Shock's Riley On Panel
January 30, 2006 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Detroit Shock News Release
EVENT: The George Washington University hosted the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics' Summit on the Collegiate Athlete Experience. Detroit Shock center Ruth Riley, along with three panels of sports experts, and other former and current athletes, discussed the unique choices and challenges confronting college athletes.
WHEN: Monday, Jan. 30, 2006 WHERE: The George Washington University Marvin Center, Dorothy Betts Marvin Theatre Washington, D.C.
As college sports teams face growing pressure to win games and generate revenue, Americans are deeply concerned about the effects on the athletes involved. According to a recent poll conducted for the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, Americans worry that college sports are becoming too much like professional sports, and that athletes are pressured to forsake academic goals in favor of success on the field.
Detroit Shock center and Notre Dame graduate Ruth Riley, along with other athletes and experts, spoke about these and other concerns, as the commission convened for the first-ever Summit on the Collegiate Athlete Experience at The George Washington University.
The Summit was webcast at
Summit on the Collegiate Athlete Experience
Agenda
Welcome (9 a.m. - 9:05 a.m.)
- President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, The George Washington University
Panel I: Values and Choices: Issues for athletes, including substance abuse, performance-enhancing substances, and violent behavior (9 a.m. -10:50 a.m.)
- Moderated by: Clifton Wharton Jr., vice chairman, Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics; president emeritus, Michigan State University
- Joanne Belknap, professor of sociology and women's studies, University of Colorado - Kareem McKenzie, former football player, Pennsylvania State University and current player for the New York Giants
- Don McPherson, executive director, Sports Leadership Institute, Adelphi University - Frank Uryasz, president, The National Center for Drug Free Sport
Panel II: Recruiting: Ethics and athlete welfare during the recruiting process (11 a.m. - 12:50 p.m.)
- Moderated by: R. Gerald Turner, vice chairman, Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics; president, Southern Methodist University
- George Raveling, Director of Global Basketball Sports Marketing, Nike, Inc. - Scottie Reynolds, prospective basketball athlete, Herndon High School and his parents - Ruth Riley, former women's basketball athlete, Notre Dame University and current player for the WNBA's Detroit Shock
- Myron Rolle, prospective football athlete, graduate of The Hun School, Princeton, NJ - Dan Wetzel, sports journalist, Yahoo.com, and author, Sole Influence: Basketball, Corporate Greed, and the Corruption of America's Youth
- Jay Williams, former NBA player and All-American, Duke University - Joe Wootten, head boys' basketball coach, Bishop O'Connell High School, Arlington, VA
Panel III: Life on and off the Field: A roundtable discussion with athletes on their collegiate experience (2 p.m. - 3:15 p.m.)
- Moderated by: Len Elmore, member, Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, ESPN analyst and senior counsel, LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae, LLP
- Mike Aguirre, former Arizona State football player and former chairman of the NCAA Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee
- Ian Gray, former track and field athlete, University of Nebraska and past chairman, NCAA Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee
- Tye Gunn, former football player, Texas Christian University - Monica Hargrove, former track and field athlete, Georgetown University - Molly McLaughlin, former women's lacrosse student-athlete, Ohio State University - Ruth Riley, former women's basketball athlete, Notre Dame University and current player for the WNBA's Detroit Shock
- Shari Taylor, women's soccer athlete, George Washington University
BACKGROUND:
The Knight Foundation Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics was formed by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation in October 1989 in response to more than a decade of highly visible scandals in college sports. The goal of the Commission was to recommend a reform agenda that emphasized academic values in an arena where commercialization of college sports often overshadowed the underlying goals of higher education.
The Commission, which presented a series of recommendations in its groundbreaking 1991 report, Keeping Faith with the Student-Athlete, and again in 2001 in A Call to Action
For more information, please contact: Stacy Garrett, Widmeyer Communications, (202) 667-0901, Welch Suggs, Knight Commission, (404) 771-7753
• Discuss this story on the Women's National Basketball Association message board...
Women's National Basketball Association Stories from January 30, 2006
- Shock's Riley On Panel - Detroit Shock
- WNBA Celebrates Girls and Women In Sports Day - WNBA
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
