The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and one in Canada. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and helps over 500,000 college student athletes who compete annually in college sports. The organization is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana.
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to their student athletes. $1.3 billion in athletic scholarship financial aid is awarded to student athletes annually. For the 2023-24 season, it had 241 member institutions, of which two are in British Columbia, one in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the rest in the continental United States, with over 83,000 student-athletes participating. The NAIA, whose headquarters is in Kansas City, Missouri, sponsors 28 national championships. CBS Sports Network, formerly called CSTV, serves as the national media outlet for the NAIA. In 2014, ESPNU began carrying the NAIA Football National Championship.
Mater Dei High School is a private, Catholic, co-educational secondary school in Santa Ana, California, located in and administered by the Diocese of Orange.
Ogonna Nneka Nnamani is a physician, retired American indoor volleyball player, and former member of the United States National and Olympic teams. She was awarded the Honda-Broderick Cup in 2004 as the nation's top female athlete across all NCAA sports and is regarded as one of the best players in Stanford University's history with a career record of 2,450 kills, for which she entered the Stanford Hall of Fame in 2015.
The Stanford Cardinal are the athletic teams that represent Stanford University. As of the summer of 2023, Stanford's program has won 134 NCAA team championships, the most of any university. Stanford has won at least one NCAA team championship each academic year for 47 consecutive years, starting in 1976–77 and continuing through 2022–23. Stanford athletes have won 544 individual NCAA titles.
The USC Trojans are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. While the men's teams are nicknamed the Trojans, the women's athletic teams are referred to as either the Trojans or Women of Troy. The program participates in the Pac-12 Conference and has won 136 team national championships, 112 of which are National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) national championships. USC's official colors are cardinal and gold. The Trojans have a cross-town rivalry in several sports with UCLA. However, USC's football rivalry with Notre Dame predates the UCLA rivalry by three years. The Notre Dame rivalry stems mainly from the annual football game played between these two universities and is considered the greatest intersectional rivalry in college football. The Trojans also enjoy a rivalry with the Stanford Cardinal. The USC Trojans are considered one of the most successful college athletic programs of all time.
Nancy Skinner is an American politician and a member of the California State Senate. A Democrat, she represents California's 9th State Senatorial district, encompassing parts of the East Bay.
Megan Hodge Easy is an American indoor volleyball player who won a silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics with the US team and played for Pennsylvania State University's volleyball team. Currently, she plays in Brazilian team Itambé-Minas.
Marissa Irvin Gould is an American former tennis player and author. She reached her highest singles ranking on August 12, 2002, when she became No. 51 in the world. Her best performance at a major event was reaching the third round of the French Open, which she achieved three straight years from 2003 to 2005. Irvin competed in 22 Grand Slam tournaments during her five-year career.
Alexandra Rose "Alix" Klineman is an American beach volleyball, 2020 Summer Olympics gold medalist, and former indoor volleyball player.
O'Bannon v. NCAA, 802 F.3d 1049, was an antitrust class action lawsuit filed against the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The lawsuit, which former UCLA basketball player Ed O'Bannon filed on behalf of the NCAA's Division I football and men's basketball players, challenges the organization's use of the images and the likeness of its former student athletes for commercial purposes. The suit argues that upon graduation, a former student athlete should become entitled to financial compensation for NCAA's commercial uses of their image. The NCAA maintains that paying its athletes would be a violation of its concept of amateurism in sports. At stake are "billions of dollars in television revenues and licensing fees."
Sydney Kai Kamlager-Dove is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for California's 37th congressional district since 2023. A Democrat, she previously served in the California State Senate, representing the 30th district. She has also served in the California State Assembly and as a trustee for the Los Angeles Community College District.
The definition of amateurism within the context of collegiate sports has evolved since it was first pronounced by the NCAA upon its inception in 1906. In its early stages, changes in the NCAA's core beliefs in what a student-athlete should be rewarded and allowed to accept financially for their athletic talents had its effects on the definition of amateurism. Over the course of the 20th and early 21st century, regulatory changes, court claims, and the beliefs of NCAA authority about student-athlete compensation further developed what an amateur collegiate athlete is entitled to receive. This evolution is what impacted the evolving logistics of the NCAA Bylaw 12, which explains the current definition of amateurism and what it grants or restricts a collegiate athlete to be able to receive as compensation for their participation. These guidelines have been described to both benefit and unjustifiably limit the student-athlete and the success of institutions’ athletic performance. This debate has been a strong driver in court claims against the NCAA and the mainstream controversy about what student-athletes should have the right to receive financially.
The Fair Pay to Play Act, originally known as California Senate Bill 206, is a California statute that will allow collegiate athletes to acquire endorsements and sponsorships while still maintaining athletic eligibility. The bill would affect college athletes in California's public universities and colleges.
Jenna Gray is an American professional volleyball player who completed her collegiate career at Stanford University. She currently plays for Minas Tenis Clube.
Suzanne Eagye Cox is a retired volleyball player who played collegiately for the Hawaii Rainbow Wahine volleyball team. She played for the team that won the 1987 NCAA Division I women's volleyball tournament.
Kathy Gregory is an American retired volleyball coach. Upon her retirement as the University of California, Santa Barbara's only women's volleyball head coach, after 38 seasons she amassed 882 wins, the fifth most in NCAA Division I history. As a player, Gregory represented the United States at the 1970 World Games and the 1971 Pan American Games and she was also the captain of the professional San Diego Breakers. In 1989, Gregory was inducted into the Volleyball Hall of Fame.
In college athletics in the United States, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has historically resisted efforts to compensate college athletes. However, after years of effort by those in favor of student-athlete compensation, culminating in the Supreme Court's decision in NCAA v. Alston (2021), college athletes may now earn compensation for their name, image, and likeness (NIL).
Morgan Irene Hentz is an American professional volleyball player who plays as a libero for the United States women's national volleyball team and the Atlanta Vibe of the Pro Volleyball Federation.
Kira Carroll "Kiki" Rice is an American college basketball player for the UCLA Bruins of the Pac-12 Conference. She played for Sidwell Friends School at the high school level, where she was one of the top recruits in her class and earned national player of the year honors as a senior.
