packer involved in miami scandal

[sharpe1027]

All these things would be great unless you simply wanted a job. And for skill development, it would happen much faster in a minor league, full time, than at school where practices are limited to 20 hours per week.

I don't disagree that at least some athletes would prefer to skip college and play in a minor league system. I just don't see that as a legitimate reason to redo the entire college football setup. I am sure that some non-athlete students would prefer to get their training at a paid position rather than having to pay to go to school, yet plenty of profession require certain levels of schooling. Life's just not fair.

[Packgator]

Possibly, but I think the dollar figures for regular season basketball television will soon suffer (if they haven't yet) compared to previous highs, adjusted for inflation. With less money, it will fall more and more on alumni/ticket buyers to keep the program among the top in terms of facilities, etc. I think that could exacerbate a competitive inbalance, leading to fewer schools at the top levels. Interest in such a situation could wane.

""I think that could exacerbate a competitive inbalance, leading to fewer schools at the top levels.""

Just the opposite lately with Butler and VCU both in the Final Four this year. And Butler in two straight championship games.

[Patler]

I don't disagree that at least some athletes would prefer to skip college and play in a minor league system. I just don't see that as a legitimate reason to redo the entire college football setup. I am sure that some non-athlete students would prefer to get their training at a paid position rather than having to pay to go to school, yet plenty of profession require certain levels of schooling. Life's just not fair.

The legitimate reason for redoing the college football setup has little to do with what certain athletes want. The reason to redo the college football setup is that running a D-I football program (as currently run) really has only a small connection to the primary purposes for which colleges exist.

[sharpe1027]

That makes the most sense to me.

Maybe they should setup a separate non-profit entity for each school for the purpose of donating money back to the university through sports-based revenues.

[digitaldean]

You are being simplistic - or rather, pollyannaish. I worked for two years in college as a student athlete tutor. Students are all over the map in their abilities. Shouldn't shock you that many of the swimmers were very smart and worked hard at their classes, while hockey, basketball, and football players in general were much more challenged. Of what use is a 160,000 education if you have the skill set of a sixth grader? Universities are making tons of money off college athletes and they, and cackling alumni congratulate themselves on what a fine institute of higher learning they have. For many athletes, this is a total crock of shit.

Call it what you want, athletes are still given something of value, regardless if they capitalize on it or not. I agree with sharpe1027. WHERE do you draw the line? Do we see a bunch of college level Drew Rosenhaus or Scott Boras types roaming academia negotiating deals on what their "client" will or won't do?
I can see changing some of the arcane rules about having jobs or interaction between coaches and players/recruits. I get the fact that some of the football talent aren't going to graduate with honors. They may have a tough time graduating, period. But they are offered an opportunity that many our society can NEVER AFFORD or have to put themselves into serious hock to have their kids try and get a college degree.
I saw an ESPN round table on this topic with Jay Bilas, Bob Stoops, Urban Meyer and other ADs. Found hypocrisy on both sides. Stoops and Meyer with their multimillion $ salaries saying the game is doomed with a stipend based system and Bilas arguing for paying the players. College athletics will NEVER be totally clean. But at least have some form of enforcement that will come down exceedingly hard on teams.
The fear of turning another college into SMU (who is still trying to recover from the death penalty) is paralyzing enforcement. Schools like the U (and that dumbass Donna Shalala) need to face the music. USC should have gotten nailed harder and OSU better be nailed (but I fear they will dump it all on Tressel and get off scott-free).
Schools need to see that regular enforcement will be in place for schools that turn into USC, Ohio St. or Miami. Shut down the football program for 1 year and see how it affects their income. Making teams forfeit their wins/titles is so bogus it's laughable.
If the NCAA doesn't have enough manpower for enforcement, then take a % from member conferences before they split their bowl money to charge for hiring more people to police the game.