Another solution: NBA and NFL create a "minor league" that HS players can go straight into, just like baseball. I may be wrong but, you don't hear about this stuff in college baseball. Probably because the top prospects are not forced to go to college if they don't want too, they can jump right into the minors and earn some money (not much, I know but, it's something).
As longs as college football and basketball are a road block to the pros, you are going to have pay for play scandals. There is too much money to be made and these players are too valuable for "amateur" sports.
I agree with players being allowed to go straight to the pros but that is a pro rule (though the colleges love and likely pushed for those rules).
That's pandora's box though.
Amateurism will not and can not end entirely. From little kids, to high school, amateur sports have to exist because almost all are not in any way profitable. They can't pay these kids to do something that isn't worth any money, that in fact requires outside money.
Alabama athletics had something like 30 million donated to it for the last year I saw. How much did any professional franchise get donated to it? I'm guessing nothing like that. If you break down the amateur model and then replace it with a professional one, you'll find that the entire enterprise is on shaky footing. It will have less funding (because who after all donates money to professionals), and yet be spending more money. Then you are getting closer to the same semi-pro model that sunk every football league that's tried it since the 60s.
It might make sense by itself, but it's a round hole square peg scenario. Once you get into the details it becomes one big giant mess, and could basically destroy the sport entirely (I know some Big 10 people are on record as saying they'd drop sports before they did this).
I think more should be provided for the athletes, I'm good with that. Stipends and such, in fact the total money spent on them already rivals what semi-pros make. But there's a chemistry at this point that is very delicate.
It also needs to be mentioned that a lot of college programs are losing money as it is...
Just let them make money off their own name and likeness. It really is that simple.
If you look up the history of amateurism it is not a pretty picture. This "noble" thing called amateurism was never noble from the start. It was, in large part, begun to keep out certain types.
A stipend and the ability to make money off your own likeness would do.
Scholars are allowed to both get stipends and to make money in their field while in school. This is an important point because athletes are singled out against the rest of the student body and are prohibited from doing what any other student can do. This is not in any way fair when student-athletes are supposedly no different (we all know they are different in any case).
Athletes also cannot work a part time job to make a few bucks. I'm not sure if it's outright against any rule but realistically it's not possible anyway. Their time and effort devoted to athletics should be compensated if the money is there. For the big schools, it is there. The small school can keep up the charade or fold their tents. I really don't care. It's entirely up to them.
When I talk about being paid I'm talking about a stipend similar to what a scholarshipped student might receive for teaching a class or just for being on scholarship. If it's good enough for the student body at large, it's good enough for athletes.
Same goes for making money on their likeness. Bonus: NCAA Football comes back from the dead with this rule. Make a deal for a flat fee for every athlete. Allow them to run a youtube channel or sell their autograph. I could have done any of this as a student at Alabama. I'd still be just as poor, but I could have done it without penalty.
None of this would mean the end of college athletics as we know it, but college athletics would be more open and honest than today.
Former Bama assistant Yasir Rosemond was also on tape today making similar comments. Not great.
Ugh.