After FBI investigation, wiretappings, AAU coaches being indited and entire committees being formed to straighten out the mess that is college basketball, many people are left wondering just how much the proposed changes to the NCAA would affect their alma mater.
So how would all of this affect SUU? Well, probably not very much.
A school that is building its reputation like SUU may expect an influx of players transferring from larger schools in search of more playing time, and maybe some of our elite athletes will spend their Junior and Senior years elsewhere. There could be more dudes in Mr. Smith sunglasses walking around campus and hitting up our athletes. But, the most likely outcome is that nothing will happen and SUU athletics will remain the same.
Maybe, just maybe, the planets will align and student-athletes will be paid a fair salary for what they do. Well, unless Condoleezza Rice has something to say about it.
Rice and her college basketball committee mentioned implementing the old freshman ineligibility rule, something that would actually have a major impact on smaller schools like SUU because the players that would be looking to go one-and-done would just join the G-League and skip the college circuit altogether, but lower caliber players that could immediately contribute to mid-majors wouldn’t be allowed to play just because the NCAA wants to pretend that it’s the players’ fault that the system is corrupt.
Another very interesting wrinkle is that the NCAA is only bringing up this issue within basketball. I think that this is intentional. My theory is that the NCAA is kind of happy that this came up because it’s the perfect aversion from the single ugliest and largest scandal in the history of the NCAA, the Larry Nassar case.
It’s strange that the NCAA didn’t want to be the voice of morality in that case, but as soon as Wendell Carter’s mom had lunch paid for, the NCAA was very outspoken. Nassar was sexually assaulting girls for years. Players have also been getting paid under the table for years. Now tell me, where is the former secretary of state leading the charge against sexual assault in gymnastics? There won’t be one, and it’s simply because the NCAA doesn’t really care about student-athletes. They just want to seem clean, so they can keep raking the money in with no consequences. Baseball players, javelin throwers, wrestlers, soccer stars, and any other student-athlete deserve to be paid and have their rights protected just as much as basketball players.
The NCAA seems intent on just glossing over important issues within the sport just so that they can spray paint over the rusted car that is college basketball. That’s no surprise considering their track record, but the suggestions that have been submitted are exciting and could have a positive impact on the sport. It will take some kind of union between the players and the Condoleezza Rice’s of the world. Maybe there should be some kind of a players’ union to protect the athletes.
Can you imagine the NCAA relinquishing that kind of power to their indentured servants? Yeah, right.
Story by:
Connor Sanders
Photo Courtesy of:
The National Collegiate Athletic Association
