NCAA: No Conscience At All?

Dear Mr. Myles Brand,

You’re not going to meet a lot of twenty year old sports purists like myself. Aside for my faith in major league baseball (which waivers), long have I held college athletics as a better display of pure athletics than that of the professional ranks. However, lately your NCAA has done a poor job of promoting this purity.

Let’s start with my favorite, the BCS. Everyone knows, including the man that resides in Washington, that a playoff is needed and that the BCS is just a way for the NCAA to rake in millions. True champions are rarely discovered in this system, due to controversy, and even some undefeated teams (Utah, 2008) don’t get the crown. This needs to change, and starting in 2010, when the BCS contract is up, a playoff needs to be in place. Heck, the NCAA Men’s Basketball TOURNAMENT makes far more money for you than the BCS anyway.

On a different note; this week USC coach Tim Floyd resigned his position due to allegations that he paid off the man that directed O.J. Mayo to USC. Floyd is not the first coach that has faced allegations about illegally recruiting players to their schools and he will certainly not be the last. However, it has become a growing trend. In the past couple years, we’ve seen Coach Sampson get caught in Hoosierville, UConn face allegations, new Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin face some violations, and now the USC/Floyd scuttlebutt. While there is no one solution, I offer an attempt: lower coach’s salaries. Salaries have become so outrageous that winning has become the sole focus. Developing young men and women has become secondary unfortunately. I know there are still great coaches out there, ones that focus on their kids as much off the field as on it, but the reputation of being a college coach is becoming tarnished.

Talking about salaries…what’s up with the $900,000 one you bring in? You were brought in to restore NCAA academics, you know, being an ex-president of a university and all. However, there have been few changes since you take office to reform GPA standards and eligibility rules. Not exactly earning the living if you know what I mean.

College athletics is supposed to be about promoting purity, fundamentals, and academics. It was never intended to become a minor league system for the pros. While I love seeing my team win as much as the next guy, I want to be able to know what I’m supporting. I understand that this has become a business, but its getting out of hand. Especially since the product, the student-athletes, don’t get any of the cut on this business. Legendary coach John Wooden said that “Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be.” So I hope for some NCAA change

So Mr. Brand, if you feel inspired to make changes and would like to know which University this writer belongs to, it’s Villanova University. If you feel enraged and want to slap down violations on the University to which this writer belongs, I go to St. Joe’s.

Sincerely,
Michael

If you would like to talk some more about this topic or any topic, send me an email at michael.bobich@villanova.edu