{"id":1091,"date":"2019-11-01T10:39:08","date_gmt":"2019-11-01T15:39:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/roykessel.com\/?p=1091"},"modified":"2019-11-03T07:34:44","modified_gmt":"2019-11-03T13:34:44","slug":"only-two-choices-left-for-college-sports-which-one-will-you-pick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/roykessel.com\/only-two-choices-left-for-college-sports-which-one-will-you-pick\/","title":{"rendered":"Only Two Choices Left for College Sports&#8211;Which one will you pick?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-2 is-cropped\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"243\" height=\"130\" src=\"https:\/\/roykessel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Level-Playing-Field-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"1092\" data-link=\"https:\/\/roykessel.com\/?attachment_id=1092\" class=\"wp-image-1092\"\/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"307\" height=\"130\" src=\"https:\/\/roykessel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Level-Playing-Field-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"1093\" data-link=\"https:\/\/roykessel.com\/?attachment_id=1093\" class=\"wp-image-1093\"\/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"text-align:center\" class=\"has-small-font-size\"><em><strong>Do you want a level playing field? Or a free market system?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the wake of this week\u2019s statement by the NCAA that it\nintends to explore ways for athletes to be compensated for their name, image\nand likeness, it appears that we have only two options left for the direction\ncollege sports is going to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Option 1: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Free\nMarket<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Option 2: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Level\nPlaying Field<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We are going to explore these two options and I am very\ninterested to hear what you think will ultimately be the choice.&nbsp; I have my opinions but I will save them for\nthe end of this article.&nbsp; With California\npassing its law and other powerhouse states like New York, Florida and Illinois\nbeing well on their way to implement similar laws, it was only a matter of time\nuntil the NCAA fell in-line with the economic realities and public sentiment\nabout allowing athletes to receive compensation.&nbsp; Unfortunately, the NCAA\u2019s own statement fell\nfar short of coming up with a viable framework which would let student-athletes\nreally understand how the NCAA would interpret the concepts in its\nstatement.&nbsp; You can read more details\nhere in terms of the gaping holes left by the NCAA\u2019s position.&nbsp;&nbsp; Even after you read their statement and\nunderstand this holes, you have to take a step away from the anger, hostility\nand frustration which have long been a part of this discussion.&nbsp; Catch your breath, open your mind and ask\nyourself what an ideal world of college sports looks like.&nbsp; Most of us can agree we are not there right\nnow, but the question is whether there is even a pathway to get there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In my opinion, there are only two options.&nbsp; There is no slippery slope, because there is\nreally no place to stop.&nbsp; Or even try to\nstop.&nbsp; This looks more like a cliff.&nbsp; You are either at the top, or you are at the\nbottom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>LEVEL PLAYING FIELD<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The entire purpose of the NCAA regulating competition in\ncollege sports was to preserve some degree of a level playing field.&nbsp; Recruiting restrictions, scholarship limits,\nadmission requirements and virtually everything else that the NCAA governs were\nput into place to preserve that level playing field.&nbsp; Why are the restrictions virtually limitless\nand the penalties so draconian?&nbsp; Because\nMichigan and Ohio State do not trust each other to compete fairly.&nbsp;&nbsp; Alabama, Auburn and LSU believe that its\ncompetitors would do everything in their power to win. While the NCAA is an\neasy target, the reality is that the rules are implemented by the schools.&nbsp; The schools are the ones that want help to\nprotect themselves against other \u201crogue\u201d schools that would implement a win at\nall costs arms race.&nbsp; If one elite school\nin a conference wanted to pull out all of the stops, then other schools would\nbe forced to do the same thing in order to compete. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many people would argue that the playing field is already\nunlevel.&nbsp; If you look at the revenue\ngenerated in the Power 5 conferences, there are great disparities between the\ntop schools in the Big Ten, SEC, Big 12, ACC and Pac 12, especially when you\ncompare them to the lower level schools in each conference.&nbsp; The challenge in front of the college sports\ncommunity, is how the Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) conversations are going to\nchange college sports.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>IF (and that is a big if), you desire to retain a level (or\nmore level) playing field, you will need to grant the NCAA potentially even more\npower to regulate the actions of the schools, limit the ways that athletes can\nearn money and monitor how and when that money is paid to the\nstudent-athlete.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If that concept sounds repugnant to you, then you are\nprobably a proponent of the FREE MARKET below, but just be careful, because you\nmight get what you wished for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>FREE MARKET<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Free Market solution means exactly what it sounds\nlike.&nbsp; ALL bets are off.&nbsp; The rules are no longer in existence.&nbsp; Colleges can recruit athletes in any way that\nthey choose.&nbsp; Just like colleges can\nrecruit students today.&nbsp;&nbsp; Nobody monitors\nwhether the students Michigan chooses to admit are following the same\nrequirements as the students Ohio State admits.&nbsp;&nbsp; Alabama can currently admit its choice of\nstudents and provide them as much financial support as it chooses as an\ninstitution, without any regard to what Auburn or LSU might offer that same\nstudent.&nbsp; So why is this a bad\nthing?&nbsp; It might not be.&nbsp; Let the institutions make their own admission\ndecisions just as they currently do for non-student-athletes. Goodbye NCAA\nClearinghouse.&nbsp; Goodbye to regulations\nabout core requirements, minimum GPAs, non-qualifiers or any other form of\nregulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>QUESTION<\/strong>:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Will\nthis change college sports? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>ANSWER<\/strong>: Absolutely. 1000%.&nbsp;&nbsp; Schools will now be free to recruit, pay,\nprovide financial support or do ANYTHING else that they want to attract\ntalent.&nbsp; Just as they currently do for\nregular students.&nbsp; College sports has\nchanged and it is going to continue to change. The current model is not sustainable\nand expecting the NCAA to solve the problem is na\u00efve.&nbsp; Olympic sports have easily survived the\ntransition from the amateurism model to one that allows all forms of\ncompensation.&nbsp; So what? Don\u2019t we want to\nidentify the best athletes?&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>QUESTION<\/strong>: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Will\nthis concentrate the power in some of the elite schools.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>ANSWER<\/strong>:&nbsp;\nYes.&nbsp; It is highly likely that\nmany of the elite Power 5 schools will get the first choice of talent.&nbsp; But so what?&nbsp;\nIf they have the incentive to field a competitive team, the school now\nhas the obligation to make its institution attractive to student-athletes.&nbsp; Shouldn\u2019t we want the student-athletes to\nmake the decision for a reason that makes sense relative to their future goals?&nbsp; If some school is willing to pay more for you\nto come to their university, might that not be a good thing for the\nstudent-athlete?&nbsp; Would some of them\nconsider schools that they would not have considered if they were able to be\npaid more?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>QUESTION<\/strong>: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Doesn\u2019t\nthat cheapen the process?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>ANSWER<\/strong>:&nbsp;\nNo.&nbsp; It actually makes the school\nselection process more appropriate to the individual athlete.&nbsp; A player could decide if a smaller payment\nfrom Alabama was more worthwhile relative to his professional football\nprospects, as opposed to cashing in a lower level Power 5 school or even a\nnon-Power 5 school that would give him a greater compensation package.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>QUESTION<\/strong>: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; How\nare student-atheltes supposed to be able to navigate this process?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>ANSWER<\/strong>:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Like\npeople in all other aspects of the business world\u2014they would have to hire an\nattorney and\/or agent.&nbsp; Open up this type\nof consultation and representation, would mean that the student-athletes would\nhave someone helping them navigate the process and negotiate the best deal\npossible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So now that you have read some of the options, tell us what\nyou think?&nbsp; Do you really feel that there\nis another way?&nbsp; Is there any room to\ncompromise and implement some reasonable regulations?&nbsp; I don\u2019t see it.&nbsp; I think we are headed towards the free market\nsystem, and heading there quickly.&nbsp; We\nwill not ever see a truly level playing field (or even one approaching what we\nhave now).&nbsp;&nbsp; The universities will have\nto use their own judgments, morals, endowments and other factors to decide who\nthey want to admit.&nbsp; What type of\nstudents? What type of athletes?&nbsp;\nSpending how much money?&nbsp; Now the\nathletic department will have to make some economically rational decisions as\nto who it brings in.&nbsp; Currently, a\nfootball program will bring in 85 scholarship players.&nbsp; They can only have 85.&nbsp; So if they are full, they have to find a way\nto reduce that number (also known as running off a player).&nbsp; If someone is not performing, they can be\nrecruited over, meaning the school does not have to continue to honor their\nscholarship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s be clear, the free market system is not without\nproblems.&nbsp; Without a governing body it\ncould be like the Wild West.&nbsp; Players\ncould be bought each year. Players at one school could be recruited to transfer\nto another school the following year (even if the contracts provided\ndifferently).&nbsp; An entirely new body of\nlaw would develop around this area because none of us have any idea whether\ncourts would enforce a restrictive covenant in the scope of a college athlete\nwho signed with a university for financial aid or other compensation to play football\nthere.&nbsp; In this free market system, we\nwould almost certainly see the development of a players union.&nbsp; Someone would need to representing the\nplayers and their long-term interest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Regardless of which side of the issue you are on, one thing\nis guaranteed.&nbsp; This next 5 years are\ngoing to contain some of the most radical changes college sports have\nseen.&nbsp; If you look back at this past\nweek, you will see that this was when the change in the landscape became\nirreversible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>VOTE NOW:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 WHAT DO YOU PREFER? LEVEL PLAYING FIELD?\u00a0 OR FREE MARKET?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<script>(function(t,e,s,n){var o,a,c;t.SMCX=t.SMCX||[],e.getElementById(n)||(o=e.getElementsByTagName(s),a=o[o.length-1],c=e.createElement(s),c.type=\"text\/javascript\",c.async=!0,c.id=n,c.src=[\"https:\"===location.protocol?\"https:\/\/\":\"http:\/\/\",\"widget.surveymonkey.com\/collect\/website\/js\/tRaiETqnLgj758hTBazgd5lqUcpAZtddD7j_2B2IRQwlmlJcbmQj9pzoJAgFJkzuh5.js\"].join(\"\"),a.parentNode.insertBefore(c,a))})(window,document,\"script\",\"smcx-sdk\");<\/script><a style=\"font: 12px Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #999; text-decoration: none;\" href=https:\/\/www.surveymonkey.com> Create your own user feedback survey <\/a>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"text-align:center\" class=\"has-large-font-size\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.surveymonkey.com\/r\/V9NBJDL\">Take the poll here!!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"text-align:center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/roykessel.com\/ncaa-position-leaves-gaping-loopholes\/\">If you didn&#8217;t have a chance to read our earlier post: NCAA Position Leaves Gaping Loopholes, here is your chance<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the wake of this week\u2019s statement by the NCAA, it appears that we have only two options left for the direction<br \/>\ncollege sports is going to go.  1) A level playing field; or 2) A free market system.  Where do you stand?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":114,"featured_media":1093,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11],"tags":[494,583,317,6,315],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/roykessel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1091"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/roykessel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/roykessel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roykessel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/114"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roykessel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1091"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/roykessel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1091\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roykessel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1093"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/roykessel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1091"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roykessel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1091"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roykessel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1091"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}