NCAA president Charlie Baker proposed the creation of a new subdivision within Division I that would allow the big-monied schools the ability to compensate athletes through a trust fund and direct name, image and likeness (NIL) licensing agreements. It may seem like the NCAA catching up with the times and being more proactive, but it isn’t. There’s a better solution to all of this. Eliminate the intercollegiate athletic system entirely.
“It kick-starts a long-overdue conversation among the membership that focuses on the differences that exist between schools, conferences and divisions and how to create more permissive and flexible rules across the NCAA that put student-athletes first,” Baker wrote in the letter. “Colleges and universities need to be more flexible, and the NCAA needs to be more flexible, too.”
Stop The Sham Of Amateurism
Why are we continuing this sham that athletics needs to be connected to academics as a way of keeping it “amateur,” thus differentiating it from the professional levels?
Baker presenting this new subdivision as something unique and revolutionary is silly. They’re trying to level the playing field on something that can’t be leveled, while suppressing or controlling wages.
“The ‘putting money in a trust’ thing is exactly how American Olympic sports step-stoned their way out of ‘amateurism’”, posted Arizona State University professor and NCAA historian Victoria Jackson on X. “For a hot minute USA T&F (then The Athletics Congress) held monies in a trust…until everyone realized it was silly, paternalistic, & unnecessary to do so.”
Football and basketball at the Division I level in the Power Five conferences are multibillion dollar enterprises. This is where the bulk of NFL and NBA talent is harvested. There is nothing amateur about anything these players do.
Let Pro Clubs Be In Charge Of Developing Talent
Take a look at the weekly football schedule for a player at the University of Michigan and see if you can identify where the time is to actually focus on academics.
The NFL and NBA clubs should be responsible for developing their own talent and leave colleges and universities to education.
In European football, the big clubs (Real Madrid, Manchester United, PSG, etc.) all have youth academies. They have robust staffs that scour the earth for the best young soccer talent. Kids as young as eight or nine are identified and with consultation with families are brought into their academies. The goal is simple, becoming professional footballers.
No need to waste time pretending you’re doing something else when the goal is to be a professional sportsman.
Let the Kansas City Chiefs set up their own academy and let the billionaire Hunt family foot the bill for developing their QB for 2050. If you follow the academy model it also becomes lucrative for the parent club if they know how to run their academy and business right.
U.S. Senators and fans won’t have to complain about “rooting for kids that are millionaires” anymore. If the best talent goes to academies, you’ll have exactly what you want. Amateurism.
If the NCAA and alumni still want to watch “amateur sports” they can move all sports to the club level. You can still have access to post-secondary education for student athletes but it will not be run like a professional or semi professional league. No cross country travel for events three time zones away, no coaches making multi million dollar salaries. Education first, athletics second. Student-athlete.
