The Rich Get Richer

THE RICH GET RICHER

Apparently the powers that be in the NCAA office heard my rantings that expanding the NCAA tournament to 96 teams would be the equivalent of handing out trophies to everyone just for participating.  Gone would be the prestige associated with qualifying for the tournament and being considered an “elite” team.  This week the NCAA announced that they would expand to 68 teams, which in my mind is the best possible solution given the fact that the NCAA was hell bent on expansion.

 The NCAA and CBS sports signed a $10.8 billion deal good for the next 14 years.  On the plus side March Madness fans will be able to see regional games in their entirety, on the negative side student athletes still won’t be receiving any of the money that their hard work, dedication and drive do so much to generate.  In an era when million dollar contracts are the norm for high level coaches don’t the student athletes deserve to have a trust established for them so that when they graduate and suddenly find themselves going “pro” in something other than their sport they actually have the opportunity to succeed in finding a job? 

 No student athlete at the DI level has the time to participate in internships relevant to their major or hold summer jobs to build up their financial reserves for when they graduate so that they can afford to live while they job hunt.  The fairy tale of DI athletes being handed jobs is simply that a fairy tale.  Nor is it appropriate to state that the value of their scholarship is equivalent to the time and effort they invest on a daily basis to participating in a collegiate sport.  If the average cost of tuition, room and board works out to about $30,000, a regular student could work 40 hours a week at $14.00 an hour for 52 weeks and be able to pay off their tuition.  The regular student athlete easily devotes 40 hours a week to “athletic” related activities even though rules state 20 hours a week of practice and film time.  Naturally that doesn’t factor in bus and airplane rides, time in the training room, optional but mandatory shooting, volunteer clinics and a litany of other time consuming items.  It would also be remarkable if the NCAA factored injury pay to help pay for long term care down the line.  How many former collegiate athletes 15 years after graduation are suffering the after effects of concussions, knee reconstructions, steel rods implanted in shin bones and shoulder reconstructions incurred during their playing years? My sister, best friend and husband combined have had 12 surgeries, all former collegiate athletes.  How many of them are receiving health care help from the NCAA? NONE

 In my opinion the NCAA has the most brilliant minds in the country working for them as they have found a way to legally make money off the backs of individuals that they do not compensate.  How absolutely brilliant is that? They have managed to “hire” workers for free as it is the colleges’ responsibility to provide the scholarships, fund the teams and pay the staff.  In some cases the workers are under the age of 18, so I am thinking that Kate Gosselin has nothing on the NCAA.  They maintain their tax exempt status as a non-profit because they are organized and operate exclusively for educational purposes.  Is the NCAA any more worthy of tax-exempt status then the “houses” in my parents’ neighborhood that hang a sign out front and call themselves a church?  In this case I would argue that the NCAA’s tax exempt status is a good thing because it forces full disclosure and transparency.

 In any case the rich are getting richer while the student athletes are still well student athletes.

 FOR NOW I AM WAITING TO SEE HOW THE RUMORED BIG TEN EXPANSION EFFECTS MY BELOVED BIG EAST BASKETBALL CONFERENCE.