That sound you hear is the NCAA’s jaw dropping

Disclaimer: The following post is really just one big editorial on my part, but even as a specifically-Wisconsin college sports blog, it feels like there’s good reason to at least mention one of the biggest stories to rock college football in history.

College football is serious business. If we’re talking about “revenue sports,” for most places it begins with college football. It’s an immensely popular sport subject to an incredible amount of pressure from outside forces which, whether the NCAA acknowledges or not, seek to bend it’s power to personal ventures.

According to a report from Yahoo! Sports’ Charles Robinson, this unfortunate truth was nowhere more pervasive than at the University of Miami from 2002 to 2010, when booster Nevin Shapiro, currently serving a felony prison sentence for a $930 million Ponzi scheme he helped orchestrate, allegedly provided illicit benefits to at least 72 athletes. The volume and depth of the accusations are staggering, spanning from drinks and club access to jewelry and prostitution.

Consider the bar raised, Ohio State and North Carolina. Already embroiled in one of the most scandal-filled periods in memory, the NCAA has continually insisted that recruiting violations and other breaches of conduct would be dealt with in swift and convincing fashion. But this new revelation has completely blown their mind. This isn’t the sort of controversy that eventually yields a few fired coaches or the resignation of an Athletic Director. This is cataclysmic mayhem, and the NCAA has no idea what to do; their response was a transparently speechless “no comment”. I’m a firm believer in the presumption of innocence, but this isn’t something you stay quiet on. You make it known to every single school that claims membership in your organization that, should these accusations prove credible, these are the kind of things that kill your program. Robinson, in an interview with ESPN, said “I don’t think the death penalty is reasonable or possible with any program anymore.” In the end, I expect he’s right: there’s simply too much attention, money, and publicity wrapped up in major college football programs to make a blanket move like the death penalty, even if it is justified (which is open to interpretation). Still, the NCAA just looks inconsistent and overwhelmed here, given their posturing in previous instances.

Obviously, this isn’t the first time serious violations have been brought to light, or even the first time the “death penalty” has been thrown around. But the most serious cases in the past–the SMU football team, “The U” in the 80s–don’t approach the gravity of Shapiro’s actions. And considering the flood of issues lately, everything that pops up gets considerably more attention, right or wrong. Year of the Quarterback? This is the Year of the Recruiting Quagmire, and if the NCAA plans on cracking down, there’s going to be more. Hold a magnifying glass long enough, you’re going to start some fires.

Let’s get another thing straight: Miami’s lack of consistent success despite the mountain of recruiting “advantages” Shapiro’s influence granted them does not ease their guilt. Competitive balance is one thing, but the NCAA does not exist to ensure that every program wins ‘x’ number of games or championships each year. It exists to ensure that the rules in place are followed without exception. The University of Miami’s inability to turn supposedly talented players into a successful football team doesn’t mean what they did was okay. Bad criminals still get prosecuted.

I was watching ESPN’s college sports roundtable discussion this morning, and Urban Meyer suggested that the problem was not a convoluted rule book, or a system lacking in accountability or consequences, but a flaw of human behavior. Great! We’ve nailed down the problem. Let’s just convince people with everything to gain and little to lose that they need to, you know, knock it off. Legislating morality, that’s easy and effective. Thanks Urban. But in the event that thousands of years of human nature proves a bit resistant to change, perhaps we should take a look at the system, a system put in place and maintained by a number of people who answer their gosh-darn cell phones when the microwave beeps.

The NCAA has to figure itself out before it figures anything else out. Where do the allegiances lie? With the players? The current system limits player accountability and curses evil boosters who take advantage of college athletes who apparently lack any internal moral compass. Is there no way to promote the benefits, both to players and institutions, of “revenue sports” from the corrupting influence of cash? The most successful organizations, in sports or otherwise, are those who are willing to throw away outdated prejudices. Maybe that means some form of “pay for play”. Maybe it means adapting to the unassailable fact that college sports are moneymaking powerhouses these days. Something has to change, and a slimmed down rulebook isn’t enough. This is a business competition for the NCAA. It’s an ideological war for the soul of college sports.