The "Sanity Code" – adopted to establish guidelines for recruiting and financial aid – failed to curb abuses, and the Association needed to find more effective ways to curtail its membership.

"[27] Beginning around 1980, a group of college presidents thought there was a crisis of integrity in collegiate sports and discussed ways to transform athletics to match the academic model.

[27] University of Florida President Marshall Criser stated that "the ultimate responsibility must be assumed by the CEOs because we don't have enough NCAA cops to solve all of the problems.

Proposals were developed to shorten spring football and the basketball season; grant financial aid based on need to academically deficient athletes; and reporting of graduation rates.

Commissioner of the Big Ten Conference Jim Delany responded, "They tend to want quick answers and you don't solve the complexities of intercollegiate athletics.

"[27] In 1990, the University of Michigan head football coach and athletic director resigned his college job to become president of the Major League Baseball Detroit Tigers.

PC Chairman Massengale left the meeting for other business, but during lunch, council members began lobbying and twisting arms to change votes.

West Point Lieutenant General Dave Richard Palmer urged the vote, stating the NCAA needed "to make a mark on the wall...delay is the deadliest form of denial."

[33] The President's Commission lasted for 13 years and pushed through initiatives such as restricting the size of coaching staffs; limiting how much time student-athletes can spend on their sports; and setting more demanding academic standards for Divisions I and II.

The plaintiffs stated that the NCAA's football television plan constituted price fixing, output restraints, boycott, and monopolizing, all of which were illegal under the Sherman Act.

In 1999, the NCAA was sued for discriminating against female athletes under Title IX for systematically giving men in graduate school more waivers than a woman to participate in college sports.

In National Collegiate Athletic Association v. Smith, 525 U.S. 459 (1999) the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the NCAA was not subject to that law, without reviewing the merits of the discrimination claim.

[81] In August 2011, the NCAA announced plans to raise academic requirements for postseason competition, including its two most prominent competitions, football's now-defunct Bowl Championship Series (replaced in 2014 by the College Football Playoff) and the Division I men's basketball tournament; the new requirement, which are based on an "Academic Progress Rate" (APR) that measures retention and graduation rates, and is calculated on a four-year, rolling basis.

[89] The following tables show the changes over time in the number of NCAA schools across all three divisions combined sponsoring each of the men's and women's team sports.

From 2014 through 2023, the College Football Playoff – a consortium of the conferences and independent schools that compete in Division I FBS and six bowl games – has arranged to place the top four teams (based on a thirteen-member committee that selects and seeds the teams) into two semifinal games, with the winners advancing to compete in the College Football Playoff National Championship, which is not officially sanctioned or recognized by the NCAA.

According to the official NCAA website, ESPN and its associated networks have rights to 40 championships, CBS to 65, TNT Sports to one and NBC's Golf Channel to two.

[53] The Office of Inclusion will provide or enable programming and education, which sustains foundations of a diverse and inclusive culture across dimensions of diversity including but not limited to age, race, sex, class, national origin, creed, educational background, religion, gender identity, disability, gender expression, geographical location, income, marital status, parental status, sexual orientation and work experiences.

In April 2016, the Board of Governors announced new requirements for host cities that include protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity for all people involved in the event.

Under pressure from across the nation and fearing the economic loss of being banned from hosting NCAA events, the governor of Indiana, Mike Pence, revised the bill so that businesses could not discriminate based on sexual orientation, race, religion, or disability.

[citation needed] The NCAA Board of Governors determined that this law would make ensuring an inclusive atmosphere in the host communities challenging, and relocating these championship events best reflects the association's commitment to maintaining an environment that is consistent with its core values.

[126][127] Racial/Ethnic minority groups in the NCAA are protected by inclusion and diversity policies put in place to increase sensitivity and awareness to the issues and challenges faced across intercollegiate athletics.

The Association also prohibits championship events in states that display the Confederate flag, and at member schools that have abusive or offensive nicknames or mascots based on Native American imagery.

UNC Pembroke (Braves), an institution originally created to educate Native Americans and enjoying close ties to the local Lumbee tribe, was approved to continue the use of native-derived imagery without needing an appeal.

This penalty has only been imposed three times in its modern form, most notably when Southern Methodist University's (SMU) football team had its 1987 season canceled due to massive rules violations dating back more than a decade.

[137] According to the NCAA, it receives most of its annual revenue from two sources: Division I Men's Basketball television and marketing rights, and championships ticket sales.

This rule has generated controversy, in light of the large amounts of revenues that schools earn from sports from TV contracts, ticket sales, and licensing and merchandise.

[145] On June 21, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court held unanimously in National Collegiate Athletic Association v. Alston that the NCAA's restrictions on education-related payments were unlawfully in violation of Sherman Act's antitrust and trade regulations.

[146][147] Though this holding did not address restrictions on direct compensation payment to athletes, it also opened the door for the possibility of future court cases concerning this matter.

Russell Steinberg in 2021 says, "In addition to his prowess on the football field, where he has a shot at tying the school record for most starts, Marshall's Will Ulmer is a talented musician who wasn't able to earn money using his own name — until now.

The first group of athletes that Degree has selected represent a diverse range of backgrounds regarding race, gender, and sport, and their stories will be unveiled on Instagram.