ESPN's Blueprint For Change

With news breaking about all of the “support” [Nevin Shapiro] gave the [University of Miami Hurricanes], cries for dramatic changes to the rules that forbid college athletes from receiving any compensation, other than in the form of scholarships, will undoubtedly get louder.  For it is a mess as is.

No, I don’t know what would be best.  For as some of the panelists participating in the [ESPN discussion] said, it would be pure chaos if players could hire agents to negotiate contracts, but the way it now is ain’t good.

Yes, this article originally included an embedded segment of the show, but I couldn't get the auto-play shut-off.  Therefore, since I do not want to subject others to something that I absolutely hate, the video had to go.  Besides, it didn't include the things that really caught my attention, anyway.  You can watch/listen to that part [here].

One was made by [Jay Bilas] about there not being any rules prohibiting a student on a full music scholarship from signing a recording contract, nor any of the other things that go along with such.  Of course, the other side of that coin may be that they would no longer receive a scholarship, but that wouldn’t prevent them from still playing in the various university bands, choirs or whatever.  Whereas, once an NCAA athlete gets paid, they can no longer participate in that sport.

Another was made by [Nick Sabin] about college athletics not being a business, and that no one is making a profit and putting it their pocket.  Alas, good ol’ not-so-saintly Nick often comes off as a real jerk, and this is no exception.  For as the head football coach at the University of Alabama, he is making a total of [$5,997,349.00 per year], with an annual salary of $5,166,666.00 and $830,683.00 in non-university compensation.

The last one I would like to mention irked me almost as much as what Nick Sabin said.  For it was made by [Joan Cronan], who is now in charge of all of the University of Tennessee athletic programs, about playing college athletics being a privilege, and that if an athlete wants to go market themselves, they can turn pro.  The revenues generated from just the football program at Tennessee was reportedly [$29,326,709.00] for the 2009 season, and the combined football PROFITS from all of the schools was reportedly over [$1 billion] last year!

Yes, I am well aware of the fact that tuition costs (amongst many other things) would sky-rocket if college athletics adopted a pro-style compensation package.  In fact, some schools would probably have to drop most of their athletic programs, but it sounds awfully hypocritical to me to hear about an athlete being run off of the field (or court) in disgrace for accepting a few bucks from a booster after the university has helped them understand just how much they have been making for it.

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