[4] He received a PhD in education from the University of California, Berkeley, specializing in the sociology of sport, which he essentially founded as a field of study.

[2] At the invitation of Robert Fuller, the newly inaugurated president of Oberlin College, Scott was appointed as Athletic Director, serving from 1972 to 1974.

[7] He set out to change college athletics radically, both by fostering inclusion and putting less emphasis on simply winning.

Among his new faculty were Paul Hoch, a critic of commercialized football known for his Marxian analysis of sport and author of Rip Off the Big Game (1972);[8] and gymnast Dan Millman.

Smith had caused controversy by raising his fist to show Black pride after winning a gold medal at the 1968 Olympic Games.

"[2] Scott attracted national attention; for instance, noted ABC Sports commentator Howard Cosell broadcast a description of the Oberlin program from the campus.

[13] He gained fame by aiding Patty Hearst in 1974, the heiress wanted by law enforcement authorities after she was indicted for domestic terrorist attacks as a member of the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA).