It’s not a surprise that an internal NCAA report would reveal an ongoing commitment to their particular brand of amateurism in the face of new legislation and other developments. What is maybe surprising (“maybe” because it’s the NCAA, not much they do surprises anymore) is that they’d point the finger at modern media as an ongoing threat to their way of life.

That’s exactly what a few respondents said in a report obtained by the Los Angeles Times. A fascinating glimpse into how school and conference administrators and officials view the NCAA’s path forward, the report was distributed at an NCAA convention in spring 2019.

From Nathan Fenno at the Times, the story paints a picture of an organization that thinks the messaging and messengers are the problem, not the message:

Each attendee received a 44-page report marked “Privileged and Confidential — Not for Distribution” filled with anonymous feedback from top college athletics officials. The document, obtained by The Times through a public records request, provides a rare look into the unfiltered thoughts of 52 university presidents and chancellors, athletic directors, conference commissioners, NCAA staffers and others on key issues facing the organization. “The general public does not view the NCAA in a positive light. There was a huge communication plan to fix this, but then the scandals ruined that,” one person said in response to a question about an opportunity the organization should leverage.

That first respondent directly blamed media members, though they did at least also recognize some of the ways the NCAA needs to evolve: