Biography

Karen Weaver, Ed.D., is a nationally recognized authority on the intersection of college athletics, higher education leadership, and public policy. With a career spanning over four decades as a Division I and III coach, athletics administrator, and scholar, Dr. Weaver has built bridges between scholarship, media, and practice, making complex transitions in college sports understandable to boards, presidents, and the public.

At Penn GSE, Dr. Weaver serves as Adjunct Assistant Professor and Academic Director of the Collegiate Athletics for Senior Campus Leaders certificate program. With deep insight into the impact of the House v. NCAA settlement and its implications for higher education and college athletics, Weaver offers actionable frameworks for institutions seeking to adapt to new legal and financial realities. Her work is distinguished by a focus on helping institutions move beyond reactive policy into anticipatory leadership, guiding university leaders through the complexity and aligning athletic programs with institutional mission and values.

Dr. Weaver's research and teaching center on the evolving governance, finance, and media landscapes of college athletics, with particular attention to the challenges facing mid-major and FBS Division I institutions. Her scholarship has illuminated issues ranging from public finance and facility debt to student fees and conference realignment. She is the author of the forthcoming book for university leaders on navigating this new world of higher education and college athletics from Johns Hopkins University Press. Her insights regularly appear in national media outlets such as Forbes, NBC News, Inside Higher Education and The Chronicle of Higher Education.

As host of Trustees and Presidents: A Podcast for University Leaders on College Athletics, Dr. Weaver has created the premier platform for university leadership to navigate the rapidly changing world of intercollegiate athletics. Through in-depth conversations with key leaders, stakeholders, and experts impacting the business of college sports, she addresses critical issues from Division I to Divisions II and III. Recent episodes have tackled complex topics including NIL agreements and revenue-sharing models, labor relations and potential private equity involvement in college athletics, and the legal landscape surrounding athletic department operations. Her podcast serves as an essential resource for university presidents, trustees, and senior administrators seeking balanced information and practical solutions to implement on their campuses.

Dr. Weaver’s personal athletic accomplishments further underscore her profound engagement with sports. As a college athlete, she earned the distinction of All-American and was among the pioneering cohort of women to secure an athletics scholarship under Title IX. She was also part of the U.S. National Training Squad in Field Hockey during the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games. Her coaching portfolio within USA Field Hockey includes stints at U.S. Olympic Training Center camps and U.S. Olympic Development camps.

Dr. Weaver’s awards include:

  • National Field Hockey Coaches Association Honorary Member (2025)
  • Lock Haven University: Field Hockey Alumni Award (2016)
  • Penn State Abington: Chancellor’s Award of Merit (2012)
  • University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education: Young Alumni Award (2011)
  • USA Field Hockey International Coach Selection (1985–1995)
  • President, College Field Hockey Coaches Association (1987-1991)
  • NCAA Postseason Appearances (1983–1986, 1994)
  • Salisbury University: Faculty of the Year (1987)
  • USA Today Coach of the Year (1986)
  • Salisbury University: NCAA Division III National Champions, Field Hockey (1986)

Research Interests and Current Projects

Dr. Weaver writes and teaches about how senior leaders in higher education can understand the role that college athletics will play as it evolves into a very different governance and financial model. Her new book, College Presidents and College Athletics: Money, Power, Politics, will be published by Johns Hopkins University Press in early 2025.

In 2020, Dr. Weaver served as the external research team leader for the Knight Research Project for NCAA Governance Reform Recommendations. Dr. Weaver’s team collected and prepared research for a report to the full Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics panel for consideration of proposed new NCAA governance models. The team consisted of faculty from Duke University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Arizona State University. The resulting capstone report was titled “Transforming the NCAA D-I Model: Recommendations for Change.” She had previously worked with the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics Media Revenue Research (2014).

Since 2020, she has written over 130 articles for Forbes on the intersection of higher education and college athletics. Many have received editorial distinction on Forbes SportsMoney pages.

Dr. Weaver also hosts the podcast Trustees and Presidents: Managing Intercollegiate Athletics. Her guests have included trustees; presidents; state policy experts; media, technology, and education writers and scholars; attorneys; and legal scholars, all focused on the current state of affairs in college athletics. She uses the podcast as part of her graduate course curriculum.

The second edition of her textbook, Sport Finance: Where the Money Comes from and Where the Money Goes, will be published by Kendall Hunt Publishers in 2025.

Publications

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