Commission on College Basketball calls for sweeping reforms by NCAA

[MsProudSooner]

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/23311712/commission-college-basketball-shares-recommendations-ncaa

 

[TulsaWorld]

If you want to read all 53 pages, here you go.

Guerin Emig's take...

The issues here run so deep, and have run amok for so long, that any attempt at reform short of sea change comes across as flimsy. Wednesday’s CBC report is hardly sea change. It misses the heart of issues that are plain to see for anyone familiar with the state of college basketball.

In its worst moments, it teeters on fantasy. Take this passage from the report’s Executive Summary:

“The Commission believes that the answer to many of college basketball’s problems lies in a renewed commitment to the college degree as the centerpiece of intercollegiate athletics.”

No, the centerpiece of intercollegiate athletics as they relate to basketball, since this is the sport we’re dealing with here, is talented players using college as a springboard to their ultimate goal – playing professionally. If they get their degree along the way, great. But they’re in college to develop their basketball primarily, not their minds, since basketball is their ticket to earning a living.

If they want to take some of the money from their pro salary and return to school later in life for that degree, and use it to earn a second living beyond basketball, power to them.

Link

 

[skyvue]

Emig's didn't contradict the report. The quote he pulled from it says a college degree OUGHT to be the focus. He's right that we've gotten away from that, but merely stating that fact doesn't negate the point made in the report.

It's true that college sports have become far too close to serving as the minor leagues to the big sports, but many (me among them) feel that's a bad thing and needs to be reined in, if not reversed. Is that possible? I don't pretend to know, but I'd like to see it happen.

I'm all for Nike and the other companies having no input into collegiate sports, beyond pitching their wares to the athletic departments. No affiliations, no input on uniform design. Just make the products the teams need and convince the universities to buy them. Pay for the rights to make official tees, jerseys and cap, but stay out of it otherwise.

In fact, I'm all for a sea change. I love college sports, but hate how big they've gotten, how much money must be spent in order to compete (the race to constantly upgrade facilities is out of control), and the outside influences that impact the game. Nothing would make me happier than seeing this scandal force a scaling back.

 

[NickZepp]

The NCAA's become real inefficient/incompetent at dealing out punishments at all levels. And the NCAA/NBA need to come to an agreement to allow kids to go from HS to the pros but if a kid goes to college it's for at least 2 years. Similar to baseball.

 

[Max Power]

The NCAA's become real inefficient/incompetent at dealing out punishments at all levels. And the NCAA/NBA need to come to an agreement to allow kids to go from HS to the pros but if a kid goes to college it's for at least 2 years. Similar to baseball.

This

 

[SoonerBred]

Emig's didn't contradict the report. The quote he pulled from it says a college degree OUGHT to be the focus. He's right that we've gotten away from that, but merely stating that fact doesn't negate the point made in the report.

It's true that college sports have become far too close to serving as the minor leagues to the big sports, but many (me among them) feel that's a bad thing and needs to be reined in, if not reversed. Is that possible? I don't pretend to know, but I'd like to see it happen.

I'm all for Nike and the other companies having no input into collegiate sports, beyond pitching their wares to the athletic departments. No affiliations, no input on uniform design. Just make the products the teams need and convince the universities to buy them. Pay for the rights to make official tees, jerseys and cap, but stay out of it otherwise.

In fact, I'm all for a sea change. I love college sports, but hate how big they've gotten, how much money must be spent in order to compete (the race to constantly upgrade facilities is out of control), and the outside influences that impact the game. Nothing would make me happier than seeing this scandal force a scaling back.

I agree, college sports is more about the business than college. It takes a lot of the fun out of it. Just let all the guys who don't want college to go to the D league or sign up for 3 years minimum.

 

[sybarite]

Well, I never thought that Condi and I would agree on anything, and there are exceptions. While we agree that the cheating must stop, I would suggest that the entire business stop. The NCAA wants to be in control instead of Nike, agents, etc. But, they have no business being in control either.

The problem is that we value sports monetarily. The only reason the kids want to go pro is because there is so much money there. That is an inherent flaw in our value system. I do see this being corrected within maybe forty years. Post-millennials aren't quite so enamored with the current sources of fame and fortune. The real value should be in the college education. But, we have somewhat cheapened its value while increasing the value of professional sports---for men. Women don't have similar profit available, and, coincidentally (?), the problem is not so prevalent in the women's sports.

Baseball players have a minimum major league salary of about $550,000. Softball players tend to be paid about $90,000 per team. The WNBA struggles to exist. It's curious that you don't see so much cheating in women's sport except at a very few schools which seem to think that winning is everything, even at shuffleboard. Their schools tend not to be the most respected academically. There are good schools that compete simply because they can attract women because of the value of a degree from Stanford or Notre Dame.

I watch the modern pro football factory with fascination. The general public that wants to cut spending on everything is quite willing to give a billion dollars to build a great stadium which becomes a tax-free zone. The profits accrue to the owner of the team. The city "profits" from the jobs that are attracted. So far, nobody has actually found a job attraction. It is a system completely devoid of sanity.

They say that the reason that a university wants a great football team is that it attracts donations. When you have the time, look up the size of the Endowment funds for Harvard, Yale, and Oklahoma. When is the last time that Harvard or Yale beat OU at football? But, their endowments are from fifty to a hundred times that of OU. We have finally topped a billion. I think Harvard is almost a hundred billion.

It isn't just the cheating that needs to be examined. It is the entire concept.