These are troubling times for the NCAA.
In the span of a week, the news wire has included stories of North Carolina challenging the NCAA’s power to have jurisdiction over academic improprieties, a federal judge ruling that athletes are allowed to pursue $1 billion in compensation from the NCAA, and the governing body reaching a settlement for $1.2 million in a wrongful death case involving a Frostburg State football player.
The NCAA appears to be at its most vulnerable state, and the direction it takes from here will have an impact on how it governs college athletics in future years. Will the NCAA try to maneuver through this full-court press or will it give in?
Instead of UNC accepting sanctions from the NCAA for reported academic fraud within its African and Afro-American studies departments, its lawyers are taking the bold stance that the NCAA has no right to rule on academic matters. The attorneys say North Carolina’s accrediting agency should police the school’s academic standards, not the NCAA.
If this is the case, why does the NCAA academically regulate incoming athletes with its clearinghouse? What about the NCAA’s power to implement penalties based on graduation rates? Should that be questioned also? This is a vulnerable time to attack the NCAA’s power with those topics as well.
With its bold stance, UNC apparently is motivated by the collapse of the “lack of institutional control” punishment against the Penn State football program following the alleged Jerry Sandusky child sexual molestation case. The NCAA now has 60 days to respond to UNC’s claim. We will know in less than two months if the NCAA will fight back against the school’s lawyers or make a historical shift on how it governs academic standards of its institutions.
Should it only be in the hands of the universities to make certain their courses are rigorous enough and properly managed? The NCAA must answer that question. If the NCAA buckles to UNC and the aura of its legendary basketball program – which brings in millions to the governing body from TV contracts – where will that lead to academic integrity with all of the schools?
That can lead to a serious unbalanced playing field in which student-athletes could be academically ineligible at one institution while free to play at another under the same circumstances involving the management of courses and schoolwork.
The problem is the NCAA is trying to climb back from the canvas with buckling knees. It is weathering the claims of unfair selective enforcement from school to school. Student-athletes are calling out the NCAA for making a substantial amount of money off their efforts with them earning minimal compensation. Those in contact sports, such as football, are risking concussion, with former athletes making the claim the NCAA did not do enough to prevent lifetime brain injuries from occurring.
The NCAA is perceived to be losing its governing power with the richest and most influential schools. This stems from the realignment of major conferences that are becoming entities of their own with substantial TV contracts.
In the North Carolina case, the NCAA may do the safest thing and back away from its lack of institutional control charge and implement minor penalties involving scholarship distribution, for example. If that happens, expect the NCAA to be criticized for sacrificing high academic standards for an easy way out of its troubles.
If the NCAA holds firm against UNC, the courts will likely have to decide if the NCAA has the power to judge an institution’s academic performance. If in this scenario the courts rule in favor of North Carolina, that will have a lasting effect on how the NCAA polices academic development at its institutions.
The NCAA is at its most vulnerable. It may just back away from UNC and try to move on, continuing with its obscure and inconsistent regulation of policies, further casting a shadow on the integrity of college athletics. The schools and conferences with the most influence will know they can flex their muscles when necessary, reminding the NCAA the money they generate from TV contracts and the prestige they bring to college sports
The student-athletes will continue to want a piece of that pie. The NCAA will likely succumb to those demands, too.
The NCAA will become controlled chaos as long as the majority is happy taking home their share of the revenue. The governing body will become more of a come-what-may operation. Yes, these are troubling times for the NCAA.
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