It’s hard to find another industry in America with these three issues combined.
As we get ready for another season of major college sports, it’s a good time to take stock of where things stand. Three structural issues need attention.
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Before I begin, let me set the context.
First, none of the three issues is new. Second, there’s plenty of research and documentation to support what I’m about to write. Third, these issues are taking place in a social institution—namely, higher education—that would never teach or support any of these practices outside of sports. And, fourth, at least one issue is well known to the public–readily apparent just by watching games–and yet, there is little, if any, public outrage.
So what’s on my to-do list?
First, major college football and basketball is a neo-(meaning ‘revived’) plantation system. While those words are harsh to the eye, the reality says it’s true. The vast majority of head coaches and AD’s are Caucasian, and the majority of players are African American. Solution: Hire many more African-Americans in athletic oversight positions. It’s that simple.
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Second, major college football and basketball is a neo-sweatshop system. How so? Coaches, administrators, universities, conferences, and NCAA reap significant financial benefits from football and basketball, while players—the front-line workers—receive benefits without salary. Benefits include room/board/cost-of-living and the possibility of a degree, which many players, African-Americans especially, don’t achieve. Higher education’s defense is that these are amateur sports. But any reasonable assessment of budgets, salaries, facilities, and media coverage says that major college football and basketball are pro-like in operation. Solution: Stop ‘using’ players for financial gain and figure out a way to share the financial pie. This isn’t a simple fix, but fixing it is a must.
Third, it’s a myth that all major sports-playing schools cover athletic expenses with athletic revenues. Yes, most of the highly recognizable names in college sports do, but hundreds of so-called “mid-major” universities don’t and can’t. To make ends meet, those schools need help—nationally, about $3 billion’s worth annually—in the form of transfers from all-university-funds and student fees. Solution: Put a cap on the percentage of revenues for athletics that come from non-athletic sources. It’s that simple.
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So, there you have it: three issues that have become persistent features of America’s major college sports. They are what we call ‘structural problems.’
What can be done? University presidents/chancellors and the NCAA could fix #1 (equity in athletics oversight) and #3 (financial responsibility) with a stroke of a pen. Only #2 (how to divide the financial pie) is a hairy matter.
Why don’t they? The NCAA and the universities don’t want to upset the apple cart. They like the system just the way it is. Don’t expect significant change coming from within. Besides, fans haven’t demanded change, and there’s nothing in the wind that says they will.
State and Federal legislatures haven’t acted as much as they could, although that’s beginning to change. And lawsuits are few and far between, although more are being filed (including on the concussion and compensation front), and more court victories have been won.
What’s the future hold?
My bet is that you’ll see regulation of college sports and more victories in the courts. At day’s end, doing what’s right and proper will win out–despite NCAA and university intransigence.
Nowhere else in the world is there a major college sports system like ours. There are good things about America’s system, but it’s also a source of public embarrassment. It’s hard to find another industry with blatant inequity, that misuses front-line workers, and has such trouble balancing its books.
***”We Americans are the only people in human history to get sport mixed up with higher education. No other country looks to its universities as a source of athletic entertainment.” University of Chicago’s Robert Maynard Hutchins, writing in Sports Illustrated, 1954.
