NCAA wields too much muscle

Jack, good peice. Also why does it take the NCAA so long to rule on other eligibility. How was Dez Bryants suspension concluded and upheld in the appeal process before the like of Wall at Kentucky, Livingston at Cincinnati. Why do they wait til the begining of the season (basketball in this case) to determine the eligibility? They have known forever that these guys had possible violations. They take away from the student athletes college experience.

Also I was a scholarship player myself. We received money quarterly from the University for room and board once we moved off campus. There was quite a bit left over for other means too. You dont have to have a 3 bedroom condo brand new with all the new stuff. Jack, my teamates used the overage money to buy big TVs, jordan shoes, jewlery. There is excess money given by the university, is it enough, NO (when bowl sponsors make as much as they do). But some are irresponsible with it to begin with.

Jack, how many of Deion's "Prime U" players does/did Eugene Parker represent? And Deion may not own a piece of Parker's agency, but does Parker own a piece of Deion's Prime U biz, or are they business partners in any other venture?

Those are questions I'd like to see answered. We all know the NCAA makes no sense whatsoever (all those ticky-tack restrictions you mentioned yet they allow someone to be a professional baseball player and still play college football) but this Bryant move smells to high-heaven. Deion cost him playing time in college just like Deion is going to cost the Jets a draft pick or two for tampering.

Jack, I couldn't agree more. I have to tell you, I've lost almost all my interest in college football and basketball over the way these guys are exploited by coaches making multimillion dollars a year and schools raking it in. The pompous arrogance of the NCAA and the university officials is nauseating. You are right. There should be an independent body that protects the interests of the players. As it is, they are treated like slaves on a plantation.

The NCAA is nothing more than a collusion on behalf of the universities to exploit athletes. The NE Patriots coach makes something like 6 million a year. The Patriots QB makes over 10 million (as near as I can tell). The Florida Gators coach makes about 4 million a year and his QB gets... a scholarship worth about $25,000.

People tolerate this because (1) most people hate having elite athletes compensated at elite levels and (2) because people are stupid enough to believe in amateurism (a holdover from class snobbery where the rich could look down on those poor enough to need to make money).

Lots of people make money from major college athletes. The universities are clever enough to make sure that the athletes get as little of that money as possible. Most people are stupid and immoral enough to cheer them on.

"The Florida Gators coach makes about 4 million a year and his QB gets... a scholarship worth about $25,000. "

But there are 120 schools in FBS and how many more in FCS DIV 2 div 3 NAIA, that all send players on the the pro's, Those school in most cases have 100 players per team .So let's say 30,000 kids getting free or supplemented educations. Many of which are not Tim Tebow or even see the field.. There are only 1952 spots in the NFL, and careers are not limited to 3-5 years. Also the time is limited (except at Michigan :)) and the season is shorter. I Agree there should be some help for getting family's to see the kids play, and also to get kids home to see their families, but paying them big salaries is ridicules. Who gets how much? The kids that are stars will get rewarded when they play on Sundays. Or they will take their free education and make on average 1 million dollars more in their lifetime than their friend who didn't go to college.

It's just such a slippery slope to start going down when you suggest that players are paid in college sports. There's no way a university could justify only paying athletes of certain sports like football and basketball. If you paid your star QB a stipend of, say, $7,500/year, you would have to pay every single player on not only the football team the same amount, but also every player on the water polo, lacrosse, wrestling teams, etc. the same amount in the name of fairness. I mean, they're all putting in the same amount of hours.

Also, this would have to extend to every school in the country, and most schools simply cannot afford to do such a thing. Besides for a few of the big-name schools, athletic programs typically lose money. And if one big-name school started handing out stipends to its student-athletes, the increasing parity that we're seeing in college athletics would disappear incredibly quickly.

Though I do see a completely valid argument in saying that student-athletes are exploited and they should have enough money in their pockets to take their girlfriend/boyfriend out to dinner, there really is no plausible way to fairly pay them, or a conclusion to this ongoing argument would have been achieved by now.

I'm not impressed by all the handwringing about how difficult it would be to pay college jocks or the potential unfairness or how ruinous the costs would be. Here's a novel suggestion: let the markjet decide. After all, universities can somehow pony up the money to pay multimillion dollar salaries to coaches. In fact, the only univesity employees who are not paid a competitive wage are athletes. As noted by another poster, the NCAA is an efficient device for collusion to keep this valuable source of slave labor.

A side benefit is it would make recruiting more honest. If Florida or ND wanted to pay a star QB a big salary, so be it. I think paying them would even competition. As it is now, a Florida can sign not only the best QB, but the best at every position. If they had to pay them, they would be forced to make tough decisions about allocating resources. Would the richer, bigger schools have an advantage? Of course, but certainly no bigger than they have now.

No system will be perfect, but it's hard to think of anything worse than we have now.

DWat:

"There's no way a university could justify only paying athletes of certain sports like football and basketball. If you paid your star QB a stipend of, say, $7,500/year, you would have to pay every single player on not only the football team the same amount, but also every player on the water polo, lacrosse, wrestling teams, etc. the same amount in the name of fairness. I mean, they're all putting in the same amount of hours."

hmmm... the universities have no trouble paying the football coach more than they pay the track coach, so why would it be so difficult to pay the football players more then the track athletes? Not every coach on the football team gets paid the same amount, so why would it be such a challenge to pay the players different amounts. Your argument evaporates under the slightest hint of scrutiny.

"Also, this would have to extend to every school in the country, and most schools simply cannot afford to do such a thing"

It would not have to extend to every school in the country. The schools that are unwilling or unable to spend the money would not do so. You certainly see that in coaching, where some schools have very expensive coaches and some do it on the cheap.

"Besides for a few of the big-name schools, athletic programs typically lose money"

Programs are obviously willing to spend the money they spend. They just spend it on coaches and facilities because they can't spend it on athletes. It is not certain that allowing major college athletes to be compensated would significantly increase total spending instead of simply re-allocate current spending.

"And if one big-name school started handing out stipends to its student-athletes, the increasing parity that we're seeing in college athletics would disappear incredibly quickly. "

There are benefits to the current (exploitative) system. If I were to steal your wallet, SOMEONE would benefit. It's nice to know that you are a beneficiary of the exploitation of 20 year olds. It is a little disconcerting that you're OK with it.

"there really is no plausible way to fairly pay them, or a conclusion to this ongoing argument would have been achieved by now."

and the Jews must have done something wrong or the Nazis wouldn't have killed them... the universities exploit the athletes because (1) it is useful to them and (2) they can get away with it. That's really all it is.

Very good article.
Thanks