The Death of College Sports

College sports are a multi-billion dollar establishment. Thousands of students enroll in the respective institutions, and only a small portion actually have the privilege to compete in sports at the collegiate level. There was a day, not too far from distant memory, when athletes played for free education, housing, tutoring, food plans, and minor travel expenses. We're not going to be naive enough to say these athletes never received monetary contributions under the table. How many college booster organizations had to fall on the sword to save the reputation of their beloved institutions? Even then, the NCAA handed out fines, probations, and stripped away scholarships.

Bob Dylan wrote back in '64, "The times they are a-changin'." Here we are some 57 years later, and boy, have they ever! College athletes are now being paid for their services! Gone are the days of $500 stuffed in a shoebox, or in Jeremy Pruitt's case, a McDonald's bag full of cash... Anyway... We're now talking hundreds of thousands and even millions of dollars to lure top athletes to certain schools. Obviously, the small market schools and lower-end talent are the losers of these new legal over-the-table deals.

In the defense of the players, I will admit that schools and the NCAA make millions off the name-image-likeness of the kids. I would never refute that. However, to say that these kids are playing for free is a joke. Remember earlier the perks of being a college athlete? Free education, tutoring, meal plans, housing, travel expenses, etc.? That just wasn't enough. The problem with this kind of payment is the gray areas painted by the NCAA to "control" these investments. Ask The University of Tennessee and The University of Virginia... They filed suit against the NCAA due to their investigation efforts and attempts to enforce standards, rules, and guidelines that simply weren't there. Why else would the NCAA withdraw said investigation?

This is where we have a problem. If the Nico "I-am-leaving" controversy did one thing, it opened the eyes of a fanbase, booster organizations, college coaches, parents, and even the NCAA itself. The NIL was never intended to be a pay-to-play scheme, but that is what it has turned into in such a short time. It was only meant for college athletes to be able to cash in on the millions being raked in by their jersey sales and memorabilia. It was to add to their comfort, not to give them a new way of life.

Now with the controversy mentioned, we have a player holding out until a new contract is negotiated because he and his camp desire more money. Can the arguments of: "It was about the school. It was about the offense. It was about the long walk from the circle to the stadium. It was about the bad breath of a host of fans screaming your name while walking down Peyton Manning Pass." Give me a break! If it wasn't about the money, then why miss practice? Why no communication with your coaches and team? It's always about the money, folks! Let's be honest!

So how is this going to kill college sports? Well, the landscape has already made a drastic change. Smaller schools develop talent and are picked off the vine by larger schools that wave a million in their direction. Coaches can no longer build an offense, knowing what players will be there for three and four years. It's a season-to-season basis now. Lose one and find another. No responsibility. No honoring your commitment. No more being resilient and earning your spot. The fundamental practices that once existed in college sports have died. Within that death, it has taken the very heart of the games and competitions we have known and loved over the years. The roots of college sports have been poisoned by a papery green substance we call money. Right now the trunk, limbs, and leaves are alive, but it's only a matter of time before they too succumb to the poison.