OT: Still more NCAA hypocrisy.

[Geno-ista]

Texas is one of many southern states that cling to honoring the Confederacy. They have Confederate Heroes Day on January 19 but some communities observe the more traditional Confederate Memorial Day on April 26.

Many southern states commemorate the birthday of Robert E. Lee in January or Jefferson Davis on June 3. They may still honor the confederacy. But there is a real deep and automatic reverence for anyone in the military, that I don't notice up here the way I do when I am down south or in the mid west. In Nashville, sections at big concerts give standing ovations to service people going up and down the aisles. Ivy League schools and universities in the Pacific Northwest banning ROTC on campus. I would like to think that I r right- but I don't see it or feel it like I do when I'm out of New England.

Nobody up here in the north has any reason to honor the Confederate States of America or its leaders. Our patriotic observances are more sharply focused and every bit as heartfelt as what those folks down south do.

 

[Kibitzer]

Much of the discussion here has focused on those wonderful $100,000 athletic scholarships. I can't and won't argue with those who extol the virtues of a college education and the financial awards that almost always accrue to those who earn a degree.

Almost, but not always.

A young person with an extrordinary talent has the option of developing it through further education or not. A male in high school who is a blue chip talent at football or basketball must attend college (the minor leagues). He has no choice.

Chances are that he will be derided for leaving college early (after one year for basketball, three for football) and it is questionable if he benefited at all either from what occurred in the classroom or on the campus. That's the "conventional wisdom."

Now, just for a moment, try to consider how Johnny Manziel or RGIII or others like them could possibly pursue their athletic dreams (and quest for riches) unless they first did penance in college.

Too me it is just more of the sham that big-time college football and (men's) basketball has become.

 

[UcMiami]

Kib - I like your post, but I also think you ignore a whole bunch of professional athletes in both of those sports that did NOT take the scholastic aspect of their scholarship lightly, and while they may have left early, still completed their degree. And many have used that education for pretty good things post career or even during.
A scholarship is only a sham if the student treats it as such and the school allows or encourages them to do so. The problem that all of us have is that too many students and schools do. And while the students are young and susceptible, the same cannot be said for the school administrations.
And I would add - NBA and NFL as leagues and their owners and players/union are raking in the money - they have had a few half hearted attempts to develop minor leagues, but ... if they or we really cared making a true minor league system for those sports would be a great place to start to solve the NCAA 'issue'. I included the players and union because if the ones that succeed through this system thought it was a problem they should be doing something about it - they have the financial resources now. (I am always pleasantly surprised when one of these modern multi-millionaires is involved financially in backing their alma maters - say what you will about JoePa, but that was one area where his heart was in the right place.)
JRRRJ - for the same reason that developing world class brains or artists, etc. is something we strive for. Now is it essential that that work occur in a college environment - no. Other countries have sports institutions from the Russian/Chinese model of testing everyone at a very early age and churning them like a factory to something a little less scientific as the Aussies and a number of European countries are doing with WCBB national teams. We do some of it in the states for some sports, but most of the access to that kind of training is based on money, not necessarily skill. There is also something to be said for the grass roots natural selection that exists in the US, and worldwide for things like soccer and cricket.
And where the colleges fit into the equation is the 'money' - they have the facilities and employees and access to scientific research (Gatorade, anyone) to help develop kids. In the process, a number of them have also sold their souls, but the problem starts with them and not the 'NCAA'.
On the NCAA structure - interesting to see the original 'charter', but aren't all the rules and regulations subject to the approval of a majority of the college presidents at each division level - and wasn't the BCS sort of an end run around the NCAA structure?

 

[Kibitzer]

Kib - I like your post, but I also think you ignore a whole bunch of professional athletes in both of those sports that did NOT take the scholastic aspect of their scholarship lightly, and while they may have left early, still completed their degree.

UCMiami, I readily concede the point you made so well about the athletes who have taken the academic aspect of their athletic scholarship seriously. As I focused on the lack of alternative opportunities (e.g., like baseball minor leagues) I failed to acknowledge those whom you recognized so eloquently.

I persist in my belief that my comments remain applicable to many talented student-athletes, but not all.

 

[UcMiami]

While we at Uconn are not really happy with the new academic standards imposed by the NCAA, I do think it is a step in the right direction. The problem being that the calculations are so complicated and open to a lot of factors that are maybe not correctly calculated (transfers, etc.) And also that a school that commits serious academic fraud is determined not to be subject to the same rules!

 

[Icebear]

While we at Uconn are not really happy with the new academic standards imposed by the NCAA, I do think it is a step in the right direction. The problem being that the calculations are so complicated and open to a lot of factors that are maybe not correctly calculated (transfers, etc.) And also that a school that commits serious academic fraud is determined not to be subject to the same rules!

The unhappiness at UCONN is not about the standards it is about how the went about it retroactively instead of setting the policy going forward.

 

[svetbird]

I wonder how a baseball player in the minor leagues getting paid peanuts to pursue his dream of major league fame and fortune would feel about an offer of free tuition ($50,000K) plus room and board ( $?) would feel about that kind of compensation. To a large extent that is what men's college football and basketball have become - the minor leagues. I imagine most would jump at it and accept whatever restrictions you placed on them.
Yes there is huge money being made off of college sports and most of it gets pumped right back into the athletic teams and facilities for all the sports that lose money hand over fist.

As for the coaches and administrators getting paid big bucks ... some of it is over the top like every other area of american life, but they have all put in the time at much smaller compensation to get where they are. They are not 18-21 year olds learning their trade, but seasoned professionals that have risen through hard work and luck and talent. Geno didn't get paid a living wage in his first coaching gig, and he wasn't exactly raking it in for the first 15 years. But he has stuck at it and now is at the top of his profession and getting paid like it.

I will admit to some curiosity as to what the NCAA budget looks like and where all their money goes. I suspect there is some serious fat in there as with most organizations, but they also sponsor a large number of events for a wide array of non-profitable sports including paying expenses for the teams participating.

As for the poor exploited college athletes - cry me an ocean! Exploited are the workers in sweat shops, the victims of human trafficking, slave labor in various parts of the world, and I'll even throw in restaurant workers. But kids getting a free education, job training, and room and board - choose another word. And if they don't like the contract they signed they can drop out and pursue their profession on their own. It is a free country and I am sure they can get a try-out with some sports franchise - of course they will not have been marketed and showcased and trained by an NCAA institution so they may not actual get the job, but I hear Walmart is hiring.

I am on the same page. Look I got (and still get in grad school) some help to pay my tuition for my good grades. However it is no where near a full ride. I would kill to not have the kind of debt I hold now (if only I was good at a sport). People like to act like the players are getting nothing for their services in the NCAA. A free ride room and board and whatnot is a huge benefit for any kid (some of which would never be accepted anywhere near a ivy league school without their athletic gifts). The greats will get paid big bucks in a woping 2-3 years. the rest? guess what even a Kelly Faris (on a mens or womens team will not be making any $ off promotions). the big 3 would make money that would be about it. The only way good to mid level players make $ is if we make the school (the one already giving them a free ride) pay for using their images in a media guide or program.

Simply put doing away with NCAA rules would make the soon to be crazy rich players crazy rich a few years earlier while those who will not make the big bucks still make little. I don't think that system would do anything more than perpetuate the idea that athletes get all the brakes.