Nevin Shapiro?

[GBB]

Yes,but I wonder how much of that is ESPN trying to force it. There was some show last year about their "return to glory" or something. It seemed to be all hype.

SMU didn't really experience any sort of "better rep" in football until June Jones arrived and led them to their first bowl victory since the death penalty.

I've heard that expressed by people regarding academics at SMU who don't give a crap about college football and don't watch ESPN

That may be true, but SMU is nothing special as far as academic institutions are concerned. It's good; not great.

[AdironRider]

Honestly, who gives a fuck if a bunch of useless sports were cut. I used to swim in college. Theres no way we had more than 20 people come to watch a meet outside of our own parents all season. I was d3 at a terrible football school, but our D1 hockey team covered everyone else. If it went to non revenue I couldnt have cared.

Kids play sports they like. I would have found a club team, just like I did in high school, and swam. Big fucking deal.

Either let the players have a piece of the cut, or theres nothing to take a cut of period. Those are the only two options thatll work in the end.

[Cono Este]

Ok, so we stack the top 10 with all the great players. Notre Damn wins every game. Up until their is conduct violation, which would eventually come. Should we waive that agreement between the ncaa and the student athletes? Same for GPA requirements, they are cash cows after all.

[AdironRider]

It would have to be a strict salary cap, like 50k per player a year or something on top of the scholarships. Across all schools. Enough to keep players happy, but not enough to really put a dent in the system. Revenue sharing would be involved. Endorsements would be fair game for any player who could get one. Why should we punish Tebow just because the country loves him? Now that everyone knows he sucks that window is pretty much gone to really kill it in the endorsement window, but after two national championships and a fucking Heisman? That kid could have parlayed it into a nice little payday.

Some freshman nerd can use school facilities to make some dumb youtube video and get paid for it, why cant the players? Dont give me the its unfair that players could make more in endorsements bs, this is life. In the pros you dont see Tom Tupa making bank in endorsements either. They should be happy with the 50k and a free ride.

If you went the other route have all this cash go private and pay to build the stadiums and facilities. Schools get exclusive access but provide the product. Could work if the proper system was in place.

[TBS]

My Solution
1. Ban the televising of college sports, except on Public Access and presented entirely by the home team students.

2. Force a huge reduction in athlete scholarships, and base them on scholastic aptitude, not athletic prowess.

3. Let kids get drafted into the NFL straight out of high school, and fund a minor league system in football (like baseball and NBA's D-League) where kids can play for money without going to college first. These games can be televised and viewers subjected to inane commercials.

Unfortunately, #1 will never happen, so #2 will never happen, and the NFL then has no reason to fund a minor league system...

[Cono Este]

I can agree with some of what your saying, especially endorsements. Olympic athletes are allowed the same. Maybe that would address things.

But then the combo of money would = disaster for conduct violations. PLus you'd have to let them have lawyers and agents, and in the end they'd all be broke anyway.

[Long duc dong]

Ok, so we stack the top 10 with all the great players. Notre Damn wins every game. Up until their is conduct violation, which would eventually come. Should we waive that agreement between the ncaa and the student athletes? Same for GPA requirements, they are cash cows after all.

What agreement are you talking about?

If you mean getting benefits from boosters, then no, I don't think those rules should be waived. Thinking the players should get some sort of benefit for the revenues they generate does not equate to removing all the rules. Right now we have a situation where illegal benefits are rampant, as they have been for the last 30 years. Whatever the NCAA is doing is obviously not working.

As for the academic requirements.....They should not be waived, but they are already a sham. Schools like USC and Florida admit football/basketball players who would not come within a country mile of admission if they were normal students. The academic standards for big time athletes are already way below the student body.

I remember John Thompson(Georgetown coach) bitching about Prop 48 in the late 80's. It seemed funny to me, that he was coaching at a school which was close to the Ivies in terms of average SAT score, one of the most selective schools in the country, and he wanted to accept people who could not crack 700 on their SAT's!!!

As I said before, the most logical thing would be to give the players a bit of the pie, in the form of a pension. The players would not like it, they would want money now, but if this were done right it would help them when they are older, a time when many could certainly use the money.

[Platinum Pete]

Some of the student athletes don't get their basic needs by their scholarship programs - a 350 pound linebacker has to eat a lot, so does a Michael Phelps - the stipends are really not enough. Plus athletic nutrition science is a bit beyond the crap they serve in a dorm cafeteria - give the student athletes what they need to succeed, have basic needs met plus a little, and you'll reduce temptation dramatically. At the same time simplify the rules and get more aggressive with the penalties. Sure it'll still be tough to turn down poon and side cash, but temptation will be reduced and it will be more clear what is not permitted and what happens if you get caught. The above should improve how it works for the student athletes.
The bigger, more complex problem is the athletic departments, alumni groups, and university complicity in skirting or violating the rules. Harsher, quicker penalties would help. Better auditing and monitoring by NCAA would help. Simplified rules would help. To some degree fewer restrictions would help - make it very damn clear that the university and alumni groups cannot be involved in any rule breaking, but if Outback Steakhouse wants to sponsor a team with free food, maybe you allow that. And allow the local Toyota Dealership to give the kids leases free, shit like that. When you give a commercial association to the student athlete as a product the leverage of the sponsor to influence good behavior is increased - the student athletes have something to lose.

[Cono Este]

On the radio, i heard that ex agent crook comment what a joke it was the compliance personnel work for university. How if they reported some super star wearing a new gold necklace, he's be out of a job. I think that is a great point. They should be paid by the NCAA and things would change alot.

What is so unbelievable, is that im sure many of the U's violations became known before Nevin started chirping. Like when the law took him down, during the trail, or even before. Instead of reporting the potential for a bad situation, you can bet that they have done everything to hide it. Death penalty.