If you follow sports, then you have likely heard about the many NCAA college basketball scandals over the last couple of years. In recent months, the college basketball landscape has been rocked by sex scandals, pay-for-play allegations, and academic fraud. This is compounded by the most controversial part of college basketball, the fact that players do not get paid.
The Commission on College Basketball made some suggestions to the NCAA about how to solve their college basketball problems. The suggestions are a decent start, but unfortunately, they don’t go far enough.
The suggestions include:
- Ending One-And-Done
Many people believe that players should once again be allowed to jump to the NBA out of high school. The committee suggests there should be more options for high school talent using the Major League Baseball’s system as a potential model.
- Harsher Penalties
The committee suggested that rule breakers, especially repeat offenders, should be punished much more harshly. The NCAA website specifically cited Rick Pitino’s suspension as an example of a light sentence.
- More Regulated Agent Involvement
Allow agents to interact with players more, but with certain parameters and qualifications.
- More Involvement with Highschool Players
The committee suggested that the NCAA work with outside organizations to set up its own recruiting events to compete with the AAU which some people see as too unregulated.
- More Transparency with Shoe Companies
It has come out in some of the recent scandals that shoe companies had more influence than they should. This first batch of suggestions implies that shoe companies should face greater scrutiny and offer more financial transparency.
This list is fine, but it’s not a watershed moment for college athletics. None of these suggestions are bad, but they are just that…suggestions. Additionally, some of the suggestions are actually outside of the locus of control of the NCAA. For example, the NCAA can’t make the NBA allow high schoolers to enter the draft.
The biggest failure of these suggestions was the notable exclusion of financial compensation for players. Lack of pay is one of the biggest issues facing the NCAA and the issue from which many of its other problems stem, such as cheating and agent involvement.
Without the inclusion of compensation, and without the NCAA actually adopting any of these suggestions, it is essentially a wish list that does nothing more than alleviate criticism for a limited time.