Arizona Faculty Athletics Representative Ricardo Valerdi and Oregon Faculty Athletics Representative Joshua Gordon join ADU’s Jason Belzer at the 2025 NCAA Convention to offer insight into the academic perspective on the new revenue-sharing, post-House athletics landscape. Valerdi and Gordon discuss the shift in the FAR’s role from representing the faculty to representing and advocating for the student-athletes; the sport-specific impact of conference realignment – specifically cross-country travel and its impact on academic performance; and the role of academics in the development of policies promoting competitive equity.
Gordon and Valerdi also speak to the impact of the transfer portal and NIL in the recruitment and retention process for student-athletes, advocating for the strategic use of online education and a re-imagining of the G.I. Bill that could allow athletes additional opportunities to focus on their sport and return to complete their degree.
Gordon on the decision-making process for potential athletes and their families: “It’s a combination of ‘You’re just a stop in our journey, you’re not the entirety of it’ and there are other factors that are probably more salient to their decision-making, probably NIL or potential rev-share as we move forward.”
The conversation is indexed below for efficient viewing (click the time stamp to jump to a specific question/topic).
