NCAA RANT!!

NCAA, is supposedly a non-profit organization that is responsible for the interpretation and enforcement of the policies and rules which govern NCAA athletics. I have a problem with NCAA but not so much that I want them to go away. Right or wrong I have an opinion and thanks to my blog I get to vent about it!

First off, I have a problem that the rules that they interpret seem to have double standards. A school of little notoriety seem to get the full force of the NCAA when it comes violation of the rules, while a more notable school seems to get a hand slap for the same violation. If Razorback players would have been caught selling their autographs or jerseys they would have been suspended and not allowed to play immediately. 5 Ohio State players get busted and their discipline is to miss the first 5 games of next season. The majority of those players if any, will ever don a college uniform again after the Sugar Bowl is played. So where is the punishment? I know there are stories as to how the players didn't know they were breaking any rules or how a player was trying to gather money for his sick mother, really? Those college athletes are told from day one what they can and can't do and what to do if they do stumble. I just don't buy the "they didn't know" bull. Another example of favoritism is the USC and Reggie Bush debacle. The NCAA knew two years before Mr. Bush left USC for the pros that there were serious violations, but they chose to ignore it until he was long gone from the favored institution.

Next, I feel the NCAA and colleges get rich off the backs of these young men and women and there is no compensation to the athlete for what they bring to the university. I believe there should be a set amount that these athletes can accept over a four year period in the way of compensation. The schools in the Sugar Bowl receive 17 million a piece for their participation and those athletes don't get a dime, legally. You might say that the athletes get scholarships, but that is a drop in the bucket compared to what the schools receive off of these athletes. Finally, I believe schools should be rewarded for the graduation rates of their athletes, either monetarily or in scholarship limits. Football players have to stay 3 years before they can jump into the pros, baseball players can play one and leave. Many baseball players have already been drafted by the pros but choose to go to college for one year before they make the move. Here's a novel idea, lets make colleges about getting an education!

Anyway, with all of this being said, I am glad the 5 Ohio State players are getting to play in the Sugar Bowl, because I don't want there to be any excuses for them when the Razorbacks become the next SEC team to hand them a lose in a BCS Bowl game!! Go HOGS!!!