How do we solve the problem of Money in College Basketball?

Ldlane

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Nov 26, 2002
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First, let me say that I have no answers to the question. We could say form a new "Power 5 section" of the NCAA with paid players, but it seems to me that in order to get an edge there is always going to be a school that tries to pay just a little more than the other schools. The only things I can think of would be to make all freshman ineligible for competition. This would force the NBA to stop the One and Done deal that they have now.

1. Do we kill AAU? (Wishful).

Just don't have any answers. The only reason I'm not including fooball in this equation is that it is easier for Basketball player to be drafted out of HS than a football player that needs development.
 

KrAzY3

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Jan 18, 2006
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Well, for one the NBA needs to go back to accepting high school players. People kind of forget this now, but even Lebron had eligibility issues. You let the guys who want to go straight to the pros do it, and that eliminates one problem. The other is I think you have to find a way to hold these shoe companies accountable for their actions.

That won't fix everything, but it would help a lot.
 

CajunCrimson

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Honestly, if you took all the NBA ready high school kids right out of HS, College Hoops would be a lot more fun to watch.
 

B1GTide

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I agree - let the kids go directly to the NBA from HS, and force those who choose to go the college route to play at least 3 years before they become eligible for the draft. Let the player choose, but make them become actual students if they decide to go to school.

It won't stop the $$ from flowing to the kids and their families, and HS basketball will get dirtier, but at least college basketball will be cleaned up somewhat.

This case won't stop this from happening. It will just change the way that it happens.
 

OBMS

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Jan 9, 2011
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1. Do we kill AAU? (Wishful).
Remove the shoe company money and AAU is done anyway. Looks to me like that is what they are trying to do. Travel teams are expensive to operate and if they have no revenue, it will eventually go away. The operation of these things as 501(c)3's in the name of the "kids" is what is tiring-------
 

Rama Jama

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I think it can be fixed if the NCAA really wants it fixed. The NCAA ignored the cesspool that college basketball had become simply because they were scared to kill the golden goose. The NCAA has to enforce the rules that are in place rather than ignoring the. They created the environment that caused this problem in the 1st place.

1) You have to get rid of the one and done kids. Let them go to the NBA out of high school, but if they don't get drafted let them go to school.( too many kids declare because an agent fills them with false hope for an NBA career. Then the agent gets a cut of their overseas contract which the agent knew to begin with)
2) Once you start school, you have to go for 2 years. It allows kids who haven't fully developed physically to have an option and at the same time get educated to a point where they have a chance to get their degree if they want it at a later date.

These rules only help on the 1% of kids who are truly NBA ready. You have to remember 90% of kids are not going to have a pro career of any kind and the other 9% will play overseas so you have to remember you can't pay just basketball, and football players to get to their so called actual value. You have to pay Gymnastics, Softball, Swimming, and Baseball athletes as well. Imagine the staggering cost of paying 400 athletes say 75,000 a year plus scholarship expenses. This would be approximately 110,000 per athlete or about 44 million a year. The point is 99% of these kids really are essentially amateur's but we want to change things because 1% of these kids are causing the problems. Most athletes still go to school for an education whether they or us realize it or not.
 

JDCrimson

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Feb 12, 2006
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I think it can be fixed if the NCAA really wants it fixed. The NCAA ignored the cesspool that college basketball had become simply because they were scared to kill the golden goose. The NCAA has to enforce the rules that are in place rather than ignoring the. They created the environment that caused this problem in the 1st place.

1) You have to get rid of the one and done kids. Let them go to the NBA out of high school, but if they don't get drafted let them go to school.( too many kids declare because an agent fills them with false hope for an NBA career. Then the agent gets a cut of their overseas contract which the agent knew to begin with)
2) Once you start school, you have to go for 2 years. It allows kids who haven't fully developed physically to have an option and at the same time get educated to a point where they have a chance to get their degree if they want it at a later date.

These rules only help on the 1% of kids who are truly NBA ready. You have to remember 90% of kids are not going to have a pro career of any kind and the other 9% will play overseas so you have to remember you can't pay just basketball, and football players to get to their so called actual value. You have to pay Gymnastics, Softball, Swimming, and Baseball athletes as well. Imagine the staggering cost of paying 400 athletes say 75,000 a year plus scholarship expenses. This would be approximately 110,000 per athlete or about 44 million a year. The point is 99% of these kids really are essentially amateur's but we want to change things because 1% of these kids are causing the problems. Most athletes still go to school for an education whether they or us realize it or not.
I agree with your sentiment only to say that I would put the requirement at 3 years on par with football let the kids test the draft without representation after their 2nd year and allow them to retain their eligibility if their draft status is not satisfactory.

The NBA and NCAA need to get together on this and come up with some rules that are complimentary to both institutions. I don't think a development league is in the best interest of the NBA - it's a money pit from a marketing standpoint the kids have no name recognition, etc. It would be far cheaper and provide a more structured environment for colleges to provide the development these kids need.

The NCAA needs to step in with backend support from the NBA and develop it's own AAU circuit. Control who the parties are involved in the league, and provide the players a travel allowance that is funded by the NBA and sponsorships, etc.

This really it's not a hard problem to solve if the all the stakeholders will get in a room together lock the door and not come out until a framework is adopted to deal with this issue.

Straight up paying the players is not the answer because somebody can and always will be willing to pay a little more than the next guy.

The NCAA needs to recognize their rules around amateurism are antiquated. They are holding to rules that fail to recognize that sports is a way to make a living and they are holding kids back. They need to figure out how to make education a part of the package and allow universities to tailor a curriculum that prepares and supports them as a professional athelete. Even if a kid cannot ultimately make it as a professional they will have attained skills that allow them to become professionals on the business and administrative side of athletics.

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Ldlane

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Nov 26, 2002
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Let em go straight out of high school
That's the idea. The NBA is responsible for the one and done rule. If colleges start making Freshmen ineligible or require a certain number of years for scholarship players then it will make HS kids eligible for the Draft. I don't think that they should be required for the same number of years as football simply because Basketball players can develop physically and skill wise faster.

To me the idea of post secondary education is to gain knowledge and skills to go out and get a job. If someone thinks that you are skillful enough to get hired after 2 years then they can hire you.

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Last edited:

Alasippi

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That's the idea. The NBA is responsible for the one and done rule. If colleges start making Freshmen ineligible or require a certain number of years for scholarship players then it will make HS kids eligible for the Draft. I don't think that they should be required for the same number of years as football simply because Basketball players can develop physically and skill wise faster.

That's a good idea in basketball
To me the idea of post secondary education is to gain knowledge and skills to go out and get a job. If someone thinks that you are skillful enough to get hired after 2 years then they can hire you.

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Good idea
 

NationalTitles18

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Make the money above board. That's the only way that will actually work. Allow schools to pay players a stipend. Give the players a fee for using their likeness. College basketball in particular is prone to "the problem of money" for a number of reasons, not the least of which include socioeconomic factors. I don't want to go too far down that rabbit hole or into the history of amateurism going way back, but these things are factors. Make playing the college sport worthwhile for a young man without turning it completely into pro-lite. Give him an education and a modest salary that is the same at UA as it is at UNC or Kansas. This will take the desperation out of the picture (greed will always be a temptation) and would also solve the video game problem in the major sports. Make this the rule for all of Div I and anyone else can go to another div if they can't keep up.
 

CajunCrimson

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I just don't think a Stipend will work. Capitalism will soon dictate that you must pay D1 kids differently than D2. Then someone will suggest that the biggest 5-6 conferences deserve more than the mid-majors. Then you will see someone think that kids at Duke deserve more than kids at Va Tech.

If we open the door to stipends....soon, you will be NBA-Minor Leagues. So, just max that process out, let the colleges go back to being "what's left" and then those that do develop over four years still have a shot to make it to the NBA.

Then the NBA draft goes back to a 7-8 round event, with 5-6 of them going to the "minors" -- make it more like College Baseball

Then, if you want to give all kids the same stipend, regardless of talent, regardless of conference, regardless of division -- the same amount of money to buy pizza, gas, movie tickets, and such - go for it.
 

Ldlane

Hall of Fame
Nov 26, 2002
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Make the money above board. That's the only way that will actually work. Allow schools to pay players a stipend. Give the players a fee for using their likeness. College basketball in particular is prone to "the problem of money" for a number of reasons, not the least of which include socioeconomic factors. I don't want to go too far down that rabbit hole or into the history of amateurism going way back, but these things are factors. Make playing the college sport worthwhile for a young man without turning it completely into pro-lite. Give him an education and a modest salary that is the same at UA as it is at UNC or Kansas. This will take the desperation out of the picture (greed will always be a temptation) and would also solve the video game problem in the major sports. Make this the rule for all of Div I and anyone else can go to another div if they can't keep up.
So should all sports get a stipend? I do think they do get a stipend. I tend to think that there will be "Friends of the Program" that will offer more at individual institutions illegally if pay for play occurs. Where does it stop or does it?
 

NationalTitles18

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May 25, 2003
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So should all sports get a stipend? I do think they do get a stipend. I tend to think that there will be "Friends of the Program" that will offer more at individual institutions illegally if pay for play occurs. Where does it stop or does it?
I wouldn't mind a stipend for all sports. Title IX makes it more difficult. That's where fees for the use of likenesses comes it as it can supplement the stipend. Some schools can in no way afford it.

There are a number of non-sports scholarships that pay a stipend for students, so this part is not uncharted waters. I envision signing over rights to likenesses similar to what's in place now but schools then pay a "royalty" to student athletes for things like video game licensing and so forth. That may one day even open the door to out and out sponsors/endorsements.

That would bring its own issues, but what we have now is a complete cesspool of corruption and deceit where what's best for the kid gets lost in money changing hands under the table. And the system in place leaves a kid in poverty a kid in poverty with access to food and other services for himself but no way whatsoever to even earn a few bucks to send home so Momma can pay the light bill.

Something has to change. Hiding it under the table isn't working and it won't stop completely either way.
 

FThomas

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Oct 18, 2011
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Might as well let the NBA invest in a development league. Let kids come straight from high school. Make college athletics like college baseball: if a get starts college they are not eligible for the draft for three years. it will probably mean a lot more talent goes directly pro and into the development leagues, but for fans of college sports, we would still follow our teams.
 

Rama Jama

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I think if you eliminate the kids who are sure fire pro's out of high school and give them a developmental league to play in, you'll reduce the chances of shady things happening. You will never get rid of it completely (see Auburn Athletics), but you can reduce the chances if you have kids that go to school for an education 1st and a pro career 2nd. 99% of the kids will have no pro careers and need to get an education. We are worrying about the top 1% of kids and the talk of them being worth more than they are getting is ridiculous.
Alabama is one of the few schools that is in the black. Most schools already struggle to pay for the ever increasing cost of scholarships now so adding to that burden is not the answer. If you continue to increase what these athletes are getting, the response of most colleges will be to reduce the number of sports resulting in fewer opportunities for kids to get an education.
 

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