In recent news, an FBS (previously Div-1A) college football program has made headlines because of allegations of numerous violations against NCAA rules. According to sources at Yahoo! Sports (Charles Robinson), mega-booster Nevin Shapiro, now serving 20 years in federal prison, claims he treated players to sex parties (including purchasing prostitutes for up to 39 players and/or recruits), nightclub outings, cars, use of yachts, and many other gifts. Shapiro told Yahoo! Sports , in over 100 hours of video interview footage over the last 11 months, that he provided improper benefits to 72 football players and other athletes at Miami from 2002 to 2010, and that up to seven former coaches and organization heads all the way up the chain, were aware of these gifts, and may have received gifts themselves. This is yet another example that college sports is spiraling out of control. The TRUTH, that no one seems to want to admit, is that the system is failing because the human element of greed is tearing the system down piece by piece.
There are many people who are of the opinion that the college athlete should get some sort of compensation for the games, since they actually play the games that generate so much of the revenue for the school. Some athletes feel that since they are generating millions for the schools, they are due some of the revenues. While I agree that a small compensation, be it cost of attendance (which would vary from a couple of thousand per athlete to five thousand plus at larger schools) or something similar, is deserved to the athlete to allow them to do what most other 18-22 year old students do, it needs to be regulated across the board to be evenly distributed to avoid influencing recruit's decisions on which school they will attend. This solution would benefit all athletes evenly, and for most, would definitely improve the overall experience of their college years in general. But, these players should not be able to take kickbacks and incentives which are not regulated across the board, if you want the sport's integrity to remain in tact. The irony is that the players who are getting these "gifts" are usually the players in "high demand", and these "high demand" players are usually the very players that go on to the NFL. So, in essence, they get incentives to go to a specific school, they get a scholarship which pays for their school because of their natural athletic ability (along with the "gifts"), and then they get paid big money after school to continue to play the game that they love. But when the program gets caught and penalized for the few that cheat, the entire program suffers. In other words, the majority pays a high penalty for the choices of few. Can these players, who feel that they deserve the "superstar status" not wait four years until the NFL? Must they risk their program's future, their teammates future, and the integrity of the game they supposedly love?
The paying of players by outside sources, or in an unregulated manner, will totally diminish the very game that we love so much. The schools who have the most financial backing from powerful boosters would ultimately recruit all the best players, and in the end, this would crumble the college football system to the ground. A few select schools would control all the best players, would consistently appear in the championship games, and would earn more money from those appearances for their school, while the smaller football programs (the "Cinderella stories" we all love so much), would be no more. This is not the way to improve the college football game or fix this terrible problem of cheating.The question which still remains, that needs to be asked is this - do we really think that paying a student athlete, who is one of the "rule breakers", a 100-300 dollar-a-week incentive is going to stop those players from choosing to accept cars, boats, mortgage payments for their family, trips, etc? In my opinion, the kids who choose to break rules for personal benefit will not be satisfied with a few extra dollars, especially when the alternative is so appealing, and as long as their chance of getting caught is minimal and the reward outweighs the consequence, they will continue to break the rules.
So, how much do the players actually deserve? I ask you to consider this - There are roughly 120 NCAA Div 1 FBS schools (formerly Div-1A). Each team gives out 85 scholarships to student athletes in the football program alone. That is 10,200 players who are playing football and attending a major University with a full ride. That means their room and board, their meals, their books, and many other school costs are all taken care of for them. While I agree that the students should definitely not be at a monetary disadvantage in comparison to other students, because they are regulated by the NCAA and are not allowed employment to earn for themselves, football is not their full-time job, and they cannot be treated as professional athletes.
There are 32 teams in the NFL, and the draft consists of 7 rounds. So there are 224 players from this 10,200 pool of college football players, that will be taken by a team in the NFL during the draft. Not all the players that are drafted will make it at the professional level, and will ultimately be cut by the team before opening day. Roughly 150-160 players will make the cut, and will remain in the NFL for the season, earning a salary and the benefits of the player's union. That means that there are roughly 10,000 players (which is a conservative estimate that 200 players will end up in the NFL) will never make a career out of football. That means that less than .02 percent of the college football athletes will make a career out of football. I would love to know how much of this .02 percent that makes it to the NFL actually received incentives and kickbacks in college. Is it not enough that these players get an education from a well known University, which most would not have been admitted to without the scholarship, for basically free. We must not undervalue this fact. This is an amazing opportunity! These players should not be paid as professionals, or be able to take kickbacks and incentives which are not regulated across the board, if you want the sport's integrity to remain in tact. This is not the way to improve the college football game or fix this terrible problem.
The ridiculous amount of money that the sport generates creates big revenue for the schools, but it does not mean they should not follow the rules established by the NCAA to regulate the league. The NCAA needs to streamline their rules to consist of the rules that, when broken, change the landscape of the college game. It needs to have strict penalties for anyone who breaks these rules, and it needs to place accountability on the adults AND the players. But as it stands, the slap on the wrist for breaking rules consistently does little to change the efforts by those who regulate and monitor these athletes, and they continue to ignore what is apparent to many of those people close to the programs. It is far from a perfect system, and it would seem that there is absolutely no accountability by anyone, but it appears that the focus has shifted and the most important point is being missed...these "student-athletes" need to be students first, and athletes second. They need to realize that they are a part of something special, and will reap benefits from their time in college for many years to come. The Coaches, Presidents, and all the powers that be need to assume some responsibility for educating these kids, and stop worrying more about their pockets and less about the integrity of the education program, which ultimately creates the very boosters that will back their system in the future.
Many people feel that the athletes themselves are to blame, while others blame the adults/coaches that run these programs. I believe that all parties involved, the players, the coaches, the presidents, the boosters, and everyone in between who had knowledge of what was happening or even suspected this was happening, is to blame. Coaches turn the other cheek because they want the best players money can buy, ultimately giving a strong impression that they care more about the win-loss record, which will further their career, and the presidents ignore as much as they can get away with because they want to win games which ultimately will bring in more money for their conference and their school. The Coach who looks the other way is just as at fault as the poverty-raised inner city kid, who willingly chooses to break the rules. And when these Coaches fail to regulate, monitor, and invest a serious interest in the guidelines and integrity by which their program is run, the NCAA must act swiftly and firmly in dealing with them. There must be fines, suspended, and even banned form the game to make a statement to all the others in the league...If they don't assume responsibility for the education of these kids, they should not be allowed to be in the position to run the programs in the future.But no matter where the blame lies in your opinion, the obvious point here is that there is blame resulting from a serious problem.
The greed exhibited by these many programs is terrible, and totally corrupts the game we all love, and is heading to an end that will turn the college game into the NFL, where everyone plays for their next dollar, and not for the love of the game. College Athletes need to play because they love the game, for the pride that comes with the win, for their love of the school, and they need to appreciate the scholarship and the chance at a quality education for what it is...a magnificent opportunity that their athletic gifts have provided for them. Coaches need to recruit people who will help them win within the regulations set by the NCAA, and someone needs to be held accountable when outside sources are allowed to get involved and manipulate that recruiting process to benefit their interest.
If this problem of corruption and rule breaking is not addressed with a firm disciplinary hand, and in a manner with the utmost importance, the system will fail and the thousands of kids who are able to get these scholarships and attend quality Universities will dwindle away. As long as there is greed, there will be people who succumb to it, and the kids are ultimately the ones who suffer. Coaches who break rules and assist this madness, even those who get fined, fired, or prosecuted, usually move on to different programs, and eventually the public forgets about the lack of responsibility and the terrible decision making that the coaches exhibit during their tenure. When will we stop allowing these types of people to head up our children's programs? When will their integrity be more valuable than their win-loss record? We have a serious problem on our hands, and if it is not addressed with the utmost importance, more and more of these tragedies will surface and have to be dealt with.
Someday I hope that all athletes that participate in a college sport will get compensated in some form for their time at the school, whether it be from cost of attendance, a career in the NFL or other professional sport, or any other great job that their education and participation in their alumni gets them, but allowing the schools to regulate who gets paid and how much is a terrible idea. This is a solution that would need to be regulated by an organization that has no vested interest in "who goes where". When will we wake up and realize that the whole system is terribly flawed. More and more in the recent years, we are seeing just how much goes on behind the scenes, yet we keep on allowing the very people who look the other way to hold our children's futures in their hands. There are a lot of schools who are breaking the rules to benefit themselves, and ultimately it costs the players, the schools, and the integrity. When will enough be enough? What will it take for us to realize that there needs to be a change by ALL parties in the system?
