Why Paying Players Hasn’t Fixed College Sports

[utahwingman]

Pretty interesting piece by Bloomberg. Something I didn’t know were how much much money NIL ($1.97B) comes from collective (80%). The story from Washington is interesting. I can see more and more litigation against universities from players.

[Uteanooga]

The decision was not an effort to fix sports- rather the courts recognized that the way athletes were being treated was illegal.

The athletes made decisions while legally children and were bound to that decision as adults- illegal.

The athletes were not allowed to own the value of their own names and likenesses based, again, on decisions they made as children- illegal.

Contrast how the athletes were treated with how the coaches were treated. The coaches made decisions as adults and agreed contractually to the stipulations to which they would be bound. The students did not sign something giving away their rights- which would not have been binding anyway because children can not sign binding contracts.

That is different than a concerted effort to decide what would be best for colleges and for college sports.

[2008 National Champ]

The students did not sign something giving away their rights

That’s not true. Students gave away their rights to NIL which was clearly stipulated when they signed their scholarship agreements. O’Bannon v NCAA, followed by NCAA v Alston is what changed that.

The scholarship agreements were binding on the student because their Parent / Guardian also signed and that hasn’t changed.

[Uteanooga]

They signed as minors. Minors are not able to sign binding agreements.

Can you think of any other situation where a parent signs their kiddo to an agreement where the child will be bound after becoming an adult? It certainly is not common if there is precedent at all.

The courts determined in the cases you cited that the agreements were not legally acceptable. The courts were not trying to fix sports.

[RUUTES]

want to fix college sports? Spin off the pay sports and make them employees of the company. If Colleges want to keep intramurals fine.

But what is broken is only becoming more broke with the overt professionalization of the sports and the death of even a pretense of being a student athlete.

And times change…so I’m at peace with it. I’m not at peace with the student/athlete/paid…but not an employee part. Or the English Department student fees being diverted to support struggling sports teams. Or the already under fire academic integrity of universities being further degraded by this current system.

Fixing the exploitation of the billion dollar loophole abusing football/basketball players…yes. Fixing college football…don’t think it can honestly be done. Better to spin it off.

[The Miami Ute]

Better yet, have the NFL pay for it since it is the organization that receives all of the benefits of free player development. I can’t believe how, in all of this, the NFL gets a free pass. Have each NFL team take a few college teams in its regional location and use them as farm teams in some sort of subsidized league along with the networks. The universities receive royalties from the NFL for the use of the NIL but, otherwise, the players have zero connection to the school, meaning that they’re fully professional ala minor league baseball players, etc…the vast majority of universities can still maintain football programs but under Division 3 football rules, meaning that the players are most definitely students first and players last. It’ll never happen though…

[Stone]

I would support this approach. Make it minor league NFL.

Then let college sports be students that play sports. Instead of athletes that got to class (sometimes).

[UTE98]

One factor I think is being overlooked.

Academics! What do I mean? College football/P4 status means an incredible amount of money is poured into P4 universities. I talked with someone tied to CU recently and they told me the increased amount of $$ flowing into CU’s research programs due to Coach Prime is staggering.

The academics and research done at many universities, including the University of Utah, experiences an incredible increase in funding. An increased draw for better quality faculty, and a better quality of applicant. I’d be lying if I said I’d definitely be admitted to the U right out of high school now. I wasn’t a horrible student however from the U’s website.

The predominant consideration in your admissions decision is your academic record. We particularly emphasize:

Rigorous course selection throughout high school career (particularly college-level courses such as AP, IB, and dual/concurrent enrollment)
Grade trends
Cumulative unweighted GPA
Excellence in academic achievement, intellectual pursuits, and creative endeavors
Satisfactory completion of all high school graduation requirements
Secondary Factors
The application includes prompts for you to share information about yourself beyond what can be seen on a transcript. While there is no minimum GPA to be admitted, 75% of freshmen admits to the U over the last few years had an unweighted high school GPA of 3.5 or higher. Completing the entire application provides the admissions committee with a more complete picture of the experiences, talents, and strengths you would bring to the U.

How you commit your time outside of the classroom
Explanations of any time taken away from school
Reflections on your personal strengths, talents, and experiences
Evidence of academic preparedness that does not appear on a transcript (i.e., standardized test scores, academic awards and distinctions, etc.)
** Likelihood of admission may also depend on the competitiveness of the applicant pool and University enrollment goals.

[The Miami Ute]

At the point that I’m writing this, the U automatically accepts all students from the Canyons, Davis, Granite and Provo school districts who have a 3.5 GPA or higher at the start of their senior year.

[Author]

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