Some of my favorite sounds of autumn are the sounds from football. The ratatat percussion section of the college marching band. Spectators shout, cheer, or groan after each play. The announcer’s scratchy voice over the loudspeaker explains each play and its key participants. At halftime, the marching band prances throughout the field with coordinated instruments that belt out loud, familiar tunes. There is always a low hum from the crowd.
I am an avid football fan. Not just because I love the game, but because football games were our family time. Every Sunday, I would go to church and volunteer at animal adoption, while my daughter went to the barn to ride, and my husband would relax and prepare our favorite appetizers. Then we would gather together and watch football.
But up until recently, I have been very conflicted over college football.
The monopolistic grip of the NCAA used kept young athletes in an almost slavish status. Large football schools would make large sums of money off football, both in donations and ticket sales. But players, who gave their body and their youth to this sport, used to be given only a scholarship. While colleges pay coaches multi-million-dollar salaries, their players could not afford meals. If students were injured (as many are), they would lose their scholarship and be left with nothing but a broken body. If they failed to graduate during their eligibility period (which is challenging because playing football is a full-time job), they left without a degree.
That all changed. Because college athletes fought back.
There were two drivers to this change.
The first important change was Name, Image, and Likeness, called NIL. After an athlete discovered that his picture was used to promote a game, he sued the NCAA for compensation under anti-trust laws. The NCAA argued the canard that student athletes should be unpaid amateurs, and the schools should keep all of the revenue. The NCAA lost when the Supreme Court ruled in 2021 that athletes can be compensated. Since then, a number of states (including Maryland) have passed laws that allow athletes to make money on sponsorships and advertising. Many of these players grew up in poverty and will not get to play in the NFL; this will be the only money they may earn from years of effort and sacrifice.
The NCAA also changed their rules about student athlete eligibility and tuition. Recent NCAA rules protect athletic scholarships from being canceled due to injury, loss of ability, or poor performance. Now student athletes will have their tuition paid despite injury or the inability to complete their degree during the eligibility period. Student athletes are now eligible for scholarships while they are in graduate school.
The other major change that has allowed student athletes to take control of their careers is the Transfer Portal. Before the Transfer Portal was implemented, a college student was stuck with his initial choice. The NCAA prohibited players who transferred from playing for a year. After another lawsuit, they dropped that provision. Now college athletes can change schools via the Transfer Portal if they feel they are not being treated properly. So, players who do not feel they are given adequate playing time, NIL compensation, are not pleased with the academics, or do not get along with the coaching staff can transfer to a different school.
Student athletes can now be compensated and have control over which school they go to. For many students, the income raised in NIL is very important to them and their parents.
Admittedly, this new system has a potential for fraud. In order to fund NIL, collectives have been formed by boosters that generate funds. These collectives provide compensation funds for athletes. Most states and the NCAA have a rule that students are compensated for additional activities, such as teaching, signing autographs, promoting merchandise, etc. beyond their participation in sports.
Student athletes especially those in football and basketball, often use agents. Agents can be helpful by negotiating deals and finding sources of revenue. However, unscrupulous agents can take a larger percentage of funds than is allowed by the National Football League (NFL).
There is a concern that the collective will be used to recruit students by offering high value recruits a guaranteed amount of money in NIL. This has been declared illegal by the NCAA, but policing it at this point is very difficult. Likewise in the transfer portal, students can be offered NIL funds to select a certain school.
The NCAA can no longer keep students in servitude. The athletes are now not taken advantage of by a system that uses them for football or basketball and then discards them when their college career is over.
The issues will be sorted out over time. And it’s certainly true that the richer schools will get the better athletes. But the important issue is that now the players have the power and control over their careers. And the NCAA will have to represent both the players and the higher institutions.
Angela Rieck, a Caroline County native, received her PhD in Mathematical Psychology from the University of Maryland and worked as a scientist at Bell Labs, and other high-tech companies in New Jersey before retiring as a corporate executive. Angela and her dogs divide their time between St Michaels and Key West Florida. Her daughter lives and works in New York City.
Mickey Terrone says
Great incisive article, Angela! Having been a college football fan since the mid-1950’s, watching Army football with my dad, I can certainly attest those were simpler times. The legendary 1958 Heisman Trophy winner Pete Dawkins was my original hero. High standards. No academic issues.
But its been downhill from there over the past 60 some-odd years. Having lived in Georgia for over a decade, I’m aware of some schools that took in good players and kept them eligible with non-college credit courses until they used up their eligibility or were injured and unable to play. This is why I am a supporter of NIL and the transfer portal, despite their potential problems. Frankly, a far larger problem for college sports is gambling – for college sports and for society.
At least in some sections of the country, college football is an integral part of the DNA of most every SEC, Big Ten, ACC and other conference. These folks will not allow their alma maters to fall behind the competition. There is such intensity when in-state rivals clash, the emotions carry over to the offices, neighborhoods and churches for weeks.
Yet now, the top few recruited high school players (certainly not all) get lucrative financial opportunities (NIL offers) as they enter college and the transfer portal now allows many players to sign contracts of $5 million+, including Archie Manning’s grandson now at the University of Texas. I’m delighted for the players because the families of many of them are badly in need. Instead of having to wait 3 years (at the risk of numerous debilitating injuries) to sign an NFL contract, they can provide for their families immediately. Transfer players can shop themselves in the portal to teams they believe need players at their position. Coaches shop the portal to meet their needs (with their limited budgets) and can replace important positions with experienced players for upcoming seasons. This seems to have a balancing effect on overall competition, as well.
Thus, rather than use the old bag man approach, contracts are signed usually involving agents, and naive kids and perhaps undereducated parents, can openly make good deals for their families while they are being educated. In addition, the NCAA now requires incremental progress credits toward graduation and many schools staff up with tutors to help ensure their “investments”.
But let’s not worry about the schools. Some successful college programs actually raise their academic rates by winning on the football field and basketball court. Thousands more applications are received after great seasons and schools toughen their acceptance scores in the process while general fund income from alumni can rise significantly with the pride of a national championship, so its often a win-win situation. The alumni and “friends” of schools (read: sidewalk fans) pour money into academics, athletics and now, into NIL funds. There are many areas needing to be smoothed out and some programs with always be looking for an edge. The real danger has become the easy availability and incessant promotion of sports gambling. This could quickly become the factor that creates doubts in the character of players, coaches, referees and sports books. Such conspiracies are hitting the news in recent weeks.
Let’s hope children (boys and girls) will always have true sports heroes to idolize and aspire to.