Re: I agree 100%.

O'Bannon went to UCLA to prepare for the NBA, not to get a college education.

If the NCAA had decided that the purpose of an athletic scholarship was for a student to have the means to pay for his college education, then this would not have happened.

If the NCAA had set a rule (I actually proposed this in the 1980s. Just to friends and sports fans.) they could have stopped it.

Here was my proposal for basketball. (You could make a similar one for football.)

Each school has 15 scholarships. When a player signs a grant-in-aid with a school that scholarship counts until one of the following two things occurs:
1. The student graduates from that school.
OR
2. 72 months has passed since he signed.

No exceptions. If the kid goes to the NBA, he still counts against the 15. If he just decides he doesn't want to play anymore, he still counts. If he transfers to another school, he still counts. If he just wasn't good enough and the coach doesn't want him on the team, he still counts. If he violates a law or rule and gets kicked off the team, he still counts.

Now, that would certainly affect recruiting. Do you think Calipari and other coaches would be recruiting 1 and doners? Would coaches be recruiting players who will go on the market every year and sign with the guy who will pay them the most?

The NCAA could have taken the position, "We aren't the minor leagues. If you aren't interested in a college education, then college isn't for you." They could have told the NFL and NBA, "Go set up your own minor league system. We aren't in the industry."

But, they decided they wanted to be the minor leagues. Fast forward 50+ years and it is 2023.

tabbyplague®

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This effort, if instituted, is bound to eventually fail because even the pros

Dec 7, 2023, 8:27 AM

have spending caps. Instead they should just do away with the false term "NIL" and just go to a direct employee salary system where the players are paid employees of the schools and ban these "NIL" collectives.

The NCAA needs to quit dorking around and spend their time hashing out some final cap on the total combined amount that a University can spend paying coaches and players for each of the major sports (Football, Basketball, Baseball, and Softball). They can make it a high dollar number but make it the same for everyone in FBS.

If a school like A&M wants to pay some stupid amount for a Football coach then the NCAA spending cap for Football will result in less allowable funds to pay their football players. As part of this direct University payment plan - all University paid athletes (who are now employees) must grant their "NIL" for the period of their University employment as the property of the University. Therefore any player endorsements or payments outside the University salary must contract through the University and will count towards that University's total salary cap for each particular sport. The only exception to this NIL rule is for the Heisman trophy winner (because of the historical uniqueness of that award) if that athlete remains in school after winning the award...

I don't know about the rest of the IPTAY donors, but if half or more of all the athletes at Clemson are getting $30,000 or more a year it sure isn't going to encourage me to continue giving to the IPTAY scholarship fund. I just don't think it makes since for a retiree like myself to send money to help pay for the free schooling of athletes who are getting paid by the University and can very well afford to pay their own way through school.

One last thing... All this discussion of paying players, revenue sharing etc... has totally ignored the value of what it is really supposed to be about - getting a college education that culminates in a degree. There's been no discussion at all of the value of the education they receive - it's as if that is just "free" and doesn't equate to real money.