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Pay For Play or Solving the NCAA?

There are few things in life we all can agree on: Puppies are cute, kale is gross, hairy backs are unattractive, and Dook sucks. Oh, and the NCAA is a corrupt incompetent organization that needs a complete overhaul.

For everything else we go to our corner, dig our heels in and cover our ears lest any logic may break through our iron-clad reasoning. Benjamin Franklin was incorrect when he stated that there are only two certainties in life, but he would argue to the death that he was not wrong, only proving my point [death, taxes, and people wanting to be right at all costs].

When it comes to the "pay-for-play" discussion, debates splinter off into so many branches of a neglected tree. We fall into the pit of point-counterpoint, both sides bloodied from all the pointing. The fact few things "ever get done" should not be a surprise to any. We are too busy pointing than listening, crafting our clever retort using any argument necessary, even if that argument is so tangential that both parties veer into the multi-verse.

So rather than jump into that cage match, I wonder whether we can implement ideas that possibly address some of the most egregious issues people have with the NCAA model. Rather than debating endlessly, can we find things we both agree might fix improve college sports?

Let’s try.

We could start by listing all of the problems with College sports, but I am afraid I have neither the time, nor the computer memory for that much information. Instead, I think everything boils down to one simple issue: MONEY. Yes, the NCAA is corrupt. Yes, the NCAA has senseless rules. Yes, they consistently fail to enforce those rules even handedly. But money is what has made the NCAA untenable for many people, and we get so caught up in the minutia of that argument that we forget about what we would like college sports to be.

So let’s improve college sports, or more particularly college basketball [because football is a different animal and basketball seems to be on the forefront of all the issues we have]. Below I have put forward some ideas I believe can be accomplished that may address much of the discontent with College Basketball:

Eliminate the OAD:

Despite this being an NBA thing, it has negatively impacted college basketball in many ways. It has artificially created a category of athletes with which we cannot reconcile other aspects of the NCAA and its rules. It has opened the door for circumvention of rules and allowed third parties to muddy the waters. It has pushed individuals into a hypocritical position by having to pretend to be interested in academics when all they want to do is seek a career path.

The "OAD" rule was put in place specifically because NBA owners and GM’s wanted to protect themselves from drafting young, unproven players and getting burned. They wanted to force players into college in order to gain one year of real competition to better evaluate those players ability. We now know this failed, and if the NBA wants to be better at evaluating players, they should invest into their development league and plan for young players transitioning into an NBA career.

By eliminating this rule, you allow those that are capable of earning money from endorsements to capitalize on those opportunities immediately, and for others to begin the process of working their way into their chosen profession. Those that want to think about their non-basketball future after their playing days have the choice to go to college and participate in that system willingly.

Increase Benefits to those that Choose College Athletics:

While the NCAA does drive over a billion dollars in revenue, most of that revenue is already distributed back to students through scholarships, grants, student services and special programs. In fact, 84% of the revenue is spent directly on these activities. Despite this, it seems that through the process of deciding to divvy out those dollars, there are areas that might be getting more of the pie than they necessarily need. By changing the system in a way that forces Universities to make hard choices may allow for those dollars to be put to better use, and force these schools to decide that some beneficiaries may need to trim their budgets.

One way to bridge the gap between those who are making a healthy living and those that are putting in work, would be to restructure the scholarship programs. Right now, you are either a scholarship athlete and receive all the benefits, or you are not. It makes little sense to treat every athlete the same.

As a coach, one of the first things I talk about with my team is that equality ≠ fairness, and vice versa. That is as true in the gym as it is in life. Therefore, it is important that we address the fact that not all college scholarship athletes are equal. Joe Robertson, a Dook Lacrosse player, may be a great kid, the best Lacrosse player at dook, and all-around likeable guy, but there is no way that he should be given the same benefits as Zion Williamson. So, we need to acknowledge that there are different tiers to being an athlete, and we need benefits packages that address the unique needs of athletes within those tiers.

By creating tiers, we can shift funds around within their bucket without needing to find other sources of funds to cover most of these changes. Also, schools will have tough decisions to make about which sports they will keep as scholarship sports and which they may downgrade to club in order to save money. Additionally, one sport at one school may run at a deficit, while at another it may generate positive revenue.

Did you know that of the 90 NCAA sports, only five generate positive revenue [Men’s basketball, Men’s hockey, Men’s Lacrosse, Wrestling and Baseball – Football is not owned by the NCAA and derives no revenue from the sport].

Below is a suggested method to create a tier structure in the NCAA, and the associated benefits they would receive. Again, a school would have to operate their athletic programs within a budget, so some sports may get dropped into club status if those sports are too costly to maintain the lowest level of benefits provided. These would be the sacrifices made to provide the revenue generating athletes with higher level of benefits.

Tier 4 Athletes should include all athletes in sports that do not generate enough revenue to cover the benefits of the players in their sport – or deficit revenue sports. The criteria would be whether the sport generates less money than the cost of operating that sport at that school. For large universities, one sport may be positive revenue and be able to move all [or some] of their athletes to the next tier up, while at another smaller school, that sport may not qualify. For some small schools, even basketball may not qualify. If a school has a sport that cannot support even this level of benefit to its athletes, then that school can downgrade that sport to a "club" level, and offer no school support other than facilities. Or, they may decide to self-limit the amount of scholarships with benefits available.

Tier 3 Athletes should include all athletes in positive revenue sports who we would consider walk-on athletes. This tier would be limited to a percentage of overall scholarship athletes. For example, North Carolina would be allowed to have one walk on player for every four scholarship players. That means they would be able to offer this status to three players. If they wanted more ‘walk-ons’, those players would have to accept Tier 4 status.

Tier 2 Athletes should include all athletes in positive revenue sports, except what we will call "exceptional athletes" [we can think of a better name another time]. Garrison Brooks, Andrew Platek, Brandon Huffman and everyone else would fall into this category.

Tier 1 Athletes include only those athletes deemed "exceptional" by an actual set of objective criteria. For example, prior to entering college, you may need to have been on an All-American team or been selected to an all-tournament team at high level tournaments, have a composite ranking above a certain level [let say top 100], and been vetted by multiple evaluators.

Additionally, an athlete should be able to earn Tier 1 status by production throughout the season, essentially playing themselves into that status. Luke Maye might have started his career as a Tier 2 Athlete, but by his junior year, would have elevated his status to Tier 1.

The programs could also be limited to offering only a certain number of these scholarships at any one season. For example, if North Carolina could only have 30% of their 13 man roster qualify, Roy would only be able to offer 4 of these scholarships each year. Last year, Coby, Nassir, Luke and Cam would have taken those scholarships. This year it may be Cole, Armando, Garrison and Leaky. Next year it may be our entire freshman class.

We can work out the details of this another time. For now, let’s see what the benefits package looks like for these tiers?

Tier 4:

  • Full healthcare coverage for the period of actual service + 2 years AND Coverage for a 5-year period for any health-related issues derived from their service [sport specific injury].
  • Academic/Tuition benefits only [Tuition, fees and books -no housing or meals] – Benefits while in service + one year for every two year of service. [Play 4 years, get 6 years of tuition].
  • Team related travel expenses including meals, housing and transportation [no extra cost to athlete].
  • Sports specific gear that is required for participation [no cost to athlete].

Currently, the NCAA does not require schools to provide medical coverage, and in minor sports, you must rely upon and pay your own personal health coverage. The University benefits from having a variety of sports creating a vibrant campus life, and these athletes contribute to that through their hard work. Additionally, if you are injured in service of your school, you should have coverage for that injury for a period until you are able to obtain your coverage that does not negate pre-existing conditions. Five years gives you time to seek that kind of employment.

Additionally, school tuition does not have a straight-line incremental cost associated, meaning providing a tuition and book waiver costs Universities very little to nothing. If you put in hours for your team, you should get your basic tuition covered. This would not be a very expensive endeavor as the cost for this is very little.

You might ask, "What about full rides that are already being offered for these sports? Are you downgrading the benefits?" The answer is yes. My daughter is a gymnast. She has an opportunity to obtain a scholarship in college – the same scholarship that a basketball player gets. That seems incorrect. As much as I want a full ride [tuition, books, room, board and fees], I simply do not believe that a sport that cannot generate enough revenue to cover their expense should offer these full rides. However, I do believe that all athletes in all sports should get some benefits regardless.

Tier 3:

  • Full healthcare coverage for the period of actual service + 2 years AND Coverage for a 5-year period for any health-related issues derived from their service [sport specific injury].
  • Full Cost of Attendance benefits [Tuition, fees, housing and meals] – Benefits while in service.
  • Team related travel expenses [any cost related to travel for that sport would be covered at the level that sport can afford – so no extra cost to athlete].
  • Travel per-diem of $45 per 24 hours away from campus [that requires transportation of more than 50 miles].
  • Sports specific gear required for participation [no cost to athlete].
  • Additional gear limited to a street value of $500

At this tier, we are adding room and board, a travel per-diem, and some extra gear. Walk-ons for basketball [we will keep this basketball related] provide benefits to their respective programs and should receive a higher level of benefits than athletes for deficit producing sports. Much of this is based on the school’s budget and whether they can afford it, but it should be the maximum level of benefit required.

You might be saying, "Jason, you are basically eliminating the concept of ‘walk-ons’ and making them scholarship athletes." The answer is yes. Again, these scholarships are limited to three per team per season. Walker Miller, Shea Rush and Caleb Ellis should be getting these benefits. If Ryan McAdoo wants to play, and Roy wants him, he would be relegated to Tier 4 status. [BTW, JV athletes would not count as division 1 athletes and would only be supported at the program level].

Tier 2:

  • Full healthcare coverage for the period of service plus 5 years + Coverage for life for any health-related issues derived from their service [sport specific injury].
  • Full Cost of Attendance benefits [Tuition, fees, housing and meals] – Benefits while in service + one year for every year of service. [Play 2 years, get 4 years of benefits]. This benefit does not expire.
  • Annual stipend [paid monthly] in the amount of $7,800 [this is $15 an hour for the hours the athlete is required to serve].
  • Team related travel expenses [any cost related to travel for that sport would be covered at the level that sport can afford – so no extra cost to athlete].
  • Travel per-diem of $45 per 24 hours away from campus [that requires transportation of more than 50 miles].
  • $15 per hour for any non-sport specific activity required by the school [promotions, charitable events, etc.] paid monthly.
  • Sports specific gear required for participation [no cost to athlete].
  • Additional gear based on team budget, but limited to a street value of $1,500 per athlete

This tier upgrades from the lower tier by adding additional benefits. Medically, if an athlete is injured on-the-job, this level of athlete should be covered for that injury, and any related issues stemming from that injury, for the rest of their lives. These athletes would also add full room & board to their list of benefits, essentially covering all costs to attend school, and they would get additional coverage past their playing career based on the formula [and it never expires]. That way, they can come back to school if they leave for the draft and finish where they left off. Kendall Marshall would be one example. The stipend has also been increased to reflect a minimum wage payment for the hours served. In addition, they should receive money for the amount of time they are required to travel and for activities off-campus representing the university. Finally, they get an increased gear budget.

Tier 1:

  • Full healthcare coverage for the period of service plus 10 years + Coverage for life for any health-related issues derived from their service [sport specific injury].
  • Full Cost of Attendance benefits [Tuition, fees, housing and meals] – Benefits for 4 years + one year for every year of service. [Play 2 years, get 6 years of benefits]. This benefit does not expire.
  • Annual stipend [paid monthly] in the amount of $7,800 [this is $15 an hour for the hours the athlete is required to serve].
  • Team related travel expenses [any cost related to travel for that sport would be covered at the level that sport can afford – so no extra cost to athlete].
  • Travel per-diem of $45 per 24 hours away from campus [that requires transportation of more than 50 miles].
  • $15 per hour for any non-sport specific activity required by the school [promotions, charitable events, etc.] paid monthly.
  • Sports specific gear required for participation [no cost to athlete].
  • Additional gear based on team budget, but limited to a street value of $1,500 per athlete
  • Access to a line of credit allowing the athlete to obtain a maximum amount of funds in any one season of $15,000. They would only have access while in service [maximum of $60,000]. The balance of funds withdrawn would carry no interest or fees during service. However, the athlete would be required to pay it back with principal and interest payments amortized over 30 years at 3% annually, and monthly payments would begin twelve months after loss of eligibility.

In my opinion, we need to address an athletes outside of basketball needs while maintaining some level of controls with regards to how benefits are implemented. Briefly, these athletes are getting longer tuition benefits, but everything else is the same. The only addition would be the line of credit. Why a line of credit? Why not let Adidas pay them? We make them pay it back?

Good comments all, but let’s remember in this system, the highest-level players with the ability to earn money off their likeness would more than likely turn pro and not bother with college basketball. Therefore, there is really no need to create a system in college to try and compensate these individuals. However, there is a need to separate a star level college player from a normal player, and address some of the needs some players might have outside of basketball. The fact is, there really is no reason to GIVE anyone huge amounts of money. The stipend, per-diem and travel money increase should easily allow those athletes to thrive during their time in college. An athlete should have to make an informed decision about whether they really want to access these funds and have a game plan for paying it back. Those that qualify, and those that might indeed have a professional career ahead of themselves, will have a way to pay it back. Those that don’t can finish school [using the benefits above], get a job and pay it back just like any other student who obtains loans for college. Considering they don’t have to pay for cost of attendance, this would be a viable way to allow a select few to withstand financial burdens by accessing some funds to help during their time of service. The amount is enough to make a difference, but not too much to entice those athletes into so much debt they can never get out from under it.

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While I have not addressed the idiotic NCAA rules, their incompetent enforcement and infractions process, or other competitive issues, I believe the implementation of the items suggested go a long way toward addressing the issues facing college athletes. These actions would improve the lives of every NCAA athlete, while providing a better benefits package to athletes in basketball across the board. Will these fix everything? No. But this would go a long way toward improving College athletics in the NCAA.