It’s a little hard to find underneath the bright banners advertising football conference schedules, field hockey scores, and special video clips from recent games in a half-dozen different sports, but at the bottom of NCAA.com is a small menu entitled “About the NCAA,” which takes you to NCAA.org and answers “Who We Are” with a list of core values.
There, you will learn that college sports are “an avocation,” and a “respectful culture” and the NCAA itself believes in and is committed to the “supporting role that intercollegiate athletics plays in the higher education mission.” Considering how much easier it is on the site to find a favorite team’s licensed memorabilia or the appropriate cable package for your chosen conference than any mention of academics, the lead and supporting roles in this educational mission seem to have been switched.
