Time for College Football to Issue a Declaration of Independence from the NCAA
The Washington Post’s John Feinstein — one of the great real sports journalists in America — used the latest, scandalous developments in the NCAA’s investigation of the University of Miami to argue for the dissolution of the NCAA. He is right, and it’s an idea that is long overdue.
I will spare you the arcane details of the NCAA’s investigation of Miami — other than to say that the governing body that administers the arcane, arbitrary, and senseless rules of collegiate athletics is guilty of more serious and substantive misconduct than the school itself.
In the wake of this, Feinstein writes something that rings true to most fans of major college sports:
The NCAA needs to go the way of typewriters, the Edsel and black-and-white TV. Its time has passed. Collegiate sports can no longer be run with an iron fist — especially an incompetent one — or with the quaint notion that Quinnipiac women’s basketball can operate under the same rules as Alabama football.
Exactly. The NCAA has long been a farce of a governing body, more hypocritical and corrupt than the old Soviet Politburo — but with “death penalties” that are only metaphorical, and with fewer pairs of contraband blue jeans smuggled to favored apparatchiks. It is long past time for the commissioners of the Division I-A football conferences (I refuse to use the Newspeak version: “FBS Division”) to convene the football equivalent of a “Continental Congress” and sign a Declaration of Independence from the NCAA. With apologies to our Founding Fathers, I can help them get started …
When in the Course of Sporting events, it becomes necessary for one sport to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with other sports, and to assume among the powers of the gridiron, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Football and of Football’s God (television) entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of college football fans requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that NOT ALL college sports are created equal, that football is endowed by its TV ratings with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Money, Honesty and the pursuit of Playoffs.
Look. The market has spoken: Major college football is a business, not merely an extra-curricular activity of athletic students. Can we stop pretending otherwise? If we did — if we were realistic about what big-time college football has been for decades — this is how I propose it could be reformed in a way that is honest, sensible, and justly governed:
Universities would recuit kids to play football at their school and pay them a stipend, with a maximum amount that all major conferences agree to adhere and publicly report. These athletes would be enrolled in school, but would also be employees of the university, because that is what they are. Something akin to that worked well for me at the University of Pittsburgh. I was a full-time student who was also an employee of the university. I worked in the library and as a dorm desk attendant overnights, while also dedicating many hours a week as a drummer in the marching band and working for the school newspaper.
These athletes would be required to register for enough classes to meet the minimum requirement for “maximum part-time.” They could choose to take full advantage of the academic benefits of their scholarships by enrolling full-time. Who knows? Some of the football players might even enjoy it. And here’s the kicker: Schools and coaches would have a huge incentive to encourage these football players to enroll fully and complete their educations because the school would get extra athletic scholarships for the football program based on the team’s graduation rate. That’s an example of market forces and incentives at work — something the football players might even learn about in class.
But the schools must also let scholarship athletes complete their degrees free of charge after their athletic eligibility is over — either by coming back to campus or taking online courses — up until the age of, say, 35. This would incentivize schools to follow up academically with their former players because these post-college graduates would also count in the graduation rate that comes with more athletic scholarships. More market-based incentives at work!
If the commissioners of the “BCS” conferences got together to declare independence and set up guidelines such as these, the NCAA would either have to capitulate and get a piece of the pie, or declare Division I-A football no longer part of the NCAA. The conferences would laugh at the latter — the NCAA would be foolish to even consider that option, but be the biggest loser in the deal — and should happily acede to the former. There will be plenty of money to go around. Either way, college football fans and common sense wins.
The upshot is that the NCAA would become largely irrelevant, as it must be, to the administration of big-time college sports — which is a business, a lucrative entertainment outlet that is “professional” for everyone but the performers. It would also let the NCAA go back to doing what it was designed to do: elevate club sports to a “sanctioned” level and run tournaments to crown champions of such sports as wrestling, volleyball, and tennis.
Since this is such a good and logical idea, the chances of it happening is about as good as me playing quarter back for Alabama next year. On the other hand, a lot of “smart people” never saw the dissolution of the Soviet Union coming. So who knows? The BCS conferences have all the power. Maybe one of these days they will have the will to use it … and declare their independence from the incompetent and corrupt NCAA.
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Comments:
Mar '11
Re: Time for College Football to Issue a Declaration of Independence from the NCAA
EJHill: Make of this what you will, but of the Top 25 BCS schools (10/21/12 rankings) only three had graduation rates above 90% for their football programs: Notre Dame, Rutgers & Stanford.
The average grad rate among the Top 25 programs was 69.2%.
Edited 7 minutes ago
8 minutes ago
Yes but how does that compair to the regular student body? The national average is 61% for public schools and 72% for private, so I would say these BCS programs are doing alright.
Granted althetics are supposed to be full time students and the national averages for full-time students are 81% for Public and 85% for Private.
Now many sports programms specify which degree programs you are allowed to take. That I have huge issues with.
Had a friend at work whose son was good at soccer but really smart. Any of the decent college teams he could be a walk on for would not let him take biomedical engeerning which was what he wanted. Duke had a list of only about 12 or 16 degree programs you were allowed to take if you were on the team.
Edited on February 27, 2013 at 4:31pmJul '10
Re: Time for College Football to Issue a Declaration of Independence from the NCAA
Big Green
EJHill
I hate to say this, primarily because that's how I make my living, but bad things happen when the television trucks show up. · 8 hours ago
EJ - Fair point, which I think has a lot of truth to it.
We might have a "controlled" experiment on this TV truck idea though. NBC Sports just renewed a contract with the Ivy League (officially no athletic scholarships) to televise one football and one basketball game each week. Now all we need is some objective criteria to measure the amount of "bad things" that are happening. · 29 minutes ago
Well, the Ivies may have a formal no athletic scholarship program, but they certainly give scholarships to some whose significant contribution is expected to be sports. Everyone knew the jocks as "ringers" - who often took "ringer" classes to get by. Now I grant this was the 60's, but I doubt things have changed much.
May '10
Re: Time for College Football to Issue a Declaration of Independence from the NCAA
That's a tough comparison to make since it is impossible to ascertain the reasons non-athletes leave school. To make an apples-to-apples comparison you would only have to consider all students that had their education paid for through scholarships, eliminating the financial aspects. Furthermore, to make the comparison you'd have to look at the general population that had a minimum of four years at an institution, thus mimicking the NCAA eligibility terms.
Mar '11
Re: Time for College Football to Issue a Declaration of Independence from the NCAA
EJHill
That's a tough comparison to make since it is impossible to ascertain the reasons non-athletes leave school. To make an apples-to-apples comparison you would only have to consider all students that had their education paid for through scholarships, eliminating the financial aspects. Furthermore, to make the comparison you'd have to look at the general population that had a minimum of four years at an institution, thus mimicking the NCAA eligibility terms. · 0 minutes ago
The stat I was quoting was with-in 6 years. However, what % of players at the big schools have any type of sports scholarships, less than 50% right?
Your saying the 69% number is only for athletes who were at the school at least 4 years and throws out anyone who moves or drops out of the program early? If that is true then you are right bad benchmark to use full-time student rates. Otherwise I think it is valid although not perfect.
Oct '12
Re: Time for College Football to Issue a Declaration of Independence from the NCAA
This man is absolutely right. I've been in his shoes as well, and the rest of you miss the real problems in D1 FB and BK:
1. Overemphasis on the 'National championship/NCAA tournament/BCS title. The drive to make the top of the collegiate sports world like the professional sports world is the problem.
2. Title IX: The money is greatly needed because the Feds demand that sports programs reflect the percentage of males/females in the student body. Now FB and men's BK have to make a ton of money to support all the other sports on campus, the enlarging women's programs that make no money and the shrinking number of men's programs that either break even of lose money.
Joe M: This is ridiculous.
Anyone who would write a post like yours has never played collegiate athletics or spent any time around college athletes. There are over 100 NCAA division 1 college football teams... The other 90 players are there to play when they can, get a free education, and move on with their lives.
Conservatives hate to be stereotyped, so please stop perpetuating the one about the dumb jock. · 1 hour ago
Apr '12
Re: Time for College Football to Issue a Declaration of Independence from the NCAA
I teach in a Div III school, which I realize changes the situation a lot from what you see in top programs. (Although, our football team has been very good these last few years, and athletics in general is pretty emphasized at this school.) In general (naturally there are exceptions), I've found my athletes to be very good and engaged students. Just out of curiosity I once went through the football roster and identified all my former students. As I recall, there were six, four of whom were definitely in the top 25% of their class. And the other two were perfectly fine, middle-of-the-road students.
Personally, I think the sports instills a discipline that helps with academics too. There is definitely no reason to assume that athletes are dumb. But again, I do realize that Div III is a different story. Nobody's making a boat load of money off these kids, so no one is willing to move heaven and earth to ensure that they pass their classes.
Jan '12
Re: Time for College Football to Issue a Declaration of Independence from the NCAA
EJHill: Make of this what you will, but of the Top 25 BCS schools (10/21/12 rankings) only three had graduation rates above 90% for their football programs: Notre Dame, Rutgers & Stanford.
The average grad rate among the Top 25 programs was 69.2%.
Edited 1 hour ago
1 hour ago
What would be interesting is to compare this number to that for the student body as a whole. I would bet that the rate for the student body as a whole is not much higher than 69.2% at those same schools.
Mar '11
Re: Time for College Football to Issue a Declaration of Independence from the NCAA
If college football is a business, then stop athletic scholarships, pay players, and tax the colleges.Tax them hard. Or we could just, you know, demand that college football be an amateur sport again and tell people we have professional football if that's what you want. If you want to see professionals, then watch professional teams.
As far as those in the public (the "market") that have decided college football is a business and we should accept that,I'll never understand people that see a wrong, and decide that since a wrong is popular, that must make it right.
Edited on February 27, 2013 at 7:23pmMar '11
Re: Time for College Football to Issue a Declaration of Independence from the NCAA
That's because your students are there for an education, and not participating an a farcical exercise to pose as students while trying out for the NFL. Div III is the model that ALL colleges should have to adapt... yes, FORCE them. It's college, not a minor league. If you're not there for an education, begone. If you can't get accepted as a student first, begone. And make the NFL pay for it's own damned minor league. Colleges are subsidizing them, most on the taxpayer's dime. Most football programs are money losers, not money makers.
There's very little scholarship in athletic scholarships. Eliminate them, completely. Doesn't matter what your kid's 40 time is. If he doesn't have a brain for college, then he doesn't belong there.
Edited on February 27, 2013 at 9:42pmMar '11
Re: Time for College Football to Issue a Declaration of Independence from the NCAA
Devereaux
Now I grant this was the 60's, but I doubt things have changed much.
In the elite schools they've changed a lot. The U of Chicago... once a football powerhouse... completely killed it's football program for decades. Now they have a DivIII squad at least.
I completely understand why the elite schools went to such lengths to suppress their sports: they recognized that they were becoming a corrupting influence. Harvard and Yale DID have big time teams filled with ringers that had no business in school. Yale Bowl is still a huge stadium, and a testament to just how powerful the football program became. But some schools overdid it. The educational mission of the university should come first, but the value of athletics should be recognized in an education. DivIII is really the best of all possible worlds here: get accepted as a regular student first, THEN try out for the team. That's the way it should be.
Where the Ivies DO still bring in "ringers" is not with athletic scholarships, but with race policy. More minority players are brought in in the name of diversity. Oh, and they happen to have good 40 times.
Aug '12
Re: Time for College Football to Issue a Declaration of Independence from the NCAA
Douglas
Where the Ivies DO still bring in "ringers" is not with athletic scholarships, but with race policy. More minority players are brought in in the name of diversity. Oh, and they happen to have good 40 times. · 4 minutes ago
This shows that however strait the jacket you try to apply, if there is a benefit to the school, they will figure out how to game it. And aside from money, these programs also serve the school; a successful athletic program helps entice students to attend. Colleges are not necessarily primarily educational institutions anymore, existing for the benefit of administration and faculty more than for students.
Jan '12
Re: Time for College Football to Issue a Declaration of Independence from the NCAA
Douglas
There's very little scholarship in athletic scholarships. Eliminate them, completely. Doesn't matter what your kid's 40 time is. If he doesn't have a brain for college, then he doesn't belong there. · 2 hours ago
If everyone without a brain was not allowed to go to college as you suggest, then we would have to get ride of at least 50% of the existing student population. They belong there no more than the scholarship athletes. And, by the way, most football programs that provide scholarships, do make money. The rest of the athletic departments, no so much.
Mar '11
Re: Time for College Football to Issue a Declaration of Independence from the NCAA
Big Green
If everyone without a brain was not allowed to go to college as you suggest, then we would have to get ride of at least 50% of the existing student population.
Good. Make it so. We DO have too many colleges, too many students, and because we have too many kids in college that have no business in being there in the first place. We admit kids that don't have the minds for college, nor the work ethic. Instead of compounding this farce with excuses of "well, dumb athletes should get in if middle class dummies get in", we should state the obvious: college isn't for everyone. Let's save a lot of money and a lot of wasted time and just admit that the only difference between a high school grad barista and a college grade barista is 30 years of college loan debt and a snotty attitude. If a kid isn't college material, get thee to a VoTech school or skill apprenticeship.
Jan '12
Re: Time for College Football to Issue a Declaration of Independence from the NCAA
Devereaux
Well, the Ivies may have a formal no athletic scholarship program, but they certainly give scholarships to some whose significant contribution is expected to be sports. Everyone knew the jocks as "ringers" - who often took "ringer" classes to get by. Now I grant this was the 60's, but I doubt things have changed much. · 8 hours ago
I can speak from experience. It hasn't changed all that much. My experience was in the 90's though. My post was a bit tongue-in-cheek which is why I used the word "officially"...perhaps I should have italicized.
May '10
Re: Time for College Football to Issue a Declaration of Independence from the NCAA
I believe the NCAA grades the graduation rates over a five-year window. That takes in the maximum amout of eligibility a student athlete can have. They've even been known to grant red-shirt status to a player hurt very early in his freshman year.