A Storm Is Coming

The clouds are dark and gloomy.  Nearly black.  Rain pounds the ground with force, causing rivers to flow wild to the point of breaking over the edge.  No, I am not speaking of a horror movie- I am speaking of the state of college athletics as it pertains to illegal benefits, namely the paying of college athletes.  Oklahoma State, and Les Miles, are amidst a scandal involving sex, drugs and money to players, allegedly (SI).  Yahoo reported that 5 SEC players, and DJ Fluker being one, all received benefits in the tens-of-thousands of dollars range.  Today, Arian Foster said Tennessee provided him with benefits out of necessity because he was living in very poor conditions.  Given the current NCAA rules, expect eventual widespread sanctions.

Is it right?  Fair?  Justified to sanction these teams?  Under the current rules, it is.  Now you could give me your argument based on either side:

1.  College athletes should be paid like employees because of their demanding task in addition to taking classes.
2.  College athletes should not be paid because they already receive a free scholarship, and often on-campus housing and a meal plan.

I have heard both sides be very persuasive and convincing.  Personally, all of the logistics about "who" is getting paid need to be figured out in any proposal.  Do all athletes get a stipend, regardless of team affiliation?  Do you get more if your team brings in more money?  Is it based on physical ability?  Again, this needs to be carefully planned, or the NCAA could create more of a recruiting bias than the one that currently exists. 

Can these schools afford to pay athletes?  If all athletes get paid, only the biggest D-1 football powers would be able to afford giving salaries to college athletes.  This could eliminate small college schools from any sort of contention.  Good-bye underdogs like Boise State.  Because college presidents will be voting on this issue, I think they will elect to save as much money as possible. 

I don't expect a substantial change on this issue for a long time.  Too many factors need to come together- and fit together.  And while it is against the rules, I anticipate there is a highly esteemed D-1 program already giving out a stipend to its athletes, but the world will never know because it is against the rules.  Perhaps the best support that Universities can afford to pay college athletes:  It is already rampant across college sports in a plethora of forms.  Expect debate on this issue- its eventually going to get ugly.  So, I persist that a storm is coming over college football:  it could be in 6 months, 6 years or 16 years.  I tend to think it will be later rather than sooner.