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darvon

1 Simple Rule to fix the NCAA - The High School Draft

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by
darvon
, 12-23-2010 at 09:37 PM (7719 Views)
I was asked recently what I would do to fix the NCAA. I said I didn't have a solution. I do now.

As best as I can tell from the outside the NCAA rules seem to be grouped into 3 types.


1) Recruiting violations.

2) Things to prevent athletes, once at school, from cashing in on their fame.

3) Things to keep athletes away from agents and their ilk.




#1 seem to be concerned with keeping a level playing field between schools that might be of different financial abilities. Call this the Competitive Balance issue.

#2 seems also to be a Competitive Balance issue as selling game gear is simply a downstream way of paying players to come to your school.

#3 doesn't seem to address a problem that I can understand, as amatuerism is long gone, especially since a student can be a professional baseball player AND a college football player, simultaneously.



So to address the Competitive Balance Issue, I give you the simple answer: The High School Draft.

Each D1A college will select a player graduating from HS that can play on their team. A draftee can GO to any school that will have him, but he can only be ELIGIBLE for football at the school that drafted him.

That's it. No issues about how many times Coach has called little Billy. No $1,000 handshakes during recruiting trips or Bama Belles et al doing a little horizontal recruiting. And no rules about cashing in, because it won't effect competitive balance. So Reggies parents get their house back. And Pryor can sell his pants again. No national signing day silliness. No breast beating when a student backs out of a verbal commit.

No need anymore. Just a simple draft. Just like the NFL.


And no rules about cashing in, because it won't effect competitive balance. So Reggies parents get their house back. And Pryor can sell his pants again. No national signing day silliness. No breast beating when a student backs out of a verbal commit.


So easy to monitor. Why even an SEC school can follow this one simple rule. And the Draft can be a 3 day Bonanza in late Feb on ESPN.

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  1. Bengals1181's Avatar
    no way. Can't screw with kids lives like that and take their futures out of their hands. We're not talking just about football here. We're talking about education, personal growth and development, etc... It's far bigger than just football, and your idea screws with it.


    Imagine a football player who's very smart and could get into Yale, Notre Dame, or other highly rated schools gets stuck at an incredibly academically inferior college. You're completely screwing with that kids future.


    Horrible idea, sorry man.
  2. iwatt's Avatar
    Yeah, not a good idea.
  3. darvon's Avatar
    "no way. Can't screw with kids lives like that and take their futures out of their hands. We're not talking just about football here. We're talking about education, personal growth and development, etc... It's far bigger than just football, and your idea screws with it.


    Imagine a football player who's very smart and could get into Yale, Notre Dame, or other highly rated schools gets stuck at an incredibly academically inferior college. You're completely screwing with that kids future."

    I agree with you that it limits the ability for skilled football player to go to a great school on a football scholarship, however in 3 short years, the exact same thing will happen in the NFL draft. It limits where someone can live, which people he will work with, even how well he will do in his career.

    It doesn't stop that player from going to Yale, just from going there on a football scholarship.

    Our current way makes it criminal to sell your posessions at fair market value (Ohio State), to seek professional business counsel, or even to start a business (Greg Anthony). It promotes back door deals, runners, influence pedalling, there would be NO NCAA violations other than grade cheating.

    It takes the whole NCAA rules mess and flushes it away.
  4. iwatt's Avatar
    2% of college players make it to the NFL. The average career of an NFL player is 3 years. Your proposal seems focused solely on the Cam Nwtons of the world. That is my first objection.

    2nd objection is more practical: you will dilute the talent pool even further. A lot of NFL talent is not readily apparent when they hit the draft, because of an injury, immaturity, helmet haired idiots, etc... Adding yet another barrier to entry into elite sports makes no sense. Iit adds a second "tarrif" into the talent economy. It wouldnt be such a big deal if you had perfect talent evaluation. Clearly that is not true.

    Id be for a salary cap for football programs instead. Star recruits would get an allowance, and the NCAA could spend its time acting as tax accountants instead of arbitrary judges of situations.
  5. Bengals1181's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by iwatt
    2% of college players make it to the NFL. The average career of an NFL player is 3 years. Your proposal seems focused solely on the Cam Nwtons of the world. That is my first objection.

    2nd objection is more practical: you will dilute the talent pool even further. A lot of NFL talent is not readily apparent when they hit the draft, because of an injury, immaturity, helmet haired idiots, etc... Adding yet another barrier to entry into elite sports makes no sense. Iit adds a second "tarrif" into the talent economy. It wouldnt be such a big deal if you had perfect talent evaluation. Clearly that is not true.

    Id be for a salary cap for football programs instead. Star recruits would get an allowance, and the NCAA could spend its time acting as tax accountants instead of arbitrary judges of situations.

    you're taking away a kids ability to go to a school of their choice AND play football.


    It's a bad idea.
  6. darvon's Avatar
    "1st objection: 2% make it to the NFL, your proposal is focused solely on them."

    Disagree. What my proposal is doing is trying to spread the Rivals.com 100 to all the D1A schools, at least as far as football goes. For the simply reason of "Parity" which many NCAA rules are focused upon. Currently you cant play at a transferred school without setting out a year. Even if that student transferred to a much better school, like Stanford. Those rules limit football access to one school (albeit for a single year). The draft just does it for the First year.

    "2nd objection is more practical: you will dilute the talent pool even further. Adding yet another barrier to entry into elite sports makes no sense."

    I am sorry, but I don't understand this one. My proposal does spread the talent through the 120 D1A teams, are you considering homogenization a dilution? Usually dilution means adding more teams. I don't understand how this effects the NFL. My way, at least Matt Cassel would start in college and you would have film of him for the draft.

    "3rd Issue: Salary Cap"

    The problem with this proposal is that you play the players differently, which is unmanageable, not considering that today the NCAA and the schools escape the laws governing payment completely. Graduate Teaching Assistants that get a little stipend are covered by labor laws. Football players aren't.(although they should be).

    "4th issue: you're taking away a kids ability to go to a school of their choice AND play football. It's a bad idea."

    NCAA already takes away that option if you transfer in your 2nd 3rd or 4th years. (and your 5th if you use up eligibility). It takes it away from ALL years if you have play that sport professionally. Or if you go to an agent party. Or if you sell your own possessions. Or if you lie under interrogation.

    With the High School Draft, at least Dez Bryant, Cam Newton, Prior, most of NC, and many others can simply Play.

    No recruiting violations. These don't exist anymore.
    No Booster violations. These don't exist anymore.
    No $180K fathers.
    No scholarship offers to 7th Graders.
    No garbage.
  7. iwatt's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by darvon
    "2nd objection is more practical: you will dilute the talent pool even further. Adding yet another barrier to entry into elite sports makes no sense."

    I am sorry, but I don't understand this one. My proposal does spread the talent through the 120 D1A teams, are you considering homogenization a dilution? Usually dilution means adding more teams. I don't understand how this effects the NFL. My way, at least Matt Cassel would start in college and you would have film of him for the draft.
    This is simple economics. You are adding another barrier. Another filter. Sure, filters are good to capture crap so that it doesn't dirty the water. But it also can block the stuff you do want to get through.

    And Finally, you seem to abandon the whole point of Football scholarships: grant kids the opportunity for a quality education. You focus solely on repairing recruitment violations, that only exist because the NCAA makes them violations. Let the kids get payed, and there is no crime. And you get to tax that money. For every penny going to buy a kid, give the same money to the other sports..
  8. darvon's Avatar
    OK. Interesting discussion, but I am afraid I still am not understanding your initial point, but let me first get to paying players.

    There are all sorts of issues about paying players.

    1) This brings players under labor law. Schools want to avoid that like the plague. It empowers the players at the expense of the student and the NCAA. Litigation city. Union city. CBA city.

    2) Your initial salary cap proposal was to put a $$$ amount on the payment to the stars and give each school a salary cap. Putting a sifferent salary on different players, expecially football with no female analogue, will hit Title IX and be thrown out in court.

    3) A couple of facts on scholarships, that I have gleened over the years. First, each scholarship is for only a single year. New scholarships can be renewed on a yearly basis by the school. Renewal is usually denied if the participant has not been a good member of the sport in the year prior. However the scholarship is NOT viewed as compensation for playing.

    An incoming Freshman, gets a scholarship in the spring of their HS year, for 1 year. If he goes to XYZ Univ and plays football, and everything is cool, he will get gifted another 1 year scholarship. If he quit the football team in Sept, he gets to keep the 1 yea scholarship, but he will receive no other. It's sort of "payment in advance" but everything is wink wink to keep the player out of Labor Laws. There are Zillions of infractions that the school and the NCAA perform every day that is ILLEGAL to do to an employee, but not a volunteer athlete.

    A player does NOT trade a scholarship for play. Believe it or not, the player PAYS the NCAA and School to play, by granting eash both their rights to their Performance (i.e. game tv/ticket/radio/digital rights) and all their Marketing rights for their name and likeness.

    So paying for play is the DEAD LAST thing the NCAA wants to do.
    ===========

    I still don't get how spreading the talent out among all the league via a draft is a filter to a player getting to the NFL. If you want to take another slant at explaining it to me, I am ready, but I understand if you just give up pounding it through my thick skull.


    Most of the NCAA conduct rules are recruitment rules or post-recruitment amateurism rules, which seem to be there for a parity reason, just like the recruitment rules. All those would be flushed away as unnecessary with a draft.
  9. iwatt's Avatar
    So paying for play is the DEAD LAST thing the NCAA wants to do.
    They already Pay for Play...they just don't want it to be official. It's like pot... I know they don't want to admit it, and it's a pipe dream.

    I still don't get how spreading the talent out among all the league via a draft is a filter to a player getting to the NFL. If you want to take another slant at explaining it to me, I am ready, but I understand if you just give up pounding it through my thick skull.
    What it means is that it already the NFL draft misses talent: Woodhead, Cameron Wake, Jeff Saturday, etc...

    Add another level of draft, and more talent won't make it through.

    Most of the NCAA conduct rules are recruitment rules or post-recruitment amateurism rules, which seem to be there for a parity reason, just like the recruitment rules. All those would be flushed away as unnecessary with a draft.
    But the Draft is done in conjunction with a Union that makes sure that the interst of the new members are at least somewhat defended. Who will protect the rights of the HS kids?

    And finally, why should a Michigan kid HAVE to go to play for the buckeyes? The only way I see a draft been acceptable to kids is if they get paid. If not, thee isn't anything in it for them.
  10. darvon's Avatar
    They already Pay for Play...they just don't want it to be official. It's like pot... I know they don't want to admit it, and it's a pipe dream.
    Yep. But from an IRS ruling and a court ruling, they don't right now. In fact no scholarships are considered a taxable event by the IRS.

    What it means is that it already the NFL draft misses talent: Woodhead, Cameron Wake, Jeff Saturday, etc...
    Add another level of draft, and more talent won't make it through.
    Bingo. Now I understand. But I assume that the draft would go only for about 5-10 rounds and then undrafteds can be signed by anyone. I don't know that different people would be drafted but rather they would go elsewhere.

    But the Draft is done in conjunction with a Union that makes sure that the interst of the new members are at least somewhat defended. Who will protect the rights of the HS kids?
    The same person who defended Dez Bryants rights during his interrogation, No One. The same person who REQUIRED Cam Newtons father to give his personal financial records and the records for the 5 churches he runs to the NCAA, No One. The same person who has to pay royalties for NCAA all time all stars Basketball to people who are years away from college but their likeness, stats and number is used, No One.

    Bottom line, schools and the NCAA have built construct totally outside the legal system in regards to players. One of the means is the TERROR of the power thru the enforcement of rules which not even the AD of USC says he understands anymore. Simplifying the rules is a big step. Kids lose a game for riding in the wrong golf cart, that has to stop first.


    And finally, why should a Michigan kid HAVE to go to play for the buckeyes?
    Right now there is a yearly max of 28 (Ithink) scholarships in football. If you are the 29th best player in Michigan you might have to go play for the buckeyes. And actually the two rules are for the exact same reason, they are trying to level out the recruiting mismatch, but because the Power Schools control the NCAA, they focused on the 29th best, not the 2nd best.

    The NCAA has parity rules now. This is simply replacing 1 rule and flushing out the labyrinth. No one can start protecting the students until we can shine a little sunshine on the NCAA rulings, and to do that, everyone needs to SEE the rules, but like the IRS tax code, complexity deflects sunshine.

    The only way I see a draft been acceptable to kids is if they get paid. If not, thee isn't anything in it for them.
    Of course there is nothing in the rules for the players. This is the NCAA.