What could I, a self proclaimed sports fanatic, possibly have against the fun, craziness, and passion associated with college sports? Let's start with the Oklahoma State scandal, shall we? For those who weren't aware, Oklahoma State was recently busted by the NCAA for a plethora of rules violations. As is detailed in a recent issue of Sports Illustrated (Sept. 16, 2013), Oklahoma State was found to have paid several of their college football players "bonuses" based on their performances on the field. Even worse, Oklahoma State also committed several academic violations and ignored their own drug policies in order to ensure that their athletes remained eligible and on the field at all costs.
I'm going to take a moment to pause from my rant and offer my perspective. I consider any special treatment of college students because of their athletic status to be completely unacceptable, and I find it especially sickening that universities would bend their own academic standards to accommodate their athletic cash cows. The fundamental purpose of the university should always be the furtherance of knowledge, both through research and educational programs. If you disagree with me on this, and look at college as meaning many different things and offering different services for different people, then there's no point in you reading further. Our disconnect is far too great for you to gain anything from this blog entry.
Okay, assuming you are still reading, allow me to address some of the common arguments that NCAA apologists make.
1. Sure, scandals like Oklahoma State happen, but they are the exception not the norm. The vast majority of college programs are NCAA compliant and don't compromise their values for their athletic programs.
While I appreciate the sentiment that we shouldn't generalize, the idea that most college athletic programs are traditionally clean has no basis in reality. As of 2011, only 17 of the major 120 NCAA schools have not committed a rules violation. Since then, at least two of those clean 17 have committed a rules violation, one of which was the infamous Penn State scandal.
2. Okay, fine, so most programs have committed an NCAA violation. But the NCAA has absurdly complex rules and most of the rule breakers have committed relatively minor offenses.
I will certainly acknowledge that the NCAA is complicated and that not all rule violations are equal, but we should not use this as an excuse to minimize the pervasive unethical culture that is created by college athletics. I'm not going to go through every single violation (I don't have months to research this), but allow me to highlight some of the worst and let you decide for yourself if the offenses committed by many of our most prominent universities are so minor.
Members of the coaching staff assisted 3 recruits in gaining unearned academic credits.
This one actually doesn't really bother me, but it does illustrate how college programs will do anything to gain an edge.
Athletes were given preferential treatment, including providing "payment" for work not performed.
Because if you're given a choice between compromising the academics of your university and giving illegal benefits to athletes, why not choose both?
Oklahoma State (2013)- Academic Fraud, Improper Benefits for Athletes including cash payments to athletes, using sex as a recruiting tool, and ignoring university drug policies for athletes
Seriously, read the SI piece (Sept. 16, 2013 and also discussed in Sept. 23, 2013 issue). Every disturbing NCAA and moral violation that you can imagine has happened at Oklahoma State.
Keep in mind that this is just a small sampling of the actual number of NCAA violations have occurred. If you're curious to see the violations of your own school, have at it.
3. Ok, fine. Most schools have committed violations and many of those violations were pretty bad. But none of this would happen if we just were allowed to pay student athletes. Its only fair that they be compensated for their work and the value they bring to their universities.
This opinion is actually gaining significant traction, as evidenced by star NFL running back Arian Foster's recent admission that he took money and other improper benefits while attending Tennessee, and that he sees no problem with it.
So why shouldn't we pay college athletes? Well, I suppose one's personal answer to that question goes back to his personal view of the university and its purpose in the modern world. If the university can mean many different things and different opportunities to different people, then by all means, let's turn it into a system of minor league athletics and pay student athletes. But if the fundamental purpose of the university should be the advancement of knowledge through research and education, then athletics needs to have a small role with limited, if any, financial influence.
While I realize that taking such a hard-line stance on this makes it appear that I have no sympathy for college athletes, many of whom come from disadvantaged and impoverished communities, I would argue that the opposite is true. Sure, an athletic scholarship and small paycheck would do a great deal in helping a poor and disadvantaged athlete through college, but it would do so at the expense of helping a poor and disadvantaged student through college. The system as it currently exists enables a future athletic star to have fun at college for a few years, promote his talents on the national level, and then leave to start a multi-million dollar career. All without graduating. That's right, to those naive enough to argue that student-athletes really exist (you're usually one or the other), I present to your consideration the depressingly low rates of college graduation among professional athletes. About half of NFL players have college degrees, despite the fact that most players drafted by the NFL attend college. Of course those numbers are fantastic compared to the NBA (where 21% of professional athletes have degrees) and MLB (around 4%). Part of the reason the NFL and NBA have higher graduation rates than MLB is that those leagues place certain restrictions on draft eligibility to strongly encourage their athletes to attend some college. But none of the major sports leagues mandate graduation as a condition for draft eligibility.
4. So what can be really be done about it?
First, we need to stop pretending that academics remains the priority of our major universities. The first step is always admitting there's a problem.
Second, we need to find a way to divorce mainstream athletics and the massive amount of money associated with it from our educational institutions. There are at least 15 college football stadiums that seat more than the largest NFL stadiums. This should never happen. Its impossible for universities to combine to create a sports league that rivals the NFL (the largest sports league in the country) and not be unduly influenced by it.
How do we do this? One solution could be to remove restrictions prohibiting recent high school graduates from playing in the professional leagues. Its unfair to prospective students that Carmelo Anthony gets essentially a one year scholarship to Syracuse to showcase his athletic talents, but its also unfair to Carmelo to prohibit him for a year from using his talents in his desired field of employment. The only people who really benefit from this unfair system are the colleges, who use college athletes as rentals to rake in money.
Another option, and one that is far less realistic, would be to abolish college sports as they currently exist in favor of minor league systems. I have nothing against the fact that teams like the Oregon Ducks or Texas Longhorns exist, but they shouldn't be affiliated with universities. Even better yet, what if we could significantly expand our minor league sports systems so that high school athletes can showcase their skills and make money on a smaller level in preparation for the major leagues?
That's what baseball allows, by the way.
Will any of these things happen? Of course not, but that shouldn't stop us from talking about them. And it shouldn't stop each one of us, myself included, from taking an honest look in the mirror and considering what role we play in enabling the rampant corruption, academic fraud and immorality that have come to characterize the modern university.
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