With college sports at crossroads, unspoken problem facing NCAA is race

[Halldan1]

After another thrilling NCAA men’s basketball tournament and the smashing success of the inaugural College Football Playoff, college sports have never been a hotter commodity. The massive commercial success of non-profit educational institutions managing and operating for-profit sports business enterprises has enabled many coaches and administrators to earn millions in salaries and several billions more have been made for the conferences, schools and NCAA in television revenue.

Such success has brought intense scrutiny. Several lawsuits have been filed challenging the NCAA’s control and questioning the definition of amateur status, most prominently former UCLA star Ed O’Bannon’s suit against the NCAA. And a group of Northwestern football players, led by former quarterback Kain Colter, won the right to unionize (the matter is on appeal to the National Labor Relations Board).

With billions at stake, the temptation to cheat has never been higher, and as a result of this immense pressure, academic scandals have stained the reputations of the University of North Carolina and Syracuse. Throughout these most challenging, contentious times facing the NCAA, the “elephant in the room” is race.


One idea how to fix college sports: allow athletes union membership


This is not new. Sociologist Harry Edwards, historian Taylor Branch and journalist Joe Nocera all have offered excellent commentary on the issue of race and the NCAA. Just look at the breakdown of black males on campuses in the power conferences: in general, the percentage of black males in the student body of most universities is low. But the percentage of black males participating in the revenue-generating sports of football and basketball on these same campuses is extremely high.
The NCAA, academic scandals and race

Are the UNC and Syracuse academic scandals an aberration or an indication of a systemic issue surrounding race?..............................

http://www.si.com/college-football/2015/05/19/ncaa-problems-race

 

[Section112]

It is a systemic issue that is about money more than anything in my mind. Making money for the schools, the coaches and the ADs. That is the driving force. All other issues (albeit they may be issues including race) are a distant second to money IMO.

 

[hallgrad80]

Certainly there is no simple answer as to whether there is a systemic problem within college athletics that is compromising its academic mission by keeping athletes eligible by embracing academic fraud to do so. Many suggest it's all about the money but is it. In today's world of collegiate athletics the enormous pool of TV revenue is split evenly among the conference schools whether the school's athletic programs are successful or not which might suggest that that simple fact removes the incentive to cheat if money is the driver . If that is true then what is the driver that compels schools to cheat. It is that highly successful programs generate considerable revenue from increased donations, merchandise sales, game attendance and other revenue sources that apply to each school individually and thus money might be the major driver after all. Is it the demand to be successful by the most influential donors and alumni and an aggressive fan base or are we seeing that the paradigm as to what is the most important face for a University to project is not its academic reputation but it's athletic standing.

I don't personally believe that the only driver is money but that there are a number of factors that have driven the growth in academic fraud and the growth in providing " other benefits " to induce an athlete to attend a particular university. What I do believe is that only when the sanctions imposed on those who cheat provide a sufficient deterrent will we see this current trend diminish .