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Loans
won’t keep student-athletes at universities It all sounds so complicated. The Associated Press reported Tuesday that the NCAA management council voted to allow certain “student-athletes to receive money for private lessons and to obtain a one-time $20,000 bank loan based on future earnings.” Specifically, those changes would allow tennis players and golfers to accept money for private lessons. Athletes of Olympic caliber would also be compensated for quality performances at the Olympics. Only athletes who are deemed possible first-round picks in basketball and baseball and at least third round picks in football and hockey are eligible for the $20,000 loan. Without going further into any sort of explanation — it’s obvious that these developments immediately open the door to questions about whether this discounts the whole amateurism thing that college and university big wigs have been fighting over for so long. What’s the question, you ask? The question is whether or not this sort of legislation is going to keep student-athletes in school. Graduation rates are the concern. It’s been well-documented that collegiate basketball players are no longer graduating often enough. At this rate, I would venture to guess that high school students will be fighting to leave high school early, but that’s a whole different story. It was announced Wednesday that Zach Randolph, a freshman from Michigan State, and Jason Gardner, a sophomore from Arizona, would forgo the rest of their college careers to make themselves eligible for the NBA draft. Randolph and Gardner added themselves to a growing list of underclassmen declaring early — a list that has officially reached 15. Specifically, six juniors, four sophomores, three freshmen and two high school seniors have declared for early entry into the draft. Do the higher-ups of the NCAA really think that a $20,000 loan will keep athletes from leaving college early, if not skipping it completely? Surely not. It’s not logical. And who’s to say that anyone is a legit first-rounder? I could get someone right now to say I’m a legit first-rounder. Can I have $20,000? Players who have a legitimate chance at making it in the pros could conceivably sign contracts worth $2 to $4 million, depending on which league they play in and what kind of signing bonus they get. I don’t know about you, but I’ve got my hands in front of me, measuring which would be better. I’m holding $20,000 in my left hand and a brief case full of $2 million in my right hand. I’m taking my brief case to the nearest car dealership and picking up the best SUV on the lot. Maybe it’s just me. TCU Athletics Director Eric Hyman said this does not hurt the amateurism of the college game. I don’t know how it doesn’t. Head men’s basketball coach Billy Tubbs summed it up quite well by saying that as soon as an athlete signs a contract and takes money from a professional team, he should lose his eligibility. It’s really that simple. When you’re getting paid, you’re not an amateur. The Olympics have been glorified by the fact that the athletes are not being paid for their work. They are supposedly participating to represent their country. The minute we pay athletes for what should be an honor, we have killed all the glory. I guess this is just an appeal to the good ol’ days. It’s easy to say that we want student-athletes to stay in college. It’s easy to say that we want to improve graduation rates. But how is that supposed to be done these days without offering payment? Apparently, full scholarships or something relatively equivalent, aren’t enough anymore. There might not be an answer, but with at least two more high school athletes completely skipping college, it’s clear that something must be done, because it’s seemingly not attractive for college and high school athletes to stay or even go to college. Maybe it really is that complicated. Associate
Editor Danny Horne is a senior broadcast journalism major from Carrollton. |