On the Warpath: the NCAA is Comin', To Your Cit-tay

Let’s talk about college athletes and money.

There’s been a lot going on in the last few weeks regarding athletes that have already done or might do things that compromise their eligibility with the NCAA. And the NCAA is not happy at all about that, if the sanctions against USC and the beginning crackdown against other programs is any indication. A lot of people will say it’s about time they started taking these things more seriously and levying penalties against players, teams, and schools who are found to be in non-compliance. But at the same time, it’s a much thornier issue that isn’t going to go away anytime soon.

As with all other sports, professional or amateur, using performance enhancing drugs is undoubtedly cheating. The on the field results are affected and gives the PED taker an advantage, however slight. But what about other non-drug things that might enhance performance in a less obvious or even in a peripheral way? Thinking about it this way, right off the bat we have a problem because the collegiate playing field isn’t level. Sure the NCAA divides up schools into different divisions based on number of students and other factors that are supposed to group schools according to relative power. But it’s been nearly 40 years since they divided schools into Divisions I, II, & III, and over 30 years since they split DI and DI-A for football. The landscape has changed dramatically in that time, and I’d argue that there are more differences today between the top and middle of Division I than there were between DI & DIII back in 1972.

In college football, the NCAA tries to even things out. There’s the Academic Progress Rate, which is supposed to track academic progress and discrepancies, and there’s the 85 scholarship limit, which is supposed to act as a sort of salary cap, if you will. But not all scholarships and academics are created equally, which is a big part of the problem. It’s not just the free education that attracts potential recruits – it’s the campus, the facilities, the experience, and the overall lifestyle. Schools that make a lot of money have a lot of money to spend on athletics and their student-athletes. They can have nicer training rooms, can provide better academic support systems, can travel better (when they have to travel), and in general are able to offer more to their athletes. The schools that don’t make as much revenue and don’t have as much to spend are at a disadvantage. Is it the bigger school’s fault that they can spend more money, or is it the smaller school’s fault they don’t have as much? No – that’s just the way it is. (Yes, we could take this cue to talk about BCS payouts and how they’re unfair to the non-BCS conferences, but we’re not gonna go there today, partly because I don’t want to bring it into this particular discussion and partly because I don’t believe it as I've stated before at length.)

Of course this all relates to the Reggie Bush case that USC got hammered over. Was he probably taking money? Sure. His parents had a nicer place to live, there might’ve been a nicer vehicle in the parking spot, etc. But did taking that money make him a better player on the field and contribute to USC’s winning? Maybe, maybe not. But the thing to realize is that this isn’t a black and white issue. Because of the discrepancies between schools, there are varying degrees of advantage of being at each school. Was the extra advantage Bush received any greater than the advantage a student-athlete at USC has compared to a student-athlete at Tulane? If a student-athlete at Hawaii took $20,000 from someone, would it give them a greater advantage (both on and off the field) than a clean student at Texas or Ohio State?

The big question here is whether or not college students should get paid, and a lot of people probably say no. That’s in part because they’re already receiving an advantage that most of the other millions of college students in the U.S. don’t get – a free education. In a time when sending a child to school is becoming astronomically expensive, a scholarship can be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. But paying college athletes just feels... wrong, I know. We love the players on our college teams because they're like we were - they chose the school for many of the same reasons we did. Paying them makes them into mercenaries who only go where the money is.

(Another side issue that comes up here is whether it’s right that the NCAA and schools make millions of dollars from athletics while all the students get are scholarships. This one I’ll touch on briefly – yes, it’s more than all right. Not only because of the aforementioned scholarships, but because they money is going toward education. It’s not going to a greedy company that sells do-hickeys, or the government, or an owner who already has billions like in professional sports. It’s going to schools and research and making the college students of the nation more educated. So yes, it’s more than all right that the schools make millions. They should get even more, as far as I’m concerned.)

It’s a real slippery slope, one that scholarships doesn’t help any. Is there a perfect solution? Not really. Athletes are already receiving an advantage just by being athletes, and that benefit is greater at bigger schools with more money. People lament that college athletes are already the minor leagues for the pros and that the first part of the term “scholar-athlete” is an utter joke. But maybe the solution is to just open the floodgates and allow them to be paid. Keep the academic standards in place, just so they have an official affiliation with the college. Maybe it would work, maybe not. I'm not saying it's the answer or even a good one, but here’s what we do know – there are already a lot of student-athletes getting paid, the NCAA is way too small to police every single collegiate athlete, and there are a whole host of people willing to give them money, from agents to boosters to community members. That’s a big tidal wave of influence, and it’s only going to get bigger as the money keeps rolling in.

Athletic Dept. Revenues in Millions, 2003-2008
Conf	Team	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	6yr Total
Big10	Ohio St	103.9	89.7	104.7	109.4	118	119.9	645.5
Big12	Texas	83.5	89.7	97.8	105	120.3	138.5	634.7
SEC	Florida	72.7	77.4	82.4	107.8	106	108.3	554.6
Big10	Michigan	68.9	78.4	85.5	89.1	99	95.2	516.1
SEC	Tennessee	66.8	71.5	69.9	95.4	88.7	92.5	484.9
Big10	Wisconsin	58.1	75.3	78.9	82.6	93.5	89.8	478.2
SEC	Alabama	59.8	62.3	68.6	81.9	88.9	103.9	465.5
Big10	Penn St	57.5	60.8	70.5	76.3	91.6	96	452.7
SEC	LSU	54	60.9	64.9	76.5	84.2	100.1	440.5
Indy	Notre Dame	55	57.6	78.2	83.6	83.4	81.1	438.9
SEC	Georgia	47	68.8	79.2	75.9	84	81.5	436.5
SEC	Auburn	46.8	50.9	68.3	81.7	89.3	87	424.1
Big10	Iowa	53.4	61.6	66.8	80.2	81.1	79.5	422.7
Big12	Oklahoma	57.9	63.4	64.5	69.4	77.1	81.5	413.8
Pac10	USC	53	60.7	65.4	76.4	76.4	80.2	412.1
Big10	Michigan St	49.8	59.2	66.7	73.2	77.7	75.6	402.4
Big12	Texas A&M	50	62.8	70.9	69.4	74.8	72.9	400.9
Big12	Nebraska	55.9	55.9	64.1	71.1	75.5	74.9	397.4
ACC	Virginia	42.5	62.3	92.7	64.9	65.4	67.1	394.8
Big12	Kansas	59.3	49.9	63	65.2	86	70.6	394.1
SEC	Kentucky	52.4	52.9	57.1	60.6	71.2	72.1	366.2
Big10	Minnesota	50	51.7	56.9	64.8	63.8	70.3	357.6
Pac10	Stanford	35.8	41.5	60.7	65.5	76.7	74.7	354.9
Big12	Oklahoma St	46.9	41.2	53.6	46.7	88.6	71.8	348.8
SEC	South Carolina	40.7	43	53.1	60.5	66.5	76.3	340.2
ACC	North Carolina	43.9	49.1	54.1	58.2	61.3	70.2	336.7
Pac10	UCLA	42.5	44.5	52.1	61.3	66.1	66.2	332.7
Pac10	California	38	43.9	52.7	60.5	63.9	73.4	332.4
SEC	Arkansas	44.3	45.6	47.9	63.3	64.2	64	329.3
Big10	Purdue	43.8	48.9	50.2	56.3	62.1	59.9	321.2
Pac10	Washington	42.6	43.2	52.4	59.6	60.7	60.6	319.1
ACC	Duke	39	42.2	50.5	47.5	67.8	71.1	318.1
Big10	Illinois	44	46.8	49.2	56.8	57.2	55.6	309.6
ACC	Boston College	35.7	36.8	53.2	57.4	61.2	64.2	308.4
ACC	Virginia Tech	38.9	45.7	48.5	65.5	56	52.8	307.5
BigEast	Connecticut	43	47.2	49.9	52.8	54.7	58.5	306.2
ACC	Clemson	40.8	40	46.2	55.7	59.1	60.2	302
Pac10	Oregon	40.8	40.1	45.1	50.5	56.6	60.3	293.4
BigEast	Louisville	35.1	39.6	48.3	54.6	52.2	58	287.9
Big12	Missouri	39.9	46.8	45.2	48.6	49.1	57.8	287.4
ACC	Miami	47.5	39.8	41.6	49.2	46.8	62	286.9
Big12	Texas Tech	42.3	47.3	53.3	53.6	42.8	46.6	286
Pac10	Arizona St	35	39.6	48.4	53.5	53.5	53.3	283.2
BigEast	West Virginia	37.8	35.9	49.9	47	54.3	55.7	280.5
ACC	Florida St	36	39	40.9	42.2	45.4	74.4	277.9
Big10	Indiana	36.4	38.3	39.5	44.7	54.8	60.6	274.4
BigEast	Syracuse	40.6	42.3	47.9	43.7	44.7	52.1	271.3
ACC	Georgia Tech	39.7	38.8	44.4	49.6	47.1	48.1	267.6
Big12	Kansas St	40.7	39	43.4	48.3	48.2	47.4	267.1
Big12	Colorado	36.3	35.9	46.9	42.4	52.6	49.9	263.9
Pac10	Arizona	35.3	39	40.3	45.3	47	51.8	258.7
BigEast	Rutgers	31.9	37.2	41	44.1	50.2	54.3	258.6
Pac10	Oregon St	30.2	36.8	37.9	45.4	47.2	50.2	247.7
SEC	Vanderbilt	33.8	36.6	40.4	39	45.5	45.6	240.9
ACC	NC State	32.4	31.4	39	42.6	44.6	46.5	236.5
Big10	Northwestern	32.4	34.3	38.3	40.8	41.8	48.6	236.2
Big12	Baylor	28.1	31.1	36.2	40.5	44.2	48.5	228.7
BigEast	Pittsburgh	31.8	34.1	33.2	37.5	39.7	45.8	222.1
ACC	Maryland	40.5	46.3	60	22.5	24.3	27.2	220.7
ACC	Wake Forest	29.6	31.6	34.5	36.8	40	44.6	217.2
Big12	Iowa St	27.1	28.7	32.5	36.9	38.6	45.8	209.7
MtnWest	TCU	21.3	21.1	37.1	39.2	43.4	46.5	208.6
Pac10	Washington St	30.5	26.2	29.7	31.9	39.6	38.3	196.2
SEC	Mississippi	27.6	28.7	29.4	33.6	34.8	41.3	195.4
MtnWest	San Diego St	37.4	25.6	31.1	31.1	31.7	34.5	191.4
MtnWest	BYU	26	29.3	30.8	32.1	36.7	35.6	190.6
CUSA	SMU	28.5	22.7	32.7	27.7	33	35.4	179.9
BigEast	Cincinnati	19.8	25.1	28.9	34.2	33.9	35	176.9
CUSA	UCF	18.9	21.3	44.8	29.6	28.8	30	173.4
CUSA	Memphis	22.5	24.3	27.2	29.3	33.4	33.5	170.2
SEC	Mississippi St	24	25.5	25.8	25.8	30.4	36.5	168.1
BigEast	South Florida	18.6	20.3	25.8	28.2	34.7	37.9	165.5
MtnWest	UNLV	21.5	23	23.6	25.2	32.8	33.2	159.2
WAC	Fresno St	27.5	25.4	25.7	25.2	26.3	28.8	158.9
MtnWest	Utah	20.9	25.2	25.1	25.9	26.9	31.8	155.9
WAC	Hawaii	21	20.3	23.8	26.5	33	30.5	155.1
CUSA	Rice	23	21.6	26.4	26	26.8	30.7	154.4
MAC	Temple	22.8	22.9	25.8	25.8	27.5	26.9	151.7
MtnWest	New Mexico	20.5	18.8	25	26.2	28.8	32	151.3
CUSA	Houston	13.9	22.5	26	28.2	30.9	29.6	151.1
CUSA	East Carolina	18.3	19.3	21.7	25.1	29.3	30.6	144.2
MtnWest	Wyoming	17.7	20.3	21.2	21	23.7	24.7	128.6
MAC	Miami (OH)	17.6	20.1	20.5	22.3	23.3	24.7	128.4
CUSA	Tulsa	17.1	16	18.2	24.3	25.8	27.1	128.4
CUSA	UTEP	12.4	23.4	20.6	20.8	23.2	23	123.4
CUSA	Tulane	20.6	20	17.6	19.2	20	20.8	118.2
CUSA	UAB	15.5	18.2	18.7	21.6	21.6	22.6	118.2
MtnWest	Colorado St	18	17.6	18.2	19.8	22.1	22.3	118
SunBelt	Western Kentucky	20.9	21.2	16.1	17.2	20	21	116.4
MAC	Buffalo	18.1	16.2	18.3	19.7	19.1	23.4	114.9
WAC	Nevada	14.1	18.3	19.9	19.9	21.1	21.4	114.7
MAC	Western Michigan	19.2	16.6	18.5	18.7	19.2	21.7	113.9
CUSA	Marshall	16.5	16.3	17.9	19	21.3	22.1	113.2
WAC	Boise St	13.9	15	19.3	22.3	21.8	20.6	112.8
MAC	Central Michigan	13.3	16.7	17.8	20.4	21.5	22.5	112.2
MAC	Bowling Green	16.9	15.4	17.6	23.5	18.1	16.3	107.8
MAC	Eastern Michigan	12.5	17.5	17	19.6	19.3	22	107.8
MAC	Ohio	12.9	14.7	16.7	18.7	20.4	21.9	105.4
WAC	New Mexico St	8.8	12.9	12.8	19.4	25.1	25.6	104.6
CUSA	Southern Miss	16.7	18.2	19.6	16	14.5	18.6	103.7
SunBelt	Florida Intl	10.7	14.8	16	17.9	20.2	21.3	101
MAC	Northern Illinois	16.1	13.4	15	16.9	19.2	19.9	100.4
MAC	Kent St	11.3	15.3	15.9	17.5	18.9	17.9	96.7
WAC	San Jose St	11.9	13.3	17.2	17	18.3	17.9	95.5
MAC	Akron	12.2	13.2	14.5	17.8	17.9	19.8	95.4
MAC	Ball St	13.3	13.7	14.5	15.5	17.4	19.4	93.9
SunBelt	Middle TN St	12.5	13.6	15.3	17.3	17.3	17.2	93.2
SunBelt	North Texas	11.4	14.2	15.1	16.8	15.8	16.6	89.8
MAC	Toledo	2.1	15.3	16.8	17	18.1	19.2	88.5
SunBelt	Florida Atlantic	9.9	13.2	13.5	14.1	14.8	14.9	80.3
WAC	Utah St	10.6	10.4	11.8	12.8	13.2	16.5	75.3
SunBelt	Troy	10.9	10.4	12	13.1	13.1	14.4	74
WAC	Idaho	11.2	9.6	10.9	12.7	12.9	15.1	72.3
WAC	Louisiana Tech	9.2	9.8	10.1	12.4	12.5	13.9	67.9
SunBelt	Arkansas St	9.1	7.2	10.1	10.1	10.5	10.7	57.7
SunBelt	LA-Lafayette	7.3	8	8	10.1	11.1	12.1	56.7
SunBelt	LA-Monroe	5.5	5.5	7.2	9.1	7.7	7.9	43