Last Week Tonight w/ John Oliver: The NCAA (HBO)

I always enjoy catching LWT and this episode nails it,  right down to the official ladder! Did you catch the FIFA episode over the summer?  Good stuff!

John Oliver is brilliant!  

He is brilliant. That was funny stuff.

I saw this and agree it is right on the money...pun intended.

The thing though is I am not sure playing college sports is a privilege, rather I think it is something earned via some incredible talent, dedication and work.  It is the whole concept that somehow being on a college campus playing for State is something near holy that allows for this system to function.

I believe that has to be demystified for change to occur.  It is stuff like this that is getting us there.  The utter hypocrisy and arrogance of the bandits running college sports should be exposed.  Frankly I think some are nothing more than criminals sucking off the talent of young people who are entering into incredibly one sided contracts and forbidden representation.  It is an absolute outrage. 

I expect and hope the NCAA loses every single legal challenge and the players in football and basketball demand and receive about 40-50% of the revenue those sports generate.  So the teams making the final 4 in  this years basketball tournament will earn their conference $9.5 MM.  I say let the 15 players split $4.75MM and the conference gets the rest. 

So, true.  Great bits.  Richard Sherman had a great point and Oliver compared it to a nurse getting no salary but free trumpet lessons.  That was just spot on.

When all is said and done, many moons from now, we are going to wonder how did the NCAA con us for so long.  It has to be the best cons of all time.

I don't agree with the players getting a bunch of the revenue.  If that is the way it should/will be run, they need to just get rid of college sports all together, and just have a semi-pro/minor league for these players.  Especially since a lot of the elite football/basketball players could give two @*&%+ about education.  Having the Final 4 Teams split 9 million dollars with their 15 players is quite honestly ridiculous.

Ryno, the current system is so cobbled together from years of the NCAA and NBA trying to protect their interests that I wouldn't have any idea how to fix it, but I don't think that the idea of paying basketball players Final Four bonuses is ridiculous. A few of these kids (especially on Kentucky) are losing a year's income because of a system that deliberately exploits their highly marketable talents. Andrew Wiggins (2014 1st pick overall) made about $5.5M this year as a rookie in the NBA. Would $500K have been ridiculous for his year at Kansas? I honestly don't know.

If the players don't get the revenue who does?  The schools?  Okay, I can live with that. But as it is the NCAA has dozens of officials making 6-figure incomes and  dozens of coaches making 7-figure incomes, not to mention broadcasters and beer companies making millions.  But the people actually doing the work that creates the product that generates all that cash are getting zilch.  That is simply not fair.

Many, many examples of big time athletes not going to class and receiving credit for classes they never attended.  Just look at North Carolina Basketball for one.  Just make a semi pro league, or let them go straight to the pros at 18.  Personally, I don't understand whey they can't go straight to the pros.  You can fight for your country at 18.  You are responsible as an adult in a court of law at 18.  You can be drafted into Pro Baseball at 18.

Also, I don't have a problem with giving players some money to live a normal college life, because of the time commitment it takes to play big time sports.  If however, we are talking about large sums of money, they are then not amateur athletes.  They are professionals.

Thats the point.  They are already professionals in every way except older and more savvy people keep the money and the kids get scammed.

ryno - Did you watch the video?  It is long, but it talks about UNC and is one of the most egregious examples of how 'student athletes' were used (and abused) by an institution.  And I'm a UNC fan and season ticket holder!!

Frankly, I thought the snippets from the NCAA chief provided some of the most compelling reasons why college athletes should be paid in one way or another.  At least for football and basketball.

The system is broken...badly...IMO.  Lets just talk baseball.  The idea that you lose your eligibility for having formal representation in dealing with a professional organization who negotiates similar transactions year-after-year...is one of the most ludicrous things I've ever heard of.  No one in their right mind would go into any other business negotiation that involves tons of 'fine print' and worth millions of $$ without a legal/financial expert listening (not allowed) and representing your interests (not allowed) to make sure your (or your 17/18 year old son's) interests are protected.

IF...(big IF)...the NCAA was all about the "student athlete" they would drop that nonsense and they'd likely find out that more kids, with the correct legal/financial advice, would make the decision to go to college after all.

It took a hungry superstar (Shabaz Napier) on a national championship team (UConn) embarrassing the he!! out of the NCAA to make a single and very simple change to make sure the athletes were properly fed.  Simply stunning that it took that long to react to something many...and I mean many...already knew.

I think that you may have a lawyer present - or at least the NCAA doesn't want to push the envelop that far. (On the NCAA form S indicated that the only people to have contact with pro clubs beside himself were lawyers; there were no bad ramifications.)

If thats true, the rule has changed I believe.  Used to not be allowed to have a lawyer in the room.  Could be next room, but not face-to-face.

I won't say 100%, but thats the way I remember it and I thought that is what got Ben Wetzler in trouble.

There are a lot more examples than NC in football and basketball...

I don't even know what you are saying here.  Seems a somewhat condescending, and I don't believe it is warranted, but to each his own.

For one, if you think there aren't a lot of college football players and basketball players who don't go to class and get moved along because they can run fast or dunk a basketball, you are kidding yourself. 

Baseball is a whole different animal.  I am talking football and basketball.  Which also happen to be the cash cows of the NCAA.  Things need to change.  They need to have the NCAA for true student athletes, and semi pro leagues, or allow 18 year olds to be drafted. 

Eh - I can see why you say that, but there's a blunt truth in her comment.

Maybe so, but the fact is neither her son, nor my son has/will be playing big time football or basketball at that level, so I am fairly certain there is some truth in what I said too...

You will see things as a college baseball parent that will make the video more clear to you.  Thats what I believe and I think(?) that was her point.

Fair enough...

I don't doubt that.  My point is basic, and truthful, in that there are a myriad of the top players not getting an education at the big levels.  I think most people realize that in order for these large football/basketball factories to survive, they have to keep these "Student" Athletes eligible.  Sometimes they get creative.  Plenty of examples of players moving on after playing big time football/basketball, and they have absolutely no evidence of receiving a higher education.

As someone who played basketball at a big time program (though I was not a big time player - think of me as one of those three or four guys at the end of the bench wearing warmups and high fiving the real players as they come to the bench), it's is impossible with that schedule to major in a lot of areas. You are pushed heavily toward "easy" majors that provide you a sometimes useless degree or, at best, a degree in a field that was not entirely your choice. I ocassionally hear on this board about kids in engineering programs while playing ball. That amazes me. Where I went t school you would have had to fought tooth and nail with the coaching staff to even make that work and I can't imagine the time factor. In the end, I quit school and joined the Navy. Came back later for a Philosophy degree, so it was either McDonalds or law school, but at least it was my choice the second time.

I'm sure some of you have heard this story before.  Pretty amazing!

http://espn.go.com/page2/tvlis...ow103transcript.html

I remember that story.  

FWIW, mine played at a pretty big baseball progam and he was not encouraged to take engineering.  Tha'ts just the way it is because, reality is, that in the larger programs, in the larger conferences, you are there for two reasons, get an education and play and be expected to remain eligible to play.

But you are given choices, in other words, if son wanted to major in engineering he would not have attended that program.  I dont think that most really understand how difficult it is playing a sport and mainly eligibility at the same time.  My comment was not made to be condescending but rather that after your son attends college you might understand it a bit better.

Returning after being away for 8 seasons, the program where son will be attending has a fund set up to help former athletic scholarship athletes in any sport to return to get their degree.  You will find in most programs, they encourage the athlete to return for their degree.  

But when you hear about the money that is made by the NCAA in some of these sports and the salaries made by the coaching staff, well it just blows my mind.

Remember the Olympics of years ago, professional players were not allowed to participate?  

Things change, the NCAA has to make some adjustments.

There is plenty of proof.  Most sports fans that read/watch ESPN, CNNSI, CBS Sports, etc. have seen/read enough to know that "Big Time" Athletes have been passed along without them going to class or earning their degree.  Is this what the University would prefer?  Of course not, but winning games, bowls, tournaments, etc. means BIG MONEY, and that's what matters.  Using your son's baseball as your proof, has nothing to do with anything I've said.  The Schools want their revenue, and if it means having a few uneducated players left in their wake, so be it.  

Here is  a description of a book written about the UNC Scandal.  The book is called:Cheated: The UNC Scandal.

If this was happening at an institution as prestigious as UNC, do you not think it is going on elsewhere?  

Here's a nice article from January of this year:

http://deadspin.com/ncaa-inves...-colleges-1680928515

Ryno, I don't get where you're coming from.  You have said that A) college athletes in the money sports should not be paid more than a stipend, and B) these athletes are receiving sham degrees from their colleges. Leaving aside for the moment the fact a scandal at one program or even a dozen programs doesn't prove that all programs are tainted, how would you fix it?

I believe they should have stricter requirements for"Student Athletes".  If a player is not there for an education, they shouldn't be there.  They need a minor league system like baseball.  Also, I don't have a problem with full cost of tuition.  I do have a problem with paying huge sums of money to these athletes.  

Most people don't realize that only a handful of college programs are profitable. (Think UF, Ohio State, Texas, Alabama) Probably less than 5%.  If you start paying athletes then the money won't come from the athletic department revenues, it will come from student fees or tax dollars.  That is why I have a problem with paying players.  All division 1 athletic programs are subsidized by student fees.  Don't believe the hype that the football or basketball programs are subsidizing the non revenue sports. They mostly run deficits. The football programs at most schools are using student fees to balance the books. If you pay players then the rest of the students will foot the bill.

You should watch the video. Oliver brings that up, but it's nothing that wasn't already known by anyone who pays attention. There are a good number of smaller schools that lose money, but many of the major schools that are "in the red" aren't making money by design. The revenue is spent on facilities, equipment, etc. beyond what is needed. The money to do that comes from the talent on the field, court, diamond, etc. Most athletic programs are simply going to spend whatever money comes in on whatever they can find to spend it on, call it expenses and then say, "Hey. See. We don't make a profit at this."