Ok, so I was pissed to see Coach Sampson bought out. I completely understand that the rules are the rules and he violated them. I can't even argue that the punishment doesn't fit the crime. Coach Sampson appears to be a repeat offender. What I have a problem with is the NCAA and this situation is emblematic of exactly what is wrong with the organization.
The NCAA is an organization that supposedly prides itself on making sure that athletes are students and attend college with the intent to be students. What the NCAA fails to understand, IMHO, is that often students attend college with a specific goal or dream in mind. It may be to graduate and become an accountant, a musician, an artist, a teacher and any number of other professions. Every student who goes to school, post high school is given every opportunity and encouraged to maximize their effort and optimize their resources to achieve their goals. Unless of course they happen to attend a school that is a member of the NCAA and their goal is to be a professional athlete. In those cases, the NCAA does everything it can to make sure that the athlete is not a typical or traditional student.
For these student athletes, rather than doing every thing possible to excel in their chosen field, they face rules and restrictions that are exceeded in quantity and complexity only by the US Tax Code.
One summer I visited Indiana and there were some players working out and playing on the Assembly Hall court. After watching a few minutes, I walked in the hall and there were a bunch of other players just standing outside. Waiting. I of course asked why they weren't on the court with their teammates. Turns out that no more than 4 players could be on the court at one time. Imagine telling a cello player they couldn't practice with more than 4 members of their school orchestra. This was just the first of a list of inane rules that the compliance officer who was at the gym went on to list.
yes, there was someone there who was in charge of enforcing the NCAA rules.
I wasn't able to find exact numbers, (hopefully a reader can provide them), but I would hazard a guess that many Division 1 schools spend more money on NCAA analysis, presentation and compliance than they do on many of their academic programs. How sad would it be if my alma mater Indiana University, spends more money trying to deal with the NCAA and its rules than it does on its history or math programs ?
Which takes me back to IU. Every few days or so, I get an email from a current or former student asking why I don't donate enough money to build a state of the art arena on campus. Now you know why. The chances of me giving money to any school that doesn't offer the opportunity for their student athletes to accomplish their dreams are slim and none. Withdraw from the NCAA and we can talk.
Of course that won't happen. The NCAA money (which as I am told, funds more athletics and not academics) is bigger than a check I could write and what fun is it not having anyone you can play against. For now.
At some point, hopefully someone will spend the time to put together sports alliances completely outside traditional high school and college ruling bodies that will allow students to be passionate and work hard for their dreams both on the court and field and in the classroom. Which is exactly what happens overseas in most sports.
The supremely talented and promoted can still prosper in the current system, but for those who are willing to make up for whatever they may lack in natural gifts with hard work, and good tutoring, the NCAA doesn't make dreams come true, they do their unknowing best to kill dreams.
Coach Sampson deserves his share of the blame, and he is accepting the consequences. When are we going to realize that the NCAA deserves more than its share of blame. They are dream killers, not enablers. Thats reason enough to end the NCAA reign.
The NCAA and the Hoosiers
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(Page 2)22. Mark, you bring up great points, the fact is the NCAA is not changing. The football playoff is a grat example, the fans and players want it, but it is not happening.
I'm not sure if I don't understand your theory for not supporting IU athletics. Because we are supported by the NCAA? My theory is the kids play for the name on their jersey and that is who I support and got my degree from. You have to be one of the wealthiest grads we have and you love athletics. Not asking for a new arena but come on, support the school. But who am I to tell you what to do with your money, you earned it. I am only asking.
Posted at 12:03PM on Feb 24th 2008 by Andy Begle
23. Good points, indeed. If IBM wanted my talents right out of high school, I would have gone with them instead of college. IBM could have contacted me as much as they liked, but athletics cannot do this to recruit talent for the most profitable divisions of the universities.
Another point about the NCAA and their training of "student" athletes. They allow a popularity vote system of establishing their champion in football. Imagine if a product on the shelves made it or didn't only on the votes of a few critics out there. Sales numbers mean almost nothing. It's all about appeasing those voters. Any rules about a school sending a swing BCS voter a cake?
Posted at 12:12PM on Feb 24th 2008 by Dana McCall
24. Mr. Cuban,
You write:
"Which is exactly what happens overseas in most sports."
...but in overseas sports, they don't mix higher education with sports. Sport teams are not tied to any university overseas that I know. Rather, there are private "clubs" and "leagues" where young people play and then prosper. Athletes outside the USA forgo their education after "high school" to play sports, not to study. So that being the situation outside of the USA, why don't you make the case of separating sports from universities in the USA?
BTW: I went to SMU and played NCAA athletics during the time SMU was serving its term from the "death penalty". The NCAA will never issue the "death penalty" as punishment again as it hurt the university, the conference (basically killed the Southwest Conference), AND the NCAA financially.
25. Some excellent points, but it is only fair to consider *why* the NCAA rules are the way they are.
Graph the number of athletes participating in high school sports, then college sports, then pro leagues. The simple fact is that the vast majority of student athletes' careers will end when they graduate college. It is counterproductive to send kids to college -- yes, to pursue their dreams -- and then to have them graduate after years at an institution of higher learning only to have no actual job skills.
The NCAA's goal is to protect students who may be blinded by dreams of success that they are (statistically, aggregately) unlikely to achieve. It sucks. And they go about achieving that goal in backwards, stupid, and overly complex ways.
I'm all for addressing the problem. But an honest and open discussion of the problem has to take into account the fact that there are 30,000+ college football players and less than 2000 NFL players. More than 5000 college football players graduate each year, and the NFL drafts about 250 of them.
There has to be some kind of backup plan for these kids, and it makes sense for the sanctioning body to be involved in that backup plan.
Posted at 2:37PM on Feb 24th 2008 by Brooks
26. I think that there are some things that can be done to weaken the NCAA's hold on institutions and their affect on kids. What I would love to see is the introduction of national legislation limiting the hold the the NCAA and their member institutions have on kids when a coach quits or gets fired. The idea being that when one of these things occurs, the kid gets the opportunity to reevaluate their own situation and move, if desired. That thy have to just stand by, powerlessly, and watch while their whole world changes around them is just wrong. That amounts to nothing short of servitude.
Posted at 2:47PM on Feb 24th 2008 by Terry Owings
27. It is my opinion there will never be changes to the NCAA until their is change within the organization. After playing at Indiana for 5 seasons I realize the services provided by its athletes are poorly compensated. I was able to receive a valuable degree for my efforts on the field, but many of my teammates did not. Most aspects of a university are treated the same way as running a business. College coaches, ADs, and other positions within the athletic department are treated that way (win or get fired), but the athletes are not. The value brought to a university through its athletics departments in priceless. Give athletes training in managing their value, by compensating them based on their contribution to the university they represent. Any ideas?
Posted at 3:42PM on Feb 24th 2008 by Matt O'Neal
28. Great post. Glad to see you questioning an industry monopoly and asking about alternative business models. Perhaps no business is as monopolistic as higher ed (from sports to publishing to ranking and testing agencies). Thanks for the thought provoking post. GO BLUE!
Posted at 3:51PM on Feb 24th 2008 by Campus Entrepreneurship
29. What most people fail to understand is that the NCAA IS the member institutions. It started when colleges banned together to see that all member programs were held to the same standards and maintained a level playing field. Do away with it and chaos would reign. Whoever could pay players the most would win. If a competing organization were started, it would by necessity have to establish similar rules and you complainers would still be complaining when your school failed to comply and got in trouble. Of course, you embrace the rules when it is a rival school getting caught.
Posted at 4:56PM on Feb 24th 2008 by DeeGee
30. Wow. Thanks for writing that Mark. I know sometimes you like to play one note over and over (and over) again. I hope you'll beat this into the ground. I'm curious whether you think alternate leagues/alliances are an absolute necessity, or whether it is possible something could be done to reform the NCAA system so that it served the same purpose.
Posted at 4:59PM on Feb 24th 2008 by Robert Seidman
31. Mark, the NCAA is built on a foundation of liberal philosophy. That is.... people are not smart enough to make their own decisions so we will do it for them. Their attitude is we need to govern! They are like the IRS in more ways then one. The NCAA is mis-guided and on the verge of corruption because of arrogance, greed, money, and power. The only hope is that they will make a mistake and overstep and leave themselves liable at which point another greedy liberal will put the trial lawyers on the blood trail. I hope some greedy, liberal, trial lawyer lays in wait and has the guts to say no more b/s rules or laws can be forced down an individuals throat so you can profit and hide under the disguise of education. Someday David will slay Golitath! F them and the desk they hide under! Ignorance is no excuse. They don't even know they are criminal; that's the sad part. GO MAVS!!!
Posted at 11:07PM on Feb 24th 2008 by jeff
34. Come on Mark. Would you be saying all this if it was Illinois in trouble for the exact same thing? You cant change all the rules just because it finnaly caught up with IU. Admit it,they never should have hired Sampson. Some of these kids are as guilty as Sampson,it will all come out. What about the people and universitys Sampson hurt by his cheating? Oh yeah,famous hoosier saying "its only phone calls, its not like there was an advantage gained" Than why in the hell did it happen?I am guessing you paid the $550,000, but why if the NCAA is the one with the problems,,,not good ole IU Karma is a bitch,IU deserves this and with a little more reasearch by you ,you would know it too. Take off the blinders
Posted at 8:04AM on Feb 25th 2008 by Eric Burch
35. Mark,
Either I'm confused or you're confused. Your problem is with the NCAA, not Indiana University. I don't have the right to tell you where to give your money (nor does anyone else), but if you were to contribute money to Indiana University, you would be supporting your school... not the NCAA. It obviously is your choice what you do with your money, but I am sure Indiana University would benefit immensely from any donation. The NCAA's rules are a small price to pay for a free education. I would have loved to be blessed enough to play a college sport so I did not have 25K in student loans to pay off.
Go Hoosiers!
Posted at 9:13AM on Feb 25th 2008 by John
36. I've thought, for a long time, about the Gestapo like tactics and procedures of the NCAA. It seems like the pendulum has swung too far from where it used to swing. It used to be that there were basically no rules, especially in the area of recruiting. This was back in the 1950s. Now, like the Tax Code, things are crazy. but the big question is "Can I buy stock in the NCAA?"
Posted at 9:16AM on Feb 25th 2008 by Bob
37. Mark, your comments are on the money except for an omission. The NCAA acts in exceptionally arbitrary fashion. The punishment doesn't always fit the crime. I liken it to NBA officials, i.e. they are blind one time down the floor, and eject a player the next time.
Posted at 9:41AM on Feb 25th 2008 by Jim T.
38. For the record....get off MC's back on the $550K donor issue. From inside the IUAD office it was apparently another 'high profile' and LOCAL donor who fronted this capital. Besides that, did you read his comments on the whole thing? Didn't sound like someone who was RWA to pay the mess off.
39. In Hockey (in Canada), there is no real tie between school and sports and it works very well. I am not sure if the model would work for Basketball or Football but it sure works well for Hockey. I think for Basketball it could have a good chance because the age of the players makes sense.
Junior hockey starts at 16 and ends at 20; players are drafted when they are 18, which means they still have 2 years of Junior hockey left (some good players forgo the last 2 years). It seems the NCAA model is broken because most of the players headed for the NBA only play 1 year or 2 and after they are drafted they MUST play on the NBA team. This hurts their development.
Posted at 12:27PM on Feb 25th 2008 by Brant
40. Mr. Cuban I agree with you about the NCAA.
They are not giving the student athletes a fair shake.
Nowhere is this more apparent than in Major College Football. These athletes generate incredible amounts of money and excitement for the university, fans, alumni and communities.
But are not given equal opportunities to become True Champions of their sport.
We are doing something about it. A historical change that a man like you would at least want to know about or even be apart of.
Posted at 12:38PM on Feb 25th 2008 by christopher s turpin
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21. Mark is right; universities are unwilling to take on the NCAA. However, there is one institution that can: the IRS. And aided by Congress, they are already muttering about taxing big-time college sports as the "businesses" that ADs consistently call them.
Why not? Couple taxation with an offset for every dollar of sports revenue that a university spends on direct financial aid to students, including athletes, and everyone who matters will win. Students will benefit from these entertainment revenues, and athletes will still play exciting games before millions of fans who enjoy their performance.
Posted at 6:56AM on Feb 24th 2008 by Cathy