A conversation with John Currie: Take-Aways and Reflections

Currie was introduced as Wake Forest’s new Athletic Director on March 4, 2019 (Photo: Wake Forest Athletic Communications)

In the ACC, Athletic Director John Currie, who we spoke to as a class on Monday, has been representing the Demon Deacons’ best interest at the table. The entirety of the conversation with Currie was essentially what I expected. Given my roles within the athletic department for a few years now, I know what will be said or left unsaid.

The two biggest things I pulled from the conversation include the discussion of the new redshirt rule and the idea that sports are an enterprise rather than a business.

On August 21st, the NCAA issued a blanket waiver to allow any athlete, whether they played every single game or no games at all, will not be using a year of eligibility. With a new recruiting class set to come in next year and senior athletes potentially staying back, something has to give. This is all fine and dandy for a revenue sport like football or basketball who can spring for extra scholarships, but how does this impact field hockey or cross country? 

It places obvious strain on resources, especially at a small school like Wake, as well as the academic concerns. There has to be some sort of advanced degree program for continuing student-athletes. Currie seemed to have mixed feelings on this given the widespread losses of opportunity due to COVID and potential implications moving forward.

“Whoever was student government president or whoever had the lead in the class play, you know, they don't necessarily get that same benefit,” Currie said. “High school seniors and juniors… [will have] fewer roster spots for them over the next number of years across college athletics, because some students, especially if the economy and the jobs market aren’t good, are going to come back and take that extra year.”

Speaking of scholarships and collegiate sports revenue, the second interesting point I took from Currie’s meeting was his description of the NCAA Model.

“College athletics is an enterprise with some business principles - businesses exist to return profit to shareholders and serve their customers, ” Currie said. “If college athletics was all about the money, Wake Forest would have 12 men’s basketball players, not 16, and we would have 53 football players, not 124.”

As a business major, I very much do see his point. The businesses that I am learning about in finance or accounting have shareholders holding the company accountable that are investing and getting a profit or loss. There are no such shareholders in this same way, aside from the University itself. We know this is true through our earlier discussions on the fact that 12% of Wake’s overall budget comes from athletics. 

I have come to the conclusion that both things can be true. Collegiate athletics can be an enterprise with some business principles while also being a critical part of most universities budgets. This idea and the complex issues surrounding the COVID blanket waiver are just the tip of the iceberg in the NCAA right now. It will be very interesting to see how Currie, Wake Forest and the ACC broadly continue to manage the fluid situation surrounding COVID and collegiate athletics.