Front Porch Football

The NCAA: A Broken System

by Brendan Paschal 

The system is broken. There is no doubt that the current state of college athletics is flawed. The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a multi-billion dollar industry, yet the main source of revenue (the college athlete) does not get a penny of that money back into their pocket. The NCAA’s entire philosophy is that students have an opportunity to earn something much more valuable than a paycheck, a college degree. But in 2019 a college degree might not be as valuable as it once was. While this philosophy once held true, the NCAA is no longer a trustworthy organization.

A Broken System – Colleges

The NCAA does not deserve all of the blame. Instead, the member institutions of the NCAA deserve some of that blame, as well. Colleges and Universities fail these students. Many collegiate athletes are the first in their family to go to college, while others did not receive the proper education needed prior to entering college. Making it to college based on athletic skill is impressive, but it is not indicative of how one will do in the classroom. Because of that, many athletes arrive at college struggling to stay above water. Basic college courses are overwhelming when high schools on the I-95 Corridor in South Carolina or in impoverished neighborhoods in Detroit have facilities built in the 1940s and teachers having to feed their students.

Missouri Busted

Although colleges set aside tutors specifically for these athletes, many are tutors in name only. For example, most recently, Missouri was sanctioned for having a tutor help 12 different players cheat in college courses. This included completing an entire online course for one student. The tutor left the school in 2016, and self-reported these violations almost immediately. In that self-report, the tutor stated she felt pressured from the academic coordinator to help these students cheat to stay academically eligible.

That is solely on the school and unacceptable. But it is not rare. The only difference between Missouri and other universities, Missouri got caught. It’s like speeding. A lot of people do speed, and justify their actions, but eventually someone gets caught. Others will be cautious for a while, but eventually they’ll go right back to speeding. Auburn and North Carolina were caught with independent studies abuse several years back. Schools are so pressured to hold onto their best athletes no matter what. Fans demand excellence, and they don’t care about the consequences.

A Broken System – The NCAA