This blog post is just a class project that I had to make for a culture and sport's class. I chose to not include the names of the people I interviewed for this blog. Enjoy and don't be afraid to comment if you have anything to add.
By Scott Del Vecchio Jan. 11, 2016
Ohio State Head Coach Urban Meyer hoists trophy after Buckeyes defeated Oregon Ducks, 42 to 20, in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game at AT&T Stadium on January 12, 2015 in Arlington, Texas
The USA, a world of sports, where dreams are made of gold, and part of every great champion’s road to victory, but at what cost? Hidden behind confetti and trophies, is an organization that could be reexamined.
College sports in the United States lives within a different dimension then the rest of the sport’s world. The sovereign empire that is ruled by the NCAA and assisted by media and money is not as glamorous as it is made out to be for the fans. The inequality and rules that do not always make the most sense truly show the moral and financial disarray of the greatest nation on Earth. In a way, it
takes part in situations that lead to think, in the same manner as the rest of the planet thinks of this colossal nation’s system, which is that it is another American capitalist enterprise that fills its socks…basketball socks you could say, with money, while college players do everything and anything to pay for school whether that means taking out loans or eating ramen noodles for dinner.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is the largest non-profit association in the United States that governs over 1,000 universities and their +20 sponsored sports. It dedicates its time to overseeing performance within the structure, the sports’ championships and keeping anyone from breaking its set rules, which seem simple, but are a lot more complex and hidden then you would think.
Most rules that are broken are either due to a failure to upkeep the academic quality demanded to play college sports, for instance, scoring under a 2.0 GPA during the semester or testing positive on a drug test such as cannabis. The student-athletes who are concerned with these offenses are usually warned, punished, and even kicked off the team and/or out of the school. On the other hand, there are multiple rules that seem to be in the gray area between black and white, or should we say right or wrong. Such rules like not accepting money for playing your sport to keep the status of an amateur athlete (Payment Prohibition. No member team shall make any payments for play or expenses directly or indirectly to any player;) or being denied a meal from a coach because they cannot favor one athlete over another even if that athlete has no food or money to eat [Services (e.g., movie tickets, dinners, use of a car) from commercial agencies (e.g., movie theaters, restaurants, car dealers) without charge or at reduced rates;]
Morally, where does right stop and wrong start, because as a coach, how do you let one of your athletes go to bed without eating dinner knowing that they have to be at practice the next morning before their 8am class? This is where monetary involvement appears to be quite incomprehensible.
The NCAA made $912.8 million last year, 84 percent of which came from one, three-week event: The Division I men's basketball tournament. (Indystar.com)
How to read the money flow, graph by: Haoyun Su and Mark Alesia/ The Star, 2014
With revenue closing in on 1 billion dollars each year, the NCAA fills its pockets thanks to the hard work and competitiveness of athletes playing in front of crowds hectically flooding the stadiums and arenas. While the non-profit association is rolling in it, the athletes on the other hand are being denied extra help, money, and other benefits in the name of amateurism. Does it make much sense? Most athletes do not agree and feel robbed. I will add that recently, athletes have been helped through stipends. To get a better idea, we chose to ask a female soccer player about her experience. "I did not go to FSU to make money I went to play soccer and get a degree and that is all I expected out of my experience as a student athlete.” When asked to put herself in a situation where she was underprivileged and wanted to pay off the rest of her education that was not covered by her scholarship, we wanted to know if she would like to receive money for her participation in a media covered championship such as March Madness where the NCAA makes a lot of money and the players do not. Her response was, “I mean yes that would make sense. But I don't know because I wasn't in that situation. They do give us a small stipend such as for preseason to help pay for rent and thanksgiving break if we are still in the tournament.” When she mentions they, she means the university and not the NCAA.
According to CBS sports, “The plaintiffs in the case [Jeffrey Kessler case] allege that the NCAA and its schools violate federal antitrust law by conspiring to impose a cap on the amount of money a school can provide a college athlete. Without the cap, the plaintiffs argue, schools would compete in recruiting players by offering more generous scholarships.” In other words, the NCAA prefers making huge amounts of cash and sharing it with the schools than redistributing it to the personnel who is responsible for that revenue. The NCAA tries to justify itself by adding that it is for the good of college sports and predicts higher wages to pay by FBS and Division I school, which will lead to less participating teams and a smaller number of scholarships.
“The NCAA and its schools violate federal antitrust law…”
With this much access to public records like revenue and such, there is no doubt that athletes, their families, and others will draw closer to trying to resolve this crisis. Whether it is lawyers who represent these athletes, or post-collegiate professional athletes like Richard Sherman, cornerback for the Seattle Seahawks, who are pushing for a possible change in the system, the NCAA is finding itself with its back to the wall. Only a reevaluation of the structure to find a compromise for both parties can end this vulgarized helping hand association.
Rowing is the oldest sport in American collegiate history, which started in 1852 with the first intercollegiate event: the Harvard-Yale boat race. Since then, sports have emerged and as the decades have passed by, rowing has kept its prestigious status intact. In 1972, Title IX, now known as the Patsy Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act gave equal opportunity to women, including sports. This meant that the number of athletes in each institution had to equal one another including the money used. Most American universities have American football teams that require large budgets, but also bring in large amount of money due to their media attention. There is no women’s football so the female sports that don’t necessarily need enormous amounts of money, end up benefiting from that huge budget. Women’s rowing is most of the time that beneficiary.
In 1997, it became part of the NCAA, but men’s rowing, an old timer, still has yet to be part of it. A former collegiate rower and coach answered the question, “To the best of my knowledge, the reason or at least one of the reasons that Men's Rowing never became an NCAA sport was again Title IX. The women administrators that pursued women's rowing to become an NCAA sport did so because of the numbers of opportunities that rowing could bring to the collegiate sport world to even out rather quickly the disparity between men's sport opportunities and women's at the times. Men's rowing was not considered because it would go counter to what Title IX was all about.”
It is difficult in 2016 to empathize why one gender is and the other is not within the structure, but we can easily notice the discrepancy. For example, in 2010 at Jacksonville University, 7 full-ride scholarships were given to the rowing recruits and team members of a 20 girls squad, even if the results were unsatisfactory. A full-ride represents the whole payment of an undergraduate diploma, which at that time cost over $30,000 a year. On the other side of the boathouse, the men’s rowing team composed of +30 members had 3 full-ride scholarships to be shared. On top of this disproportion of budget, men’s rowing had to abide by the same NCAA and school rules as the women, but are not part of the association and do not receive any benefits from it.
The biggest question is, does men’s rowing have a future with the NCAA? The interviewee says, “Certainly there are rumblings of bringing men's rowing into the fold of the NCAA. I believe the Ivy Leagues have made it known that they do not want this as it would take away their 'power' and water down their traditions. The rest of the men's collegiate rowing world doesn’t have the resources, the Rolodex of names to call upon for favors to attempt these changes until, I think, recently. Rowing has continued to grow substantially during the past 20 years and the sheer numbers of people now cover every age group from middle schoolers, juniors and high school, collegiate, clubs, masters and on. These demographics now outweigh the voices of the previous governing proletariat of rowing and their voices are now being heard. I think men's rowing will move to become an NCAA approved sport, as long as the NCAA keeps it nose clean, as all this involves lots of money!”
“The reason or at least one of the reasons that Men's Rowing never became an NCAA sport was again Title IX.”
If so, there will be major financial and restructuration consequences, but if not, do the sport and rowing communities care for such inequalities even though women’s equal rights have only but just started? With such a fast moving and growing entity such as sports in general, there seems to be an almost obligatory evolution as NCAA governors and the sport’s coaches have to decide soon where to go from here. There is an obvious unfairness presented here under the ruling eye of an association who prides itself with the following statement, “Values such as respect, caring, fairness, civility, honesty, integrity and responsibility are equally important on and off the field.”
The NCAA. A disgrace fronted by gold medals and smiles?
By Scott Del Vecchio Jan. 11, 2016
The USA, a world of sports, where dreams are made of gold, and part of every great champion’s road to victory, but at what cost? Hidden behind confetti and trophies, is an organization that could be reexamined.
College sports in the United States lives within a different dimension then the rest of the sport’s world. The sovereign empire that is ruled by the NCAA and assisted by media and money is not as glamorous as it is made out to be for the fans. The inequality and rules that do not always make the most sense truly show the moral and financial disarray of the greatest nation on Earth. In a way, it
takes part in situations that lead to think, in the same manner as the rest of the planet thinks of this colossal nation’s system, which is that it is another American capitalist enterprise that fills its socks…basketball socks you could say, with money, while college players do everything and anything to pay for school whether that means taking out loans or eating ramen noodles for dinner.
Is the NCAA a hypocrite?
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is the largest non-profit association in the United States that governs over 1,000 universities and their +20 sponsored sports. It dedicates its time to overseeing performance within the structure, the sports’ championships and keeping anyone from breaking its set rules, which seem simple, but are a lot more complex and hidden then you would think.
Most rules that are broken are either due to a failure to upkeep the academic quality demanded to play college sports, for instance, scoring under a 2.0 GPA during the semester or testing positive on a drug test such as cannabis. The student-athletes who are concerned with these offenses are usually warned, punished, and even kicked off the team and/or out of the school. On the other hand, there are multiple rules that seem to be in the gray area between black and white, or should we say right or wrong. Such rules like not accepting money for playing your sport to keep the status of an amateur athlete (Payment Prohibition. No member team shall make any payments for play or expenses directly or indirectly to any player;) or being denied a meal from a coach because they cannot favor one athlete over another even if that athlete has no food or money to eat [Services (e.g., movie tickets, dinners, use of a car) from commercial agencies (e.g., movie theaters, restaurants, car dealers) without charge or at reduced rates;]
Morally, where does right stop and wrong start, because as a coach, how do you let one of your athletes go to bed without eating dinner knowing that they have to be at practice the next morning before their 8am class? This is where monetary involvement appears to be quite incomprehensible.
The NCAA made $912.8 million last year, 84 percent of which came from one, three-week event: The Division I men's basketball tournament. (Indystar.com)
With revenue closing in on 1 billion dollars each year, the NCAA fills its pockets thanks to the hard work and competitiveness of athletes playing in front of crowds hectically flooding the stadiums and arenas. While the non-profit association is rolling in it, the athletes on the other hand are being denied extra help, money, and other benefits in the name of amateurism. Does it make much sense? Most athletes do not agree and feel robbed. I will add that recently, athletes have been helped through stipends. To get a better idea, we chose to ask a female soccer player about her experience. "I did not go to FSU to make money I went to play soccer and get a degree and that is all I expected out of my experience as a student athlete.” When asked to put herself in a situation where she was underprivileged and wanted to pay off the rest of her education that was not covered by her scholarship, we wanted to know if she would like to receive money for her participation in a media covered championship such as March Madness where the NCAA makes a lot of money and the players do not. Her response was, “I mean yes that would make sense. But I don't know because I wasn't in that situation. They do give us a small stipend such as for preseason to help pay for rent and thanksgiving break if we are still in the tournament.” When she mentions they, she means the university and not the NCAA.
According to CBS sports, “The plaintiffs in the case [Jeffrey Kessler case] allege that the NCAA and its schools violate federal antitrust law by conspiring to impose a cap on the amount of money a school can provide a college athlete. Without the cap, the plaintiffs argue, schools would compete in recruiting players by offering more generous scholarships.” In other words, the NCAA prefers making huge amounts of cash and sharing it with the schools than redistributing it to the personnel who is responsible for that revenue. The NCAA tries to justify itself by adding that it is for the good of college sports and predicts higher wages to pay by FBS and Division I school, which will lead to less participating teams and a smaller number of scholarships.
“The NCAA and its schools violate federal antitrust law…”
With this much access to public records like revenue and such, there is no doubt that athletes, their families, and others will draw closer to trying to resolve this crisis. Whether it is lawyers who represent these athletes, or post-collegiate professional athletes like Richard Sherman, cornerback for the Seattle Seahawks, who are pushing for a possible change in the system, the NCAA is finding itself with its back to the wall. Only a reevaluation of the structure to find a compromise for both parties can end this vulgarized helping hand association.
United States antitrust law is
a collection of federal and state government laws that regulates the conduct
and organization of business corporations, generally to promote fair
competition for the benefit of consumers.
Rowing, a gentlemen’s sport overrun by women.
Rowing is the oldest sport in American collegiate history, which started in 1852 with the first intercollegiate event: the Harvard-Yale boat race. Since then, sports have emerged and as the decades have passed by, rowing has kept its prestigious status intact. In 1972, Title IX, now known as the Patsy Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act gave equal opportunity to women, including sports. This meant that the number of athletes in each institution had to equal one another including the money used. Most American universities have American football teams that require large budgets, but also bring in large amount of money due to their media attention. There is no women’s football so the female sports that don’t necessarily need enormous amounts of money, end up benefiting from that huge budget. Women’s rowing is most of the time that beneficiary.
In 1997, it became part of the NCAA, but men’s rowing, an old timer, still has yet to be part of it. A former collegiate rower and coach answered the question, “To the best of my knowledge, the reason or at least one of the reasons that Men's Rowing never became an NCAA sport was again Title IX. The women administrators that pursued women's rowing to become an NCAA sport did so because of the numbers of opportunities that rowing could bring to the collegiate sport world to even out rather quickly the disparity between men's sport opportunities and women's at the times. Men's rowing was not considered because it would go counter to what Title IX was all about.”
It is difficult in 2016 to empathize why one gender is and the other is not within the structure, but we can easily notice the discrepancy. For example, in 2010 at Jacksonville University, 7 full-ride scholarships were given to the rowing recruits and team members of a 20 girls squad, even if the results were unsatisfactory. A full-ride represents the whole payment of an undergraduate diploma, which at that time cost over $30,000 a year. On the other side of the boathouse, the men’s rowing team composed of +30 members had 3 full-ride scholarships to be shared. On top of this disproportion of budget, men’s rowing had to abide by the same NCAA and school rules as the women, but are not part of the association and do not receive any benefits from it.
No person in the United States
shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the
benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or
activity receiving federal financial assistance.
The biggest question is, does men’s rowing have a future with the NCAA? The interviewee says, “Certainly there are rumblings of bringing men's rowing into the fold of the NCAA. I believe the Ivy Leagues have made it known that they do not want this as it would take away their 'power' and water down their traditions. The rest of the men's collegiate rowing world doesn’t have the resources, the Rolodex of names to call upon for favors to attempt these changes until, I think, recently. Rowing has continued to grow substantially during the past 20 years and the sheer numbers of people now cover every age group from middle schoolers, juniors and high school, collegiate, clubs, masters and on. These demographics now outweigh the voices of the previous governing proletariat of rowing and their voices are now being heard. I think men's rowing will move to become an NCAA approved sport, as long as the NCAA keeps it nose clean, as all this involves lots of money!”
“The reason or at least one of the reasons that Men's Rowing never became an NCAA sport was again Title IX.”
The Ivy League is a collegiate
athletic conference comprising sports teams from eight private institutions of
higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also
commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group. The eight
institutions are Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University,
Dartmouth College, Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania,
Princeton University, and Yale University. The term Ivy League has connotations
of academic excellence, selectivity in admissions, and social elitism.
If so, there will be major financial and restructuration consequences, but if not, do the sport and rowing communities care for such inequalities even though women’s equal rights have only but just started? With such a fast moving and growing entity such as sports in general, there seems to be an almost obligatory evolution as NCAA governors and the sport’s coaches have to decide soon where to go from here. There is an obvious unfairness presented here under the ruling eye of an association who prides itself with the following statement, “Values such as respect, caring, fairness, civility, honesty, integrity and responsibility are equally important on and off the field.”
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