association and of the University Corporation for Advanced Internet Development, the umbrella organization of Internet2.

His academic research investigates the nature of human action. His work focuses on intention, desire, belief and other cognitive states, as well as deliberation and practical reasoning, planning and general goal-directed activity. He has also written extensively on various topics in higher education, such as tenure and undergraduate education.

 

Listening Notes

 

Why should ethics be important to sports? There are two dimensions to ethics in sports: the ideal and the effect on society. Ken introduces the guest, Myles Brand, president of the NCAA. Hegel thought war promoted certain virtues and William James thought sports promoted those same virtues in a more moral way. Brand thinks that that misses the benefits of sports. What is it about sports that draws us in so much?

 

The British had a notion of amateurs in sports that played an important role in society. Brand says that notion has an important link to the NCAA. Amateur athletes are supposed to have some other occupation as a their main goal besides sports. Do student athletes sacrifice their studies to become top athletes? Brand says there are limits on the amount of weekly practice time and that many athletes are also top students. Brand thinks that the tendency for student athletes to view their sports as the center of their college days is a large problem. Some sports have a higher than average graduation rate, but some sports, such as basketball, have significantly lower than average graduation rates.

 

John asks Brand how he would integrate sports if he were to design society from the ground up. Brand points out that Plato's philosopher kings were supposed to actively engage in sports. Brand thinks the inclusion of sports in American collegiate life is both unique and beneficial to students. Brand emphasizes the importance of distinguishing the sport from the players and the level of the sport, e.g. college, pro, etc. Women's involvement in sports has increased dramatically recently. What effect has this had on college sports? What reforms should be enacted on sports in college? Brand thinks that the diversity in sports institutions contributes to helping athletes find their places.

 

  • Amy Standen the Roving Philosophical Reporter (Seek to 04:30): Amy Standen interviews the Frank Deford, NPR commentator, about what we get out of watching sports.

 

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