UNDER THE RADAR with Host Frank Fear

Just when you think you've seen more than enough money and commercialization in major college football and basketball -- in what was intended to be amateur competition — you see even more money and commercialization enter the system. The line gets crossed again and again. To explore this subject and to address what might be done in response, FutureU is pleased to welcome a panel of knowledgeable a...

I love screening not-so-big colleges that might spring upsets in the opening round of the NCAA men's basketball tournament and then sharing the outcomes of my research. I've been doing it for about five years with fairly good results, and I'm back at it again in 2022. This is the first of two takes. The second take will come at conference tournament time in late February/very early March.

The film invites us to answer an all-important question: How will I respond? The answer is for each of us to do the responsible and constructive thing, each in our own way. It requires us to do both of those things now — before the proverbial comet hits.

Andrew Yang announced recently that he was leaving the Democratic Party . In a crisply written piece entitled “ Breaking Up with the Democratic Party , ” Yang declared, "I believe I can reach people who are outside the system more effectively. Making partisan arguments—particularly expressing what I often see as performative sentiment—is sometimes uncomfortable for me. I often think, 'Okay, what c...

I am pleased to welcome Professor Andrew Zimbalist, Robert A. Woods Professor of Economics at Smith College. Dr. Zimbalist is a national leader in studying and writing about the money side of revenue-generating college sports—an enterprise that has migrated over the years from an amateur to a professionalized status with pro-like commercialization. His book titles include Unpaid Professionals: Com...

Professor Juan Pablo Pardo-Guerra, the University of California, San Diego, discusses his forthcoming book, The Quantified Scholar (Columbia University Press, 2022). The Quantified Scholar provides a compelling account of how scores, metrics, and standardized research evaluations altered the incentives of scientists and administrators by rewarding forms of scholarship closer to established discipl...

While much has been written and discussed regarding the impact of neoliberal philosophies/practices on contemporary higher education, far less available are compelling interpretations of the circumstance linked directly to practical responses. That is where Professor Clyde W. Barrow and his work stand out. Barrow's impressive array of scholarly contributions includes the 2019 book, The Entrepreneu...

Over fifty years ago, a group of coaches and players changed the course of WVU football, migrating the Mountaineers from the Southern Conference to a national-level program that today is in the Top 20 of all-time wins among major college teams. But their story is more than a football story. It’s about a group of men who bonded, achieved, and remain connected to this day. First players. Then brothe...

The juxtaposition of an iconic American love song playing in the background with contestants falling dead, murdered as part of a 'game,' should tell us all we need to know about this nasty brew. But for every person who tells me they have clipped the program from their viewing schedule, another says they'll keep viewing. In Squid Game, the camera is on us.

Politically motivated donors are exerting undue influence on K-12 and higher education. UnKochMyCampus is responding by seeking to protect education from those who seek to privilege private interests over public good. Learn about how and what with Jasmine Banks , Executive Director, and collaborator Professor Sharon J. Kirsch , Arizona State U. and Save our Schools AZ . Professors Nathan Rousseau...

Playing to be 'the best' in college football is a futile game because only a few schools (and, I would argue, only one conference, the Southeastern Conference) are primed to win. The SEC's acquisition of Oklahoma and Texas, and the decision to form a 'football alliance' among the PAC-12, Big Ten, and Atlantic Coast conferences (leaving out the Big 12), illustrate why.    

Listen to co-authors Daniel J. O'Connell and Scott J. Peters discuss their new book , In the Struggle: Scholars and the Fight Against Industrial Agriculture in California . O'Connell and Peters are joined by discussants Raymond A. Jussaume, Jr. and Adalberto Aguirre, Jr. Jim Bingen and Joe Scrimger also offer comments. ( This audio was produced by FutureU and was hosted by Ruben Martinez and Frank...

Chairperson Kim (Sandra Oh) and Professor Dobson (Bill Duplass) are faculty members, first and foremost, even when that choice comes with personal and professional costs. Neoliberalism loses in The Chair. The Collegium triumphs. 

Whenever Bobby Bowden’s name comes up, you often hear a Bobby Bowden story. Here’s mine. (The text version of this recording is available at The Sports Column .)

Recent condemnation of Critical Race Theory, including imposing restrictions about what can be taught in schools about America’s history, represents a major obstacle to truth-telling, an infringement of free speech, and an insult to academic freedom. It is another signal that democracy is in peril. Thankfully, many Americans seek truth and justice, including today's guests. MARK MCCORMICK is Direc...

Michigan St. U. peeps may remember John Magee. John held several positions at the U, including Exec Staff Assistant, College of Arts and Letters, and staff assistant in Ag & Nat Resources. Today, John serves as Assistant VP & Chief International Officer at Madonna University, Lavonia, MI. John and I continue to get together (he introduced me to his brother Jim along the way), and we talk a...

Politically motivated philanthropy can influence who gets hired, who is awarded tenure/promoted, and what is taught/researched. Subject-matter priorities include promoting the primacy of free-market capitalism and safeguarding the ethic of American Exceptionalism. Recent efforts have focused on restricting teaching the legacy of racism in America, including rejecting Critical Race Theory as a legi...

There is a lot of pressure in leadership circles these days to beat the competition and score 'big wins.' Because of that emphasis, we can sometimes set aside the importance of what author David Brooks calls Eulogy Virtues , things like doing the right thing, being courageous in the face of political pressure, and figuring out ways to balance performance and integrity. In this program, James Votru...

Nobody defends America's political divide, and most call it out emphatically. And yet, it not only persists, but it is arguably getting wider, deeper, and hotter. One reason is that millions of Americas make a habit of contributing to the divide. Dysfunctional? ‘Understandable’ is another way of looking at it. Here's why and what we can do to heal America--before it is too late.

What are they thinking? How many times have we heard ourselves or others speak those words? A lot, I'm sure. But what we don't say or hear as much is this: “I’m not sure why they believe and act as they do. I need to understand.” An exploration of the phenomenon 'stupidity' says that would be a good idea.    

The five-decade-long evolution from institution to industry widened and accelerated during the Age of Trump–an era that persists–and the outcome has changed what higher education represents, how it operates, and what it offers. Drawing on their book, Neoliberalism and Academic Repression , co-editors Erik Juergensmeyer and Anthony J. Nocella II discuss the impact and consequences of higher educati...

America's indefensible storyline includes mass killings of African Americans—not by police, but by fellow Americans. One such event--in Tulsa, OK--took place a century ago this week. The story didn't end there; it continues, and very differently from how it started. What happened in Tulsa a century ago was disgraceful. What’s happening today in Tulsa gives hope.

We all devote time and attention to affiliations, and there is great joy and fulfillment to be experienced that way. By the same token, there are times when it is important to step back, raise questions, and take counter-positions to prevailing choices. “It's harder to do than it sounds,” wrote Jennifer Finney Boyton recently. Here's why. 

Agatha Christie observed human nature in its various forms and proclivities. She wrote using an unpretentious platform—the mystery novel--too easily viewed for its entertainment value and too easily sold short as a portrait of human behavior and society. Today, I'll focus on the portrait.

That distorted picture, which mocks the purpose of athletics in higher education, privileges intercollegiate athletics in commercialized and quasi-professionalized forms. It's time to put an upside-down system right-side up.