The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA, often pronounced "N-C-Double-A") is a voluntary association of about 1,200 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States and potentially beginning in 2008, Canadian universities. College ( Latin collegium) is a term most often used today to denote an Educational Institution. A university is an institution of Higher education and Research, which grants Academic degrees in a variety of subjects The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page ^[2] Its headquarters are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and it is currently under the leadership of president Myles Brand. The State of Indiana ( was the 19th US state admitted into the union Myles David Brand (born May 17, 1942) is the president of the United States ' National Collegiate Athletic Association The NCAA is the largest collegiate athletic organization in the world, and because of the great popularity of college sports among spectators in the United States, it is far more prominent than most national college sports bodies in other countries.

In August of 1976, the current three-division setup of Division I, Division II, and Division III was adopted by the NCAA membership in a special convention. Division I (or D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association in the United States Division II (or DII) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Division III (or DIII) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association of the United States. Under NCAA rules, Division I and Division II schools can offer scholarships to athletes for playing a sport. A scholarship is an award of access to an institution or a financial aid award for an individual student scholar for the purpose of furthering their Education Division III schools may not offer any athletic scholarships. Generally, larger schools compete in Division I and smaller schools in II and III. Division I football was further divided into I-A and I-AA in 1978. Subsequently the term "Division I-AAA" was added to delineate Division I schools which do not field a football program at all. ^[3] In 2006, Divisions I-A and I-AA were respectively renamed the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).

History

Current NCAA headquarters office in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Its predecessor, the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States (IAAUS), was established on March 31, 1906 to set rules for amateur sports in the United States. Events 307 - After divorcing his wife Minervina, Constantine marries Fausta, the daughter of the retired Roman Emperor Year 1906 ( MCMVI) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Sport is an Activity that is governed by a set of rules or Customs and often engaged in competitively The United States of America —commonly referred to as the When then-president Theodore Roosevelt's own son, Ted, broke his collar bone playing football at Harvard, Roosevelt became aware of the growing number of serious injuries and deaths occurring in collegiate football. Theodore Roosevelt (ˈroʊzəvɛlt October 27 1858 January 6 1919 also known as T Theodore Roosevelt Jr or Theodore Roosevelt II (November 13 1887-July 12 1944 was an American political and business leader a Medal of Honor recipient who He brought the presidents of the three major Ivy League universities, Harvard, Yale and Princeton to several meetings at the White House in October, 1905, to discuss steps to make college athletics safer. The Ivy League is an Athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. ^[4]The IAAUS was created as one of the outcomes of those meetings. The IAAUS became the National Collegiate Athletic Association in 1910.

Until the 1980s, the association did not offer women's athletics. Instead an organization named the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women governed women's collegiate sports in the United States. The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women was founded in 1971 to govern collegiate women's athletics in the United States and to administer national championships By 1982 however, all divisions of the NCAA offered national championship events for women's athletics and most members of the AIAW joined the NCAA.

The NCAA was headquartered in the Kansas City metropolitan area from 1951 until 1999 when it moved from its last Kansas City area location at Overland Park, Kansas to a four-story, 140,000-square-foot (13,000 m²) facility on the west edge of downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. Overland Park is the second most populous city in the US state of Kansas. Adjacent to the headquarters is the 35,000-square-foot (3,300 m²) NCAA Hall of Champions. NCAA Hall of Champions is a Museum, exhibition center and Conference center located adjacent to the NCAA National Office in Indianapolis 's ^[5]

During its days in Kansas City, Municipal Auditorium hosted nine Final Four basketball tournaments -- the most of any venue. Municipal Auditorium is a large multi-purpose facility in Kansas City Missouri with three halls The Arena Music Hall and Little Theatre Champions runners-up and locations All-time team records NCAA Championships Multiple championship coaches Individual single-game

Football television controversy

By the 1980s, televised college football was a significant source of income for the NCAA. Had the television contracts the NCAA had with ABC, CBS, and ESPN remained in effect for the 1984 season, they would have generated US$73. The American Broadcasting Company ( ABC) is an American Television network. CBS Broadcasting Inc ( CBS) is an American radio and Television network. ESPN, originally an acronym for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, is an American Cable television network dedicated to The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been 6 million for the Association and its members. In September 1981, the Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma and the University of Georgia Athletic Association filed suit against the NCAA in district court in Oklahoma. University of Oklahoma, abbreviated OU, is a Coeducational public Research university located in the U The University of Georgia ( UGA) is a public research University located in Athens, Georgia, the oldest and largest of the Oklahoma ( is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. 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. The Sherman Antitrust Act ( Sherman Act, July 2, 1890, ch 647,) was the first United States Federal statute to limit Cartels and The NCAA argued that its pro-competitive and non-commercial justifications for the plan—-protection of live gate, maintenance of competitive balance among NCAA member institutions and creation of a more attractive "product" to compete with other forms of entertainment—-combined to make the plan reasonable. In September 1982, the district court found in favor of the plaintiffs, ruling that the plan violated antitrust laws. It enjoined the Association from enforcing the contract.

Structure

The NCAA's legislative structure is broken down into cabinets and committees, consisting of various representatives of its member schools. These may be broken down further into sub-committees. Legislation is then passed on to the Management Council, which oversees all the cabinets and committees, and also includes representatives from the schools, such as athletic directors and faculty advisors. Management Council legislation goes on to the Board of Directors, which consists of school presidents, for final approval.

The NCAA staff itself provides support, acting as guides, liaison, research and public and media relations. The current NCAA president is Myles Brand, former president of Indiana University. Myles David Brand (born May 17, 1942) is the president of the United States ' National Collegiate Athletic Association Indiana University, founded in 1820, is a nine-campus University system in the state of Indiana.

Sports sanctioned by the NCAA include basketball, baseball (men), softball (women), football (men), cross country, field hockey (women), bowling (women), golf, fencing (coeducational), lacrosse, soccer, gymnastics, rowing (women only), volleyball, ice hockey, water polo, rifle (coeducational), tennis, skiing (coeducational), track & field, swimming & diving, and wrestling (men's). Basketball is a team Sport in which two teams of five active players each try to score points against one another by propelling a ball through a 10 feet (3 m Baseball is a Bat-and-ball Sport played between two teams of nine players each Softball is a team Sport popular especially in the United States. College football is American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, Colleges and military academies Cross Country running is a Sport of running Compete to complete a course over open or rough terrain faster than other teams Field hockey is a Team sport in which players attempt to score goals by hitting the Ball across the pitch with a stick Bowling is a Game / Sport in which players attempt to score points by rolling a Bowling ball along a flat surface either into objects called pins Fencing is the art of armed Combat involving Cutting, Stabbing, or slapping bludgeoning Weapons directly manipulated by hand Lacrosse is a full contact Team sport played using a solid rubber ball and long handled racket called a crosse or Lacrosse stick. Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a Team sport played between two teams of eleven players and is widely considered Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of Gymnastics. Competitive gymnasts perform short routines (ranging from approximately 30 to 90 Seconds on different apparatus GB coxless pair of Toby Garbett & Rick Dunn at Henley Royal Regatta 2004 Volleyball is an Olympic team sport in which two teams of 6 active players (5 normal players and one 'libero' are separated by a net that is usually four feet Ice hockey, often referred to simply as hockey, is a team Sport played on Ice. Water polo is a team water sport A team consists of six field players and one Goalkeeper. The shooting sports include those competitive sports involving tests of proficiency (accuracy and speed using various types of Guns such as Firearms and Airguns Tennis is a sport played between two players ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles) Alpine skiing (or downhill skiing) is a recreational activity and Sport involving sliding down Snow -covered hills with long Skis attached Swimming is the movement by humans or animals through Water, usually without artificial assistance Diving off a deck into the Great South Bay of Long Islandjpg|thumb|A man dives into the Great South Bay of Long Island. Collegiate wrestling is the commonly-used name of the style of Amateur wrestling practiced at the College and University level in the United States

The NCAA is not the only collegiate athletic organization in the United States. The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) is another collegiate athletic organization. The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics ( NAIA) seeks to fully integrate life academics sport and fitness into the higher education environment The Canadian equivalent to NCAA is the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS). Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS is the national Governing body of University sport in Canada, comprised of the majority of degree granting universities

Presidents of NCAA (called executive director until 1998)

• Walter Byers 1951-1988
• Dick Schultz 1988-1993
• Cedric Dempsey 1993-2002
• Myles Brand 2003-

Division History

Championships

The NCAA holds, or has held in the past, championship tournaments in the following sports:

Presently, UCLA, Stanford and Southern California have the most NCAA championships; UCLA holds the most, winning a combined 103 team championships in men's and women's sports. Walter Byers (born March 13, 1922) was the first Executive director of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Dick Schultz (born Sept 5 1929 a native of Kellogg, Iowa, is the former head baseball and basketball coach at the University of Iowa and served as the Cedric Dempsey is a former executive director of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, and the first Commissioner of the new All American Football League that Myles David Brand (born May 17, 1942) is the president of the United States ' National Collegiate Athletic Association The NCAA Division I Baseball Championship Tournament is held each year from May though June and features 64 College baseball teams in the United States The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single elimination Tournament held each spring featuring 65 College basketball teams in the The NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship has been conducted since 1957 The NCAA holds an annual tournament to determine the Division III Men's Basketball Championship. The NCAA Women's Division I Championship is an annual Basketball tournament for women Division II women's Basketball champions for the NCAA See also NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship NCAA NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Champions Past winners of the NCAA Women's Division III Basketball Championship The NCAA Bowling Championship is a sanctioned women's championship in college athletics The following is a list of NCAA Team Champions in Boxing. The National Collegiate Athletic Association discontinued the Boxing championship after 1960; NCAA Men's Cross Country Champions Division I The Division I championship race has been run at different distances National Collegiate Athletic Association team and individual champions for Women's Cross Country. NCAA fencing championship results combined men and women (since 1990 men's (1941-1989 and women's (1982-1989 Twelve women's sports were added to the NCAA championship program for the 1981-82 school year The NCAA Division II National Football Championship began in 1973. The NCAA Division III National Football Championship began in 1973. The NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships, played in late May or early June is the top annual competition in U The NCAA Division II Men's Golf Championships, played in late May is an annual competition in U The NCAA Division III Men's Golf Championships, played in mid-May is an annual competition in U NCAA Champions for Women's Golf Division I Division II-III combined Division II Division III See This is a list of National Collegiate Athletic Association Men's Gymnastics Champions, by division and year The NCAA introduced Women's Gymnastics as a championship sport in 1982. The annual NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship tournament determines the top Ice hockey team in the NCAA Division I, Division II, and Division The annual NCAA Women's Ice Hockey Championship tournament determines the top women's Ice hockey team in the NCAA Division I, and Division III NCAA team champions for Men's Indoor Track and Field Division I 1965 Missouri 1966 Kansas 1967 NCAA team champions for Women's Indoor Track and Field Division I 1983 Nebraska 1984 Nebraska 1985 The annual NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship tournament determines the top Lacrosse team in the NCAA Division I, Division II, and Division The annual NCAA Women's Lacrosse Championship tournament determines the top women's Lacrosse team in the NCAA Division I, Division II, NCAA team championships for Men's Outdoor Track and Field Division I 1921 Illinois NCAA team champions for Women's Outdoor Track and Field Division I By school Division II 1982 Cal Poly The NCAA Rifle Championship is an annual co-educational rifle national collegiate championship sponsored by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA The NCAA Rowing Championship is a rowing championship held by the NCAA for Division I II and III women's heavyweight (or openweight collegiate crews The NCAA Skiing Championships are held annually to crown the National Collegiate Athletic Association men's and women's team Skiing champions The NCAA Division I Softball Championship Tournament is held each year in June and features 64 College softball teams in the United States The NCAA began conducting a men's soccer national championship tournament in 1959 with an eight-team tournament This article lists NCAA Women's Soccer championships. Division I 1982 North Carolina 1-0 Central Florida The NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships are a college championships event in the USA NCAA Team Championships for Women's Swimming and Diving Division I 1982 Florida 1983 Stanford 1984 The NCAA Men's Tennis Championships are held to crown a team individual and doubles champion in American college Tennis. The NCAA Women's Tennis Championship is the National Collegiate Athletic Association 's tennis tournament to determine the Team Championships Singles Championships and Doubles The NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship is the tournament that determines the national championship of American college Volleyball. The NCAA has contested Team Championships in Women 's Volleyball since 1981. The NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship has existed since the 1969 season The NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship has existed since the 2001 season The NCAA Wrestling Team Championship was first officially awarded in 1929 and began to be continuously awarded on an annual basis in 1934 except during World The UCLA Bruins are the sports teams for University of California Los Angeles (UCLA The Stanford Cardinal is the nickname of the athletic teams at Stanford University. The phrase "USC Trojans" also refers to the University of Southern California student body in general ^[7]

The NCAA currently awards 87 national championships yearly; 44 women's, 40 men's, and three coed championships where men and women compete together (Fencing, Rifle, and Skiing). For every NCAA sanctioned sport other than Division I FBS football, the NCAA awards wooden trophies with gold, silver, and bronze plating for the first, second, and third place teams respectively; similar to the Olympics. The Olympic Games is an international Multi-sport event established for both summer and winter games In the case of the NCAA basketball tournaments, both semifinalists who did not make the championship game receive bronze plated trophies for third place (prior to 1982 the teams played a "consolation" game to determine third place). Similar trophies are awarded to both semifinalists in the NCAA football tournaments (which are conducted in Division I FCS and both lower divisions), which have never had a third-place game. Winning teams maintain permanent possession of these trophies unless it is later found that they were won via serious rules violations. Starting with the 2001 season, the trophies were given an extensive facelift. Starting in the 2007 basketball season, teams that make the Final Four in the Division I tournament receive bronze plated "regional championship" trophies upon winning their Regional Championship. The teams that make the National Championship game receive an additional trophy that is gold plated for the winner and silver plated for the runner-up. Starting in the mid-1990s, the National Champions in men's and women's basketball receive a very elaborate trophy sponsored by Siemens with a black marble base and crystal "neck" with a removable crystal basketball following the presentation of the standard NCAA Championship trophy.

Football Bowl Subdivision

The NCAA does not hold a championship tournament for Division I FBS football, which has caused controversy. In the past, the "national championship" went to teams that placed first in any of a number of season-ending media polls, most notable the AP Poll of writers and the Coaches Poll. A mythical national championship (sometimes abbreviated MNC) is a colloquial term used to describe a champion in a sport in which a championship is determined without the use The USA Today Coaches' Poll is the current name for a weekly ranking of the top 25 NCAA Division I-A College football and Division I Currently, the Bowl Championship Series—an association of the conferences who compete in Division I FBS and four bowl games—has arranged to place the top two teams (based on a formula blending human polls, computer rankings, and, in some years, other factors) into a national title game. The Bowl Championship Series ( BCS) is a selection system designed to give the top two teams in the NCAA FBS Bowl Subdivision System an opportunity to compete in a "national In the United States, a bowl game is traditionally a post-season College football game however the term "bowl" has become synonymous with a major American The winner of the BCS title game must be ranked first in the final Coaches' Poll and receives the ADT Trophy; since the NCAA awards no national championship for Division I FBS football, this trophy does not say NCAA as all other college sports national championship trophies do. The AP and other organizations are still free to name as national champions other teams than the one that won the BCS championship.

Conferences

Division I conferences

NCAA 2006 championship banners hang inside the NCAA Hall of Champions in Indianapolis

• America East Conference
• Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC)*
• Atlantic Sun Conference
• Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10)
• Big East Conference*
• Big Sky Conference
• Big South Conference
• Big Ten Conference (Big Ten) *
• Big West Conference
• Big 12 Conference (Big 12) *
• Colonial Athletic Association (CAA)
• Conference USA (C-USA)
• Horizon League
• NCAA Independents
• Ivy League
• Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC)
• Mid-American Conference (MAC)
• Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC)
• Missouri Valley Conference (MVC or The Valley)
• Mountain West Conference (MWC)
• Northeast Conference (NEC)
• Ohio Valley Conference (OVC)
• Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10)*
• Patriot League
• Southeastern Conference (SEC)*
• Southern Conference (SoCon)
• Southland Conference
• Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC)
• Sun Belt Conference (SBC)
• The Summit League (The Summit) (Formerly the Mid-Continent Conference)
• United Basketball Conference (UBC)
• West Coast Conference (WCC)
• Western Athletic Conference (WAC)

Conferences with automatic entry to the Bowl Championship Series are denoted with an asterisk. Member schools There are nine schools with full membership All-Time Conference Membership The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. The Atlantic Sun Conference (A-Sun is a college athletic conference which operates primarily on the east coast of the United States The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10 is a Mid-major college athletic conference which operates mostly on the United States' eastern seaboard The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletics conference consisting of seventeen Universities in the northeastern southeastern and midwestern United The Big Sky Conference (or BSC) is an intercollegiate College athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA ’s Division I, with football The Big South Conference is a College athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA ’s Division I. The Big West Conference ( BWC) is an NCAA -affiliated Division I major college athletic conference that formerly sponsored Division I-A (now known as Division I FBS The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference of twelve schools located mostly in the central United States. The Colonial Athletic Association, also known as the CAA, is a NCAA Division I college athletic conference whose members are located in East Conference USA, officially abbreviated C-USA, is a college athletic conference whose member institutions are located within the Southern United States. Membership Former members History Foundation In May 1978 DePaul University hosted a meeting with Bradley Dayton Detroit NCAA Independents could refer to multiple different groups of NCAA schools which are independent and do not have a conference affiliation At the Division I level The Ivy League is an Athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. Member Institutions The MAAC has ten Member Institutions Associate Member Institutions Men's Lacrosse Mount Saint Mary's The Mid-American Conference ( MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA Division I college athletic conference with a membership The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC is a Collegiate athletic conference of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs in the Southeastern Membership Affiliate members Eastern Illinois University (men's soccer not sponsored by the Ohio Valley Conference) The Mountain West Conference (or MWC) the youngest of the College athletic conferences affiliated with the NCAA ’s Division I FBS (I-A officially The Northeast Conference (NEC is a College athletic conference whose schools are members of the NCAA The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC is a college athletic conference which operates in the midwestern and southeastern United States. The Pacific-10 Conference ( Pac-10) is a college athletic conference which operates in the western United States. The Patriot League is a College athletic conference which operates in the Northeastern United States. The Southeastern Conference (SEC is a College Athletic conference headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, which operates in the southeastern The Southern Conference (or SoCon) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA 's Division I The Southland Conference is a college athletic conference which operates in the south central United States. "Southwestern Conference" redirects here For the former major conference in Texas and Arkansas see Southwest Conference; for the Ohio High School Conference The Sun Belt Conference is a college athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA 's Division I since 1976. Membership Associate members Eastern Illinois University (November 3 2005 - swimming and diving Former members The United Basketball Conference (UBC was a Scheduling alliance of NCAA Division I basketball independents which began play in January 2007 Current members Former members University of the Pacific (1952-1971 San Jose State University (1952-1969 The Western Athletic Conference (commonly referred to as the WAC, pronounced "wack" was formed on July 27 1962 making it the sixth oldest of the 11 College The Bowl Championship Series ( BCS) is a selection system designed to give the top two teams in the NCAA FBS Bowl Subdivision System an opportunity to compete in a "national

Division I FCS football-only conferences

• Great West Football Conference
• Missouri Valley Football Conference
• Pioneer Football League

Division I hockey-only conferences

• Atlantic Hockey
• Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA)
• College Hockey America
• ECAC Hockey
• Hockey East
• Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA)

Foreign intercollegiate/interuniversity equivalents

• International University Sports Federation
• Australian University Sport
• British Universities & Colleges Sport
• Canadian Interuniversity Sport
• National Collegiate Athletic Association (Philippines) (NCAA) and University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) for Philippines (among other leagues)

Awards

The NCAA presents a number of different individual awards,^[8] including:

• NCAA Award of Valor, not given every year, selection is based on heroic action occurring in the academic year. The Missouri Valley Football Conference (formerly the Gateway Football Conference is a college athletic conference which operates in the midwestern United States The Pioneer Football League is a College athletic conference which operates literally from coast to coast in the United States. Atlantic Hockey is a college athletic conference which operates primarily in the northeastern United States. The Central Collegiate Hockey Association is a college athletic conference which operates mostly in Michigan and Ohio, although it also has members in Alaska College Hockey America is a college athletic conference with teams ranging geographically from New York to Alabama and Minnesota. ECAC Hockey is one of the six conferences that compete in NCAA Division I Ice hockey. Hockey East Association is a college athletic conference which operates in New England. The Western Collegiate Hockey Association is a college athletic conference which operates over a wide area of the Midwestern and Western United States. The Fédération Internationale du Sport Universitaire (FISU English International University Sports Federation) based in Brussels, Belgium coordinates Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS is the national Governing body of University sport in Canada, comprised of the majority of degree granting universities The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA is an athletics association of eight Colleges and Universities in the Philippines. The University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP established in 1938 is a sports association of eight universities in the Philippines. The Philippines ( Filipino: Pilipinas, officially known as the Republic of the Philippines (fil ''Republika ng Pilipinas'' RP The NCAA Award of Valor is presented by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA to recognize "courageous action or noteworthy
• NCAA Gerald R. Ford Award, honors an individual who has provided significant leadership as an advocate for intercollegiate athletics. The NCAA Gerald R Ford Award was named in recognition of Gerald Ford, 38th President of the United States.
• NCAA Inspiration Award, not given every year, selection is based on inspirational action.
• NCAA Sportsmanship Award, honoring student-athletes who have demonstrated one or more of the ideals of sportsmanship. A student athlete (sometimes written "student-athlete" is a participant in an organized competitive sport sponsored by the educational institution in which he or she is enrolled
• NCAA Woman of the Year Award, honors a senior student-athletes who has distinguished herself throughout her collegiate careers in academics, athletics, service and leadership. The NCAA Woman of the Year Award was created to honor a senior female student-athlete who has distinguished herself throughout her collegiate careers in the areas of academic achievement
• The Flying Wedge Award, one of the NCAA’s highest honors exemplifying outstanding leadership and service to the NCAA. The Flying Wedge Award is one of the NCAA’s highest honors It is awarded to an individual who exemplifies outstanding leadership and service to the NCAA
• Theodore Roosevelt Award (NCAA), the highest honor that the NCAA confers on an individual. The Theodore Roosevelt Award is the highest honor the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA may confer on an individual
• Today's Top VIII Award, honoring eight outstanding senior student-athletes. The Today's Top VIII Award is given each year by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA to honor eight outstanding senior student-athletes
• Silver Anniversary Awards, honoring six distinguished former student-athletes. The Silver Anniversary Awards are given each year by the American National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA to recognize six distinguished
• Walter Byers Scholarship, honoring the top male and female scholar-athletes. The Walter Byers Scholar (also known as Walter Byers Scholarship, and Walter Byers Postgraduate Scholarship) program is a scholarship program that recognizes the top

Media

The NCAA has current media rights contracts with CBS Sports, CBS College Sports Network, ESPN, and ESPN Plus for coverage of its 88 championships. CBS Sports is a division of CBS which airs many of the sports telecasts in the United States. CBS College Sports Network (usually promoted with the "Network" portion excised from the branding is a multimedia network and the first dedicated exclusively to ESPN, originally an acronym for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, is an American Cable television network dedicated to ESPN Plus is the popular name of ESPN Regional Television, which is an American television program syndicator. According to the official NCAA website^[9], ESPN and its associated networks have rights to 21 championships and CBS to 67. The following are the most prominent championships and rightsholders:

• CBS: Men's basketball (NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament and NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Tournament), track and field, ice hockey (women's division I)
• ESPN: Women's basketball (all divisions), baseball, softball, ice hockey (men's division I), football (all divisions including Div. The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single elimination Tournament held each spring featuring 65 College basketball teams in the I FCS), soccer (division I for both sexes)

Westwood One has exclusive radio rights to the men's and women's basketball Final Fours to the men's College World Series (baseball). Westwood One ( is an American Radio network. It is based in New York City, and it was previously managed by CBS Radio, the Radio The College World Series or CWS is a Baseball Tournament held in Omaha Nebraska that is the culmination of the NCAA Division I Baseball DirecTV has an exclusive package expanding CBS' coverage of the men's basketball tournament. DirecTV (trademarked as "DIREC' TV' " is a Direct broadcast satellite (DBS service based in El Segundo California, USA, that was founded

Video games based on popular NCAA sports such as football and basketball are licensed by Electronic Arts.

Most NCAA events are also available online either through its own site (as in March Madness on Demand) or from ESPN360. com.

On or about March 1, 2008, the NCAA launched its revamped website with the address NCAA.com, changed from NCAASports. Events 86 BC - Lucius Cornelius Sulla, at the head of a Roman Republic army enters in Athens, removing the Tyrant com. The site offers streamlined navigation and a quick reference to many popular links at the bottom of each page.

Rules violations

Member schools pledge to follow the rules promulgated by the NCAA. Creation of a mechanism to enforce the NCAA's legislation occurred in 1952 after careful consideration by the membership.

Allegations of rules violations are referred to the NCAA's investigative staff. A preliminary investigation is initiated to determine if an official inquiry is warranted and to categorize any resultant violations as secondary or major. If several violations are found, the NCAA may determine that the school as a whole has exhibited a "lack of institutional control. " The institution involved is notified promptly and may appear in its own behalf before the NCAA Committee on Infractions.

Findings of the Committee on Infractions and the resultant sanctions in major cases are reported to the institution. Sanctions will generally include having the institution placed on "probation" for a period of time, in addition to other penalties. The institution may appeal the findings or sanctions to an appeals committee. After considering written reports and oral presentations by representatives of the Committee on Infractions and the institution, the committee acts on the appeal. Action may include accepting the infractions committee's findings and penalty, altering either, or making its own findings and imposing an appropriate penalty.

Institutions violating the probationary period may be subject to being banned from participating in the sport in question for up to two years, a penalty known as the "Death Penalty". The death penalty refers to the National Collegiate Athletic Association 's (NCAA power to force United States academic institutions not to compete in certain sports

Division I-A institutions on probation

The following institutions are currently on probation by the NCAA in one or more sports:^[10]

• Ball State University (through 2009)
• Baylor University (through 2010)
• Brigham Young University (through 2011)
• California State University, Fresno (through 2010)
• Florida International University (through 2008)
• Middle Tennessee State University (through 2010)
• Mississippi State University (through 2008)
• Ohio State University (through 2009)
• Purdue University (through 2009)
• Temple University (through 2009)
• University of Arkansas (through 2010)
• University of Colorado (through 2009)
• University of Georgia (through 2008)
• University of Iowa (through 2008)
• University of Kansas (through 2009)
• University of Louisiana at Lafayette (through 2009)
• University of Oklahoma (through 2010)

Criticisms

Numerous criticisms have been lodged against the NCAA. These include:

• Several people, notably including Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Reilly, have criticized the NCAA for its inflexibility^[11]
• Student-athletes at universities with major athletic programs often have low graduation rates. Sports Illustrated is an American Sports Magazine owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Richard "Rick" Paul Reilly (born February 3, 1958 in Boulder Colorado) is an American Sportswriter. ^[12]

See also

• NCAA Hall of Champions
• List of NCAA Division I Institutions
• List of Division I Athletic Directors
• List of NCAA Division II Institutions
• List of NCAA Division III Institutions
• NAIA
• List of NAIA Institutions
• List of college athletic programs by U.S. State
• AIAW Championships
• College football
• College basketball
• NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
• List of college athletic conferences
• Academic Progress Rate
• NACDA Director's Cup
• NJCAA

References

External links

• NCAA administrative website
• NCAA student information website
• NCAA sports
• Current lawsuit against NCAA
• NCAA Classification