drakelead Scandals and multi million dollar coaching contracts make for attention-getting headlines and stories. However, the core of the issue surrounding the tax-exempt status of the NCAA cartel and so-called ’student-athletes,’ is this: lacking tangible and verifiable evidence, the government must presently take the word of school administrators that athletes are really students on track to … Read more
As reported, an Auburn University panel has found that independent study courses that gave many athletes major boosts in their averages were apparently quite easy for non-athletes as well. While the report found key flaws in the way the courses were run, it didn’t find special treatment for athletes. Athletic Support (Eligibility) Center staff need … Read more
Over the years the NCAA cartel evolved a modus operandi that has proved to be eminently successful at expanding its commercial interests in the big-time college sports entertainment business while maintaining its tax-exempt status as an institution of higher education and thwarting significant reform. The latter has been accomplished by creating illusions of reform as … Read more
Questioning the tax-exempt status of the NCAA — is considered to be a significant milestone on the path to reform in big-time college sports. This reform could lead to a reversal of the priorities seen on many of our big-time college campuses. Simply stated, these priorities are athletics-over-academics and Sports-over-STEMS, where STEMS stands for Science, … Read more
What’s the ruse? It’s the school’s admission, rostering, and – in many, if not most, cases — exploitation of highly talented, but educationally disadvantaged, athletes to build cash-generating, competitive (quasi-professional) teams for their college sports entertainment businesses. Many of these academically unprepared athletes must pretend to be students while having a full-time athletic job, … Read more
The power of big-time commercial college sports is especially evident at a major events such as basketball’s March Madness, the football-season-ending football games, homecoming games and the like. It is difficult to not be taken up in the collective euphoria associated with such events. The customs, traditions, and emotions create an effective cover for what’s … Read more
No doubt, many, if not most, members of Congress consider taking on the best monopoly in America to be political suicide — no matter the long term harm to America resulting from the high-jacking of its education system by the college sports entertainment business. We in America have a serious sports addiction problem. Apparently, we … Read more
It would appear that athletic departments and school administrators have developed a new art form – achieving and maintaining eligibility for college athletes pretending to be students. Faculty members willing to game the academic system are all that is needed to gain eligibility and even graduation for these athletes, thus allowing their school to reap … Read more
Frank Splitt questions the “quid pro quo” contributions from boosters and the boom in the leasing of stadium skyboxes by corporations and other big-money contributors as well as extortion-like seat taxes, that are fueling the uncontrolled growth of the big-time college-sports entertainment business. He points out that the federal government weakly enforces its Unrelated Business … Read more
Frank Splitt maintains that presidents cannot stand up to lead an effort to change the status quo in any meaningful way without risking termination driven by a storm of protest about economic impact and assorted tradition-based arguments by trustees/regents, boosters, alumni, and rabid fans. Presidents are pressured by their boards and boosters to approve costly … Read more