Legal Issues In Intercollegiate Athletics: An Analysis of Gender Equity,Contract, and Tort Liability Litigation from 199O-1995

摘要

The threat of litigation is a very real and ominous prospect facing collegiateathletic departments in the 199Os. Therefore, it is imperative that collegiate athletic directors employ preventive law practices to minimize their department's legal vulnerability. The purpose of this study was to identify, classify, analyze, evaluate, and synthesize litigation directed exclusively at intercollegiate athletic programs. This study was also designed to provide intercollegiate athletic directors with a comprehensive outline of litigation in the 199Os and recommendations to align their programs in accordance with current court rulings. The primary method used to locate case law for this study was computer-assisted legal research (CALR). CALR provided the specificity and flexibility required to identify the most current litigation involving intercollegiate athletic departments. After identification of all relevant litigation was accomplished, a typology was developed to classify all identified litigation into major areas of law. Seventy-two percent of the cases fell into three major areas of law identified as: (a) gender equity, (b) contract law, and (c) tort liability. These three areas were further divided into sub-areas into which individual cases were classified. All cases classified in the three major areas of law were thoroughly analyzed through the use of a litigation analysis worksheet. Evaluation and synthesis of the cases within each major area was provided with a corresponding discussion of emerging trends and conclusions. As a result of the synthesis, 52 recommendations to make intercollegiate athletic programs less vulnerable to litigation were forwarded.