The bylaw reads: "Student participation in intercollegiate athletics is an avocation, and student-athletes should be protected from exploitation by professional and commercial enterprises." Not in the bylaw: "Except by the NCAA and its member institutions, who [because we write the rules] will continue to be able to receive millions of dollars from fans, athletic companies like N*$#, television broadcast companies, and bowl sponsors all on the backs of these talented young people."
In defense of the NCAA and colleges, the athletes [mostly] ARE compensated through scholarships, travel meal-stipends, free lodging, and life perks. This makes the debate [somewhat] difficult.
However, there are "walk-on" athletes who participate without scholarship money. And all of this "compensation" is non-monetary (except the meal-stipends, which are trifling if memory serves), which means that, despite free school, free room, free board, free travel, and other perks, many athletes are, as Florida defensive tackle Joe Cohen says, broke.
No money to buy clothes. No money to buy food and snacks not provided by the "meal halls." No money to see a movie, or take a date to dinner, or participate in dozens of activities that "normal" students participate in.
Is it any wonder that every year we read about schools getting punished for student athletes receiving money from boosters, participating in sham jobs, and getting money under the table from agents.
Coaches and officials try to deflect some criticism by pointing at the money spent on scholarships, and the revenue potential for those that end up in professional leagues.
As said before, scholarship money is great, but not enough. Especially for revenue-generating players who have no professional sports future. Remember the NCAA commercial about how there are so many thousand student athletes and most of them won’t be going pro? (BTW, why is NCAA spending money on advertising?) How about the dozens of players on the Florida and Ohio State teams not named Steve Smith (or whatever that quarterback’s name is). Just a few will end up in the NFL. The rest have no future earning potential, but the NCAA and friends are still raking in the millions on their hard work without even throwing them a bone. NCAA has even capped the gifts players may receive from bowl sponsors at $500 worth of stuff (ok, I have no problem with this one…)
NCAA is a hypocricy. Coaches are paid millions, get bonuses for taking their team to bowl games and playoffs and championships, and are otherwise well compensated for their work. Perhaps over-compensated, but they do a job and get paid. The "student-athletes" who do the actual work get no such bonuses (except for football players who get those "goody-bag gifts), no salaries, and no stipends. Perhaps we need an organization to protect the student-athletes from exploitation by the NCAA.
Solution: sports programs for student-athletes need to include a modest stipend. Cash. Given to the student. For any use. Then when the NCAA goes after a student who feels they need more by accepting bribes from boosters or other illicit money, I won’t feel any sympathy for the athlete. As long as "modest" means more than $10 a month. And where might this money come from? Licensing deals and football bowl money is a good place to start. Perhaps encouraging boosters to donate to a general fund so that money can be distributed equitably and in the open and in line with the rules.
Whatever the answer, the first step is for the NCAA to admit that it has a problem. Adults charged with the education and integration of young-people into society are teaching a terrible lesson: greed is good, sharing is bad.
