[NU Sports] Pay to Play

[SjT (Stephen J. Truog)]

Interesting story ... I still don't like it. It's a slippery slope that will be abused by the SEC and a full-ride scholarship is already a hefty dose of payment.

But it is interesting that it's the Big Ten coming up with this - the supposed "academic" league of student athletes first - at least according to them. So if they do it, then it gives cover for other leagues to do it, and you know the SEC won't be able to stop at a couple thousand bucks.

It also shows how little control there is over college football and what a laughing stock it makes of the NCAA. Every other sport would be reined in by the NCAA on this before it even got out there. But college football goes wild with its corrupt bowl system instead of an NCAA playoff, has its own TV deals, "disciplines" its own coaches and players run amok and now apparently leaves the world of amateur athletics to become semi-pro?

They really should just separate college football into separate European-style "sport clubs" loosely affiliated (but not officially linked) with college campuses. They could keep the names and logos, but the full rides would be gone and the payment could all be done directly (and not through Cam Newton's father). The rest of the sports could stay under the NCAA and be amateur athletics still under the college umbrella with Title IX and all the rules and playoffs, but as this shows, college football is obviously different. Not sure that's a good type of different, either.

GO CATS!!!
-SjT


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STEPHEN J. TRUOG
sjtruog at yahoo.com
GO CATS!!! GEAUX SAINTS!!!
Super Bowl XLIV Champions!
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