Meet the FARs: An Examination of the Background, Roles, and Appointment of Faculty Athletic Representatives at National Collegiate Athletic Association Member Institutions

As many National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) member institutions continue to engage in athletic centric decision-making processes, academic integrity and the campus experience for college athletes is often marginalized. Mandated by the NCAA to represent athletes’ academic interests, the faculty athletics representative (FAR) position is designed to occupy a central role in maintaining the primacy of academia among college athletes. FARs, however, exist within an institutional setting muddled by competing and contradictory logics. Accordingly, given the inherent juxtaposition between the operation of collegiate athletics and the stated role of FARs, the present study sought to examine the characteristics and positional responsibilities of faculty currently serving as FARs at NCAA member institutions. A sample of 308 FAR respondents from the 2022-2023 academic year illustrate that despite the differing formation and logics present across NCAA Divisions, the characteristics and job functions of FARs are strikingly similar regardless of member institution divisional classification.