PBS Frontline: Money and March Madness

[Cjb]

For those interested (and have about 20 minutes to watch), here is a link to an EXTREMELY interesting exposee on the NCAA by Frontline.

Give the page a few seconds to load, then the video will appear mid-screen with its play button.

I think most of you will find this to be a very interesting watch.

www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline//money-and-march-madness/?utm_campaign=homepage&utm_medium=top5&utm_source=top5

[ghostofwillard]

Pimps Up, Ho's Down, its been that way forever!

[epatrick]

There's very little new in the report. But paying college players is fraught with dangers. If it's a competitive, open market for athletes then all the "benefits" will accrue to large BCS-type universities. Private colleges -- the Ionas of this world -- would not be able to compete for the athletes, for the PR that goes along with athletic programs and possibly even the non-athlete students.

This is not to say the athletes shouldn't be compensated in some way beyond the value of tuition and board. But is has to be a controlled system in which each athlete is paid an identical sum directly from the revenues of the NCAA and not from the colleges or their boosters.

In my opinion, paying student/athletes would make education even less important in many athletes' minds. It probably would also make coaching staffs less loyal to the students they recruited increasing the number of athletes driven off by coaches again reducing educational achievement.

Assuming the value of tuition and board is about $30,000 a year ( I know that high for state universities) college basketball players "earn" about $130 million a year, or about a sixth of what the NCAA pulls in with their basketball TV package. That $700 million to $800 million a year TV package doesn't come without costs to maintain the NCAA, it's venues and the colleges' cost of administering their NCAA membership and the cost of administering their own athletic programs that don't generate revenues.

A more equitable distribution of revenues is desirable but we must be certain it's not another BCS-type power grab.

[Cjb]

I agree with a lot of what you're saying Ed. But I also believe profits generated from player images (from video games, etc) AFTER they've left college shouldn't be exclusive to the NCAA. Some of that profit should be shared with that player.

[epatrick]

Apr 1, 2011 6:46:07 GMT -5 Cjb said:

I agree with a lot of what you're saying Ed. But I also believe profits generated from player images (from video games, etc) AFTER they've left college shouldn't be exclusive to the NCAA. Some of that profit should be shared with that player.

Agree 100%.