USOPC College Sports Sustainability Think Tank

Overview: The sport structure concept intends to protect the NCAA legacy of broad-based varsity sport sponsorship at the Division I level. Collaborative sport management with National Governing Bodies may help drive a sustainable direction on a sport-by-sport basis. Currently, the collegiate and national Olympic and Paralympic sports management structures are not formally aligned. The USOPC Think Tank believes increased collaboration could result in operational efficiencies, policy alignment and collective promotion of the sport pathway. 

2021 focus: The USOPC Think Tank strongly supports sustaining the sport sponsorship minimum at 16 and piloting sport management partnerships with NGBs before resorting to reductions. The USOPC Think Tank is facilitating surveys across the NGBs to determine management areas of alignment and overlap (rules management, officiating, governance, season structure, etc.). The insights will inform shared sport management programs for select low-sponsored and/or declining Olympic and Paralympic sports. 

Horizon: The USOPC Think Tank is reimagining an NCAA sport sponsorship structure whereby a range of sport categories could exist with varying forms of NGB support. In this reimagined structure, the NCAA may recognize a broad range of sports with flexible sport sponsorship categories (flexible membership requirements, agile season operations and sport-specific rules, etc.). Customization could help declining Olympic and Paralympic sports better manage within their sport ecosystem. A flexible sport structure could be modeled similar to the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program, which could help preserve and grow Olympic and Paralympic sports.