College Basketball scandals

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
According to CNN, there are a lot of college basketball scandals this year before March Madness. One involving a head coach using his son (who is a teacher at the school) to fake his players taking and acing a class that doesn't exist. Another teacher taught a basketball class and gave A's to all the players on the team even though they never showed up at the request of the coach. Another scandal caused the resignation of a university president. Isnt it enough that basketball players get most of the scholarship money in universities and many of them (not all) end up doing so poorly in school, that people find ways to keep them on the team by paying off teachers and faking grades? ITS JUST BASKETBALL!!! The thing that really gets to me is the fact that these players have so many people there for them and helping them out, they get thousands of dollars in scholarships. Meanwhile the kids who NEED the money and attention, who EXCEL in school, get cast aside by schools with star basketball teams. This is common when sports come into play, especially when high school seniors apply for scholarships. Any thoughts?



DISCLAIMER: I have nothing against college athletes. I would be one myself if I had the time. I am only upset at all the money and effort being diverted to University sports programs.



[ 03-11-2003: Message edited by: filmmaker2002 ]



[ 03-11-2003: Message edited by: filmmaker2002 ]</p>

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 4
    scottscott Posts: 7,431member
    If they had a minor league for these sports it wouldn't be such a problem. I don't have a problem with a kid coming out of high school and wanting to take a shot a playing ball for a living. If they went off to flip burgers no one would give a shit so why should we care that they want to shoot hoops?



    The idea of a student athlete is a farce these days. I say they should just end it and create a real minor league for these players. Let the students that also want to play be on the college teams.



    Oh but wait ... the money.
  • Reply 2 of 4
    [quote]Isnt it enough that basketball players get most of the scholarship money in universities<hr></blockquote>



    There are 13 basketball players for men's bball and roughly the same for women. At almost all Division 1A universities at least basketball programs pay for themselves including the schollies and turn a profit to pay for all of the other sports soaked in red. And even at the few places where the schollies for hoops players might come from a general fund or some other setup, those 13 kids are hardly accounting for "most of the scholarship money".



    [quote]The thing that really gets to me is the fact that these players have so many people there for them and helping them out, they get thousands of dollars in scholarships. <hr></blockquote>



    The players are hardly getting a good deal. They put in nearly 2000 hours between official practice, unofficial practices, media requirements, travel and S & C. In exchange they get scholarships worth say $5-10 Gs for instate and $10-$20 or so for out of state. If you want to think of their basketball endeavors as a job they are making between $3-$10 an hour which is no better than what they would make working at McDonalds. They also forfeit their right to earn money greater than $2000 per year under NCAA rules. At the same time they are generating tons of cash flow for their schools which goes to pay for non-revenue sports, coaches salaries and spiffy facilities.



    Maybe you can make an argument that they get a good deal financially if you presume that because they get a college degree which they otherwise would not get and that gives them far more lifelong earning power. But I don't think that is the argument that you are trying to make.



    And again, as far as that schollie $, basketball programs are more than self-sufficient. If you were not providing those schollies for the kids to be there then there would be no quality team and there would no revenue for you to give away to other students. Furthermore many of those students and alumni enjoy sports teams greatly. But to each his own.



    [quote]Meanwhile the kids who NEED the money and attention, who EXCEL in school, get cast aside by schools with star basketball teams. This is common when sports come into play, especially when high school seniors apply for scholarships. Any thoughts?<hr></blockquote>



    Give me a ****ing break. Look at how much money the DOE says is out there through various sources and count how much is spent on basketball schollies. And again, their revenue pays for their schollies.



    [quote]DISCLAIMER: I have nothing against college athletes. I would be one myself if I had the time. <hr></blockquote>



    Right. All it takes is a time commitment. It is like learning to drive, anyone who wants to can do it. <img src="graemlins/oyvey.gif" border="0" alt="[oyvey]" />
  • Reply 3 of 4
    matsumatsu Posts: 6,558member
    I've thought about this a fair bit, it does seem unfair for colleges to rake in millions on the backs of athletes in exchange for scholarships whose conditions make it next to impossible to get the degree they're supposedly designed to grant.



    It might make more sense to require different NCAA divisions to supply a salary or contract to each player that then afforded those players enough money to have two or three years to finish their degrees after their 4 years of playing time have passed.
  • Reply 4 of 4
    Colander: it must just be Wisconsin state schools then. I am currently producing a documentary based on the need for a broader range of scholarships and according to my research, much of the scholarship money available to state schools goes to athletes and it doesn't come out of sports revenue, it comes from the money allocated by the state. There are hundreds of kids, especially non-minorities out there who are struggling to get through school and are trying to get a real degree...I know, I've spent hours and hours interviewing them. Many of them are being overlooked due to the fact that the schools are taking much of the money and offering it to athletes. "I can't count how many times I have heard 'if only I were a basketball player' or 'if only I played football.'" There are so few scholarships out there as it is. I'm just mad at the special treatment that some athletic programs get from their schools. And I know it takes more than time to be a college athlete. I know how much time they put into the game, I can't tell you how many Bruce Pearl (Panther's head coach) interviews I have seen. My school, UWM just got into the NCAA Tournament, and I'm excited for them. But if I weren't taking REAL classes (as opposed to some of the "scandal" school's classes) to get a Broadcast Journalism degree on top of a Political Science degree, I would have the time and the drive to play basketball. I've played on school teams for 7 years.



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