The playing field will never be equal. A scholarship at one school isn't equal to a scholarship at another. Maybe monetarily, but not in real value. The rules are bent allowing athletes that cannot possibly qualify for Duke academically to still attend the school. A scholarship to an elite academic institution is more valuable than a full ride scholarship to a lesser school like New Mexico State. There are also benefits that go beyond money: access to employment networks, etc...UALoco wrote:but the schools that are not implicated or haven't been able to play this game (i.e. colorado) will have this over the Arizona's of the world...so it does matter..you gotta play by the rules or changes the rules.zonagrad wrote:Every coach at every major program has played the same game for years. It's naive to believe otherwise. I find it comical that everyone is shocked that the truth is out that, "yes, players have actually been getting paid." And frankly, I could care less that Ayton got paid by a shoe company or an agent. Or Miles Bridges. Or Josh Jackson. Or whoever. The games are played on the court. How a player got there is irrelevant. This has been going on for decades. Coaches are guilty. Players are guilty. Parents are guilty. But somehow the NCAA and all the people who hold jobs at university athletic departments and take home six-figure salaries are clean even though they benefit financially from a system where the people who actually create the enormous revenue receive very little compensation.
The rules need to be changed. The NCAA has created a system where the revenue producers receive only a small fraction of the wealth created.
If you want to change the rules, don't have TV networks pay billions to broadcast the games. Don't charge fans money to attend the games. Then you have true amateurism. It's a great lesson in economics.
