The Ohio State Problem

Today, I read an article on Scout’s College Football News about the Ohio State situation and how the NCAA needs to react to this and other situation like it.  In the end of the article, the author, Pete Fiutak, states the following:

I’ve written and said this in every way possible. NCAA, it’s time. Just let the players make money.

The schools don’t have money lying around to increase the stipend – the extra TV money should go into the underfunded academic programs.

Really, was it so bad that Terrelle Pryor allegedly made money from signing things? (By the way, I write that in plain view of the Pryor-signed football given to me as a gift last year.) Is it really that bad if a booster wants to take a player out to dinner, or hand him $100, or give him a car? Is it really morally wrong to make a deal with a marketing company while still in college, sell a t-shirt for some extra cash, or go to a party thrown by an agent? Of course not.

NCAA, it’s time to change the focus of your mission. Instead of trying to police all the minutiae, realize what’s truly important. Do more research on the concussion problems. Finally start doing something about the underreported and completely unnoticed steroid and performance enhancing drug problem. Work harder at helping players be students. Basically, focus your energy elsewhere.

NCAA, this is fixable, but you have to become realistic. Times have changed, and you need to, too.   

This is absolutely the wrong approach to fixing the problems in the NCAA.  Introducing more money into the system will only make it worse.  By taking this approach, recruiting will become a bidding war, boosters will offer $100,000, $200,000 or $500,000 for top recruits, introducing more corruption into the sport.  College Football is supposed to be about pride, winning for your school, beating your archrival, singing your school fight song, hot cheerleaders, wearing body paint in 5 degree weather; not money, greed and corruption.

This problem can only be fixed by taking money out of the equation.  If a program like Ohio State does something like this, the people responsible need to be punished.  Jim Tressel should face a ban on coaching college football, and heavy fines.  The Athletic Department should be cleaned out and banned from working on college campuses.  Terrelle Pryor and the players who broke the rules should pay for anything they sold and pay back all scholarship money the school spent on them along with heavy fines.  The team should lose scholarships, ban the boosters and people involved from any Ohio State related events.  However, the current and past players and fans who didn’t do anything wrong should not be punished (trust me that is saying a lot coming from the world’s biggest Michigan fan and Ohio State hater).

College sports are supposed to be the purest form of sports, it’s supposed to be a about winning for you school, not a paycheck.  I know this sounds a little pie in the sky, but it should be.  College is a place where dreams start.  Kids party at tailgates, scream at kickoff, shout obscenities at the opponent, and realize the money isn’t everything.  That is what college football (or baseball, basketball, hockey, whatever) needs to be, the players who excel such as Pryor will have the opportunity to make money after school and if they are good enough they’ll make millions and that’s how capitalism works (I promise that’s the only political mention I’ll make) but College Football is COLLEGE FOOTBALL, not pro football.  The fans want players to play for their teammates, their coaches, their fans, for trophies and for glory not for a paycheck, that’s what the NFL is for.