2013 NCAA Convention

Wagering and Social Environments Survey Report

This session will examine results of the 2012 National Study on Collegiate Wagering and Social Environments. The panel will explore wagering trends, changes in perspective on wagering, and efforts to educate on issues related to gambling. On the topic of social environments, the session will address student-athletes’ perceived connection to campus and community, potential feelings of entitlement, issues of safety and trust on campus, and the extent to which student-athletes feel educated and empowered to help/intervene in social situations they may face.

Speakers:

Jeffrey L. Derevensky, Professor and Director of Clinical Training in School/Applied Child Psychology and Professor, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University

The co-director of the McGill University Youth Gambling Research and Treatment Clinic and the International Centre for Youth Gambling Problems and High-Risk Behaviors, Jeffrey L. Derevensky, Ph.D., has developed a comprehensive research program investigating many facets of youth gambling and is actively involved in treating youth with severe gambling problems.  Derevensky currently sits on numerous scientific boards, is the author of three books on youth gambling, has published extensively, and has developed a number of award-winning prevention programs.  He has testified before government commissions in the United States, Canada, Europe, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore and South Korea.  Since 2003, Derevensky has worked with the NCAA examining student-athlete gambling behaviors.

Michael Miranda, Associate Director of Research for Academic Policy and Administration, NCAA

Michael Miranda’s primary responsibilities at the NCAA are the development and implementation of large-scale survey research and serving as the administrator for the NCAA Research Review Board, which serves a function similar to a campus institutional review board.

Before joining the NCAA staff in 2009, Miranda had been a librarian at the Plattsburgh State University of New York for 25 years.  For 15 of those years, he served as Plattsburgh State’s faculty athletics representative.  That service led to numerous committee appointments within the NCAA governance structure, including terms on the Research Committee and the Division III Management Council, which he chaired for two years.  He also held various leadership positions in the Faculty Athletics Representatives Association, including Division III vice president and several years as secretary/treasurer.  Miranda served as a research fellow at the NCAA in 2007-08 while on sabbatical from Plattsburgh State.

Miranda holds a master’s degree in library and information science from the University of Rhode Island and a bachelor’s degree in English from North Adams (Mass.) State College (now known as Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts).

Tom Paskus, Principal Research Scientist, NCAA

In his role as NCAA principal research scientist, Tom Paskus directs the NCAA’s national portfolio of studies on the academic trajectories of college student-athletes and oversees the NCAA’s data collections and research initiatives pertaining to the academic, athletic, social and personal well-being of current and former student-athletes.  Paskus has worked extensively on the development of the Division I Academic Progress Rate (APR), the Divisions I and II initial eligibility and progress-toward-degree standards, the GOALS and SCORE studies of the college student-athlete experience and the NCAA sports wagering study.

Before joining the NCAA, Paskus was a faculty member in the Quantitative Research Methods Program in the College of Education at the University of Denver.  Paskus received his Ph.D. and M.A. in quantitative psychology from the University of Virginia, and an A.B. in psychology from Dartmouth College.

Todd Petr, Managing Director of Research, NCAA

Todd A. Petr has been a member of the NCAA research staff since 1987.  He was named director in 1998, and managing director in 2003.  In his current role, Petr oversees the conduct of all research conducted by the organization.  During his tenure with the Association, Petr has participated in research efforts that have fundamentally changed the way the organization has accounted for academic success and regulated academic performance.  Additionally, he has been instrumental in developing comprehensive studies related to student-athlete welfare issues, athletics finances and diversity issues.  Petr received his Master of Business Administration from the University of Kansas, and a B.A. in psychology from Washington University in St. Louis.

Mark Strothkamp, Associate Director of Enforcement, NCAA

Mark A. Strothkamp is currently an associate director of enforcement with the NCAA.  He earned his bachelor’s degree in history at Loyola University Chicago after transferring from the U.S. Naval Academy and his juris doctorate from DePaul University College of Law.  After graduating from law school, Strothkamp worked at a Chicago law firm practicing civil litigation and workers’ compensation and as an assistant state’s attorney in Kane County, Illinois.  Before and throughout law school, he worked at a law firm specializing in asbestos litigation as a legal assistant and law clerk.

Since joining the NCAA in October 2007, Strothkamp has been responsible for the investigation and processing of major infractions cases for all NCAA divisions.  In addition, for the last 16 months, he has been responsible for all of the NCAA sports wagering initiatives for the enforcement department.  Strothkamp currently serves as a liaison to the Division II Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and a member of the enforcement department’s planning team for the “Enforcement Experience.”