That NCAA Problem
America, I think we need to talk. I think it’s high time I sat you down and had a man to man conversation about what’s been going on with you. It used to seem harmless, and to be frank I’m not sure if it was cause I was oblivious, or if it’s actually gotten worse. I think it’s probably a combination of both. The problem I’m referring to is collegiate sports. What’s wrong with it you say? A whole lot.
Admittedly I watch about zero hours of college sports, partly because I prefer pro sports and partly because I would hate to support what I think is terrible system. Don’t get me wrong, I do the March Madness pools and always get a guaranteed 3rd place or higher, but I fill those things out purely on statistical analysis. And sure I enjoy hearing about Notre Dame getting destroyed on national television. But at my core, I just can’t stand everything the NCAA and collegiate sports in general represent. Two headlines have hit the news this week that have perpetuated my disdain for how college sports are treated.
The first, on the surface, seems rather innocuous. This past week Oregon football was put on a 3 year probation. Essentially slapped on the wrist for NCAA violations. However this is but a small representation of an on going dilemma. Coincidentally the same year that Oregon ends up facing this probation is the same year their million dollar coach took his talents to the city of brotherly love. For those who don’t remember Chip Kelly took some interviews and originally decided he’d like to return to the college game he loved so much; only to turn 180 and re-neg on that decision and swiftly sign with the Eagles in a matter of days. At the time this seemed innocent enough. But in retrospect it’s obvious what his new found motives stemmed from. Someone tipped Chip Kelly off to the possible sanctions that awaited him. This isn’t a new practice. I can’t let Chip take on all the burden for this act of selfishness. Pete Carrol did the exact same thing not too long ago. Matter fact the selfishness of coaches, programs, and schools alike that seemingly put all profit and gain ahead of the adolescent lives their supposed to be shaping is the norm. Prior to Pete Carrol ever leaving USC, he showed his true colors by tarnishing the stature of his then star quarterback months before the draft. Did Pete Carrol have a point about Mark Sanchez? Sure, he might’ve been right in general. But the problem is that Mr. Carrol, a man who had made millions on Mark Sanchez, was possibly putting his draft number, and therefore pay scale, in jeopardy by speaking out about his hold backs on the quarterback. And what for? Simply because he wanted another national title. What else could it be. He looked to gain nothing by doing this otherwise.
Here’s a point I’d like to make to every college, high school coach and their program–by definition you are developmental programs. Let me repeat that. You are given the responsibility of developing young adults, into full grown adults. What does this mean? This means–and I’m sorry to the rabid fans like my brother who went to Penn State and my friend who went to Georgia, who see their college team as their favorite sport team across the board–but this means winning is secondary. I know that sounds outlandish, but really think about the life of a student athlete, and lets not even begin to dissect the hilarity of the phrase “student athlete”. These “student athletes” are children that play for free, for grown men, who make millions on their hard work. I know they get a free education and what not, but by comparison of what some of these programs make in revenue it is mere pennies. I firmly believe college “system” offenses and defenses should not exist. As a coach you should try to make your players as pro-ready as possible or ready to hit the real world and get a job.
I always think back to the NCAA final when Memphis lost in the final minutes due to their infamous poor foul shooting. Soon to be NBA star Derrick Rose was a culprit of missing some pivotal free throws down the stretch. At the time it made for some compelling television. But when one takes a moment and realizes that Derrick Rose is actually a good free throw shooter currently in the NBA it’s apparent Coach Calipari had no interest in ensuring his athletes had the right training. This is where we’ve gone all wrong with our youth. Sure it’s nice to win and it’s fun to root for our alma mater but to schools and fans alike the real stats we should be rooting for lie in the percentage of players successfully gone pro and the remaining players that get jobs after college. And these pro leagues should stop rewarding these selfish coaches that’ll cheat the system just long enough to get the coveted pro jobs and leave the kids; who can’t transfer without missing a year, to pay the price. HOW IS THIS FAIR?
I don’t care to use a tragic occurrence as a foundation for my soap box, so I won’t dare go as far as to blame college sports 100% for what’s recently been in the news about Aaron Hernandez. He’s a troubled individual and it’s ashamed such a young man lost his life because of that. That being said, Aaron Hernandez is an example of a college and its coaches putting winning above all things. Aaron Hernandez had a reported history of testing positive for drugs multiple times and a history of fights. And yet he had only faced a suspension once throughout his college career. And noone in his progam or team cared to see what issues might be bothering this young man to lead him there. I can’t harp enough on how winning at the college level should not be the main goal. We root for our college teams to win and then later get on our high horses when one of the athletes has a transgression at the pro level. It’s asinine.
Simply complaining isn’t going to solve the issue. I realize this. So in my best effort to find a solution I’ve come up with a crude system that would obviously take much more work to properly figure out the numbers and parameters to put it in place, but hopefully you’ll get the idea.
The Student Athlete Trust System:
I’ve devised an idea to resolve the issue of programs making millions and not paying the athletes they make it off of. I get the idea that a 20 year old walking around on a college campus with too much expendable money is a dangerous thing. This is why I propose we defer them receiving that money. Instead when you “sign” an athlete to your school he or she is then paid in the form of a trust fund that they would collect once they exited the school. The trust fund would receive their “salary” that would be built to increase the more years they spend in college and a form of “bonuses” would be given based on grades. This would help re-establish the true meaning of a student-athlete. Also to improve the “developmental” part of college sports, coaches salaries would be tied, through incentives, to the success of their athletes, either as professionals in their sport, or professionals in the real world. All in all though I think a mind shift is the most important thing needed. As a nation, as coaches, as heads of schools; the whole nation needs to take on the mindset that winning should rightfully be of secondary importance. Let’s make smarter athletes, and in turn make better role models for our future generations.