Study this guide carefully before reading your selection. Remember.docx

Study this guide carefully before reading your selection.
Remember that you are writing a formal, if brief, analysis of the
material, not just a report of what the author said. Of course,
one purpose of the paper is to focus your attention on, and
permit you to share with the class, the subject matter of the
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sections.
In the first section, state the author's purpose in writing the
selection. What does he/she hope to accomplish or prove? What
is the author's attitude/perspective on the subject matter? Does
the author rely on any particular method or theoretical
approach? What is the author’s plan for the article? In other
words, describe how the author organizes his or her material to
buttress the overall argument.
Section two will be the longest part. Here is where you break
the work down into its component parts. Summarize the author’s
content and argument in each of the parts and describe (very
briefly) the kind of supporting evidence used. End this section
with a summary of the article’s main conclusions. Outlining
before you write is a good idea. Among other things, it assures
that your paper includes the most important aspects of the
author’s work.
In the third section, you should “fit” the selection into the
course materials read so far. Compare and contrast the author’s
argument and conclusions with the various class lectures,
discussions, and required readings—especially those assigned
the same week.
Finally, in section four you should include your thoughts,
saying what you found especially interesting, helpful,
persuasive (or unpersuasive) or troubling. Do not assume that
your instructor agrees with the author’s premises or
conclusions. Our only objective is to encourage critical thinking
through expos u r e t o and civil examination of different ideas.

Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2441219
EDUCATING ATHLETES
RE-ENVISIONING THE STUDENT-ATHLETE MODEL
William W. Berry III*
This article contends that if the NCAA and universities are
serious about
saving the current student-athlete model, then they should
double-down on
the concept of “student” in the student-athlete model. In
particular, this paper
suggests that adopting a more realistic approach to educating
athletes will
benefit both the universities and student-athletes, relieving
pressure on the
current model and improving educational outcomes.
Specifically, this article argues for a revised student-athlete
model. First,
the new model would require mandatory six-year scholarships
for student-
athletes, and a reduction in the required academic hours “in-
season” from 9 to
3. The model also mandates that students use their eligibility in
the first four
years at the university. After student-athletes use their
eligibility up over the
four years, half of their education will remain. The students can
attempt to

become a professional athlete, but if that fails, they will have
the opportunity
to engage academically for two years in a discipline that will
prepare them for
the career they seek, rather than follow the path of least
resistance to
graduation. Indeed, this idea that graduation rates alone indicate
the receipt of
a robust and valuable education, rather than a short-circuited
and
compromised one, cheats many student-athletes of the education
that they
deserve.
Part I of the article briefly describes the broken model of
intercollegiate
athletics. In Part II, the article advances its central proposal for
saving the
concept of student-athlete: six-year scholarships with a
reduction to 3 hours
in-season for student-athletes, coupled with a requirement of
eligibility use in
the first four years. Part III concludes the paper by
demonstrating how the
proposal can resuscitate the concept of student-athlete and why
the proposal
can improve outcomes for universities and student-athletes
alike.
* Assistant Professor of Law and Beccaria Scholar in Criminal
Law, University of
Mississippi. The author thanks Woods Drinkwater for his
valuable research assistance with the
article.

Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2441219
2 WILLIAM W. BERRY III [2-Mar-14
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
...............................................................................................
............................. 3
I. The Broken Model of College Athletics
......................................................................... 9
A. The Model in Principle
............................................................................................ 9
B. The Model in Practice
..............................................................................................
10
1. Athletes Generate Revenue
......................................................................... 11
2. Athlete Compensation Limited to Education
............................................ 15
3. Education Compromised by Athletic Demands
........................................ 21
II. The Proposal
...............................................................................................
....................... 24
A. Mandate six-year scholarships for revenue-generating sports.
............................. 25
B. Reduce Academic Load to 3 hours during in-season

semesters. .......................... 28
C. Reduce College Basketball Season to One Semester.
........................................... 30
D. Limit Eligibility to the First Four Years
.................................................................. 31
III. Justifications
...............................................................................................
...................... 32
A. Amateurism Fails without Real Educational Opportunity
.................................. 32
B. Students Deserve a Chance at an Education
......................................................... 33
C. Universities Have an Obligation to Educate
......................................................... 34
Conclusion
...............................................................................................
............................... 35
2-Mar-14] EDUCATING ATHLETES 3
INTRODUCTION
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.
– Charles Dickens1
By any objective measure, intercollegiate athletics is thriving.2
After

unprecedented growth over the past decade, the obsession with
college sports,
particularly football and basketball, seems to deepen daily.3 No
longer limited to
the actual games, the interest in these sports continues through
the offseason,
with recruiting information and offseason practices garnering
significant
attention.4
The popularity of college football and basketball is at an all-
time high, setting
television ratings records5 and spawning high sales in
merchandise.6 Television
1 CHARLES DICKENS, A TALE OF TWO CITIES (1859).
2
Indeed, many have noted the positive effects of such success on
colleges and universities.
See, e.g., Doug G. Chung, The Dynamic Advertising Effect of
College Football , working paper,
available at
http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Publication%20Files/13-
067_86a0b712-f29e-423f-
b614-0165b770dd65.pdf (study measuring the “Flutie Effect”);
Devin G. Pope and Jaren C.
Pope, The Impact of College Sports Success on the Quantity and
Quality of Student Applications,
75 Southern Econ. J. 750 (2009)(noting the positive impact of
football and basketball); Devin G.
Pope and Jaren C. Pope, Understanding College Application
Decisions: Why Sports Success
Matters, 15 J. SPORTS ECON. 107 (2014).

3 Eric Chemi, The Amazing Growth in College Football
Revenues, BUSINESSWEEK.COM
(Sep. 26, 2013), http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-
09-26/the-amazing-growth-in-
college-football-revenues.
4 In recent years, websites devoted to following the highest
ranked high school players have
become increasingly popular. Dedicated fan bases tune in year
round. See, e.g.,
http://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com,
http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com,
http://espn.go.com/college-sports/football/recruiting/index,
http://espn.go.com/college-
sports/basketball/recruiting/index.
5 Michael Humes, Hundreds of Millions of Fans Tune to
Record-Setting College Football
Coverage across ESPN Networks, ESPN MEDIAZONE (Dec.
10, 2013),
http://espnmediazone.com/us/press-releases/2013/12/hundreds-
of-millions-of-fans-tune-to-
record-setting-coverage-across-espn-networks/. Sara Bibel,
2013 NCAA Final Four is Highest-
Rated and Most-View in Eight Years, ZAP2IT (Apr. 7, 2013),
http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2013/04/07/2013-ncaa-final-
four-is-highest-rated-and-
most-viewed-in-eight-years/176862/.
6 Darren Rovell, Texas leads in merchandise royalties,
ESPN.COM (Aug. 12, 2013),
http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/9560094/texas-
longhorns-again-top-

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/football/recruiting/index
of-millions-of-fans-tune-to-record-setting-coverage-across-
espn-networks/
of-millions-of-fans-tune-to-record-setting-coverage-across-
espn-networks/
and the internet are certainly responsible for much of this
growth.7 Not only do
television contracts continue to break records at an almost
exponential rate of
growth, but conferences and schools also have their own
television networks.8
This continued influx of capital manifests itself in expanded
stadiums,9 world-
class training facilities,10 and escalating coaching salaries.11
With the advent of a college football playoff,12 the launch of
the
Southeastern Conference (SEC) television network in 2014,13
and the
expansion of many stadiums, the potential for continued growth
is obvious.14
merchandise-sales-list.
7 Daniel Roberts, ESPN’s secret web weapon: ESPN3,
CNNMONEY.COM (Jan. 22, 2014),
http://features.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2014/01/22/espns-secret-
web-weapon-espn3/; Adam
Kramer, Where Did All The College Football Fans Go?,

BLEACHER REPORT (Oct. 17, 2013),
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1814887-where-did-all-the-
college-football-fans-go.
8 Kristi Dosh, A comparison: Conference television deals,
ESPN.COM (Mar. 19, 2013),
http://espn.go.com/blog/playbook/dollars/post/_/id/3163/a-
comparison-conference-television-
deals. For instance, the University of Texas has its own channel.
http://www.sbnation.com/longform/2013/10/3/4798078/the-eye-
of-texas-inside-the-
longhorn-networks-uncharted-television.
9 See, e.g., Brian Bennett, Arms Race Proves Recession-Proof,
ESPN.COM (June 14, 2012);
http://www.bcinterruption.com/2012/10/2/3440482/acc-football-
arms-race-duke-wallace-
wade-stadium-expansion.
10 Oregon has one obvious example of this. See Peter Berkes,
Incredible photos and video of
Oregon's new football facility, SBNATION.COM (July 31,
2013), available at
http://www.sbnation.com/college-
football/2013/7/31/4574556/oregon-football-building-new;
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/college-
football/photos/1307/university-of-oregon-athletic-
facility-behind-scenes/.
11 See, e.g., Patrick Rishe, College Football Coaching Salaries
Grow Astronomically Due to
Escalating Media Rights Deals, FORBES.COM (Nov. 20, 2012),
available at
http://www.forbes.com/sites/prishe/2012/11/20/college-football-
coaching-salaries-grow-
astronomically-due-to-escalating-media-rights-deals/; Allie

Grasgreen, Coaches Make More
Than You, INSIDEHIGHERED.COM (Nov. 7, 2013), available
at
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/11/07/football-
coach-salaries-10-percent-over-
last-year-and-top-5-million.
12 See, e.g., Heather Dinich, Playoff Plan to Run Through 2025,
ESPN.COM (June 27, 2012),
available at http://espn.go.com/college-
football/story/_/id/8099187/ncaa-presidents-approve-
four-team-college-football-playoff-beginning-2014.
13 Richard Sandomir, SEC Will Start TV Network in 2014,
NYTIMES.COM (May 2, 2013),
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/03/sports/ncaafootball/sec-
will-have-own-tv-network-
starting-in-2014.html?_r=0. See http://www.getsecnetwork.com
14 See, e.g., Dennis Dodd, College football in 2012 more about
growth potential than settling
in, CBSSPORTS.COM (Jan. 1, 2012), available at
Indeed, by many estimations, intercollegiate athletics has far to
go to reach its
saturation point, despite its overwhelming current popularity.15
And yet, the status quo is troubling.16 Despite the economic
growth, only a
handful of universities have athletic departments that yield an

annual profit.17
Indeed, the average athletic department runs an annual deficit of
over one
million dollars.18 In addition, most schools rely heavily on
student fees to
subsidize the athletic department.19
Since 2011, the number of major National Collegiate Athletic
Association
(NCAA) violations has been unprecedented, with major scandals
at athletic
powerhouses like Miami,20 North Carolina,21 Ohio State,22
Tennessee,23
http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/story/16669574/colle
ge-football-in-2012-more-
about-growth-potential-than-settling-in.
15 Id.
16 See, e.g., Charles Clotfelter, 5 Problems to Tackle in Big
College Sports, AJC.COM (July 2,
2012), http://www.ajc.com/news/news/opinion/5-problems-to-
tackle-in-big-college-
sports/nQWxW/; Jason Whitlock, Making the Wrong Argument,
ESPN.COM (Sept. 13, 2013),
http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/9669762/investigative-
stories-distract-real-issues-sports;
Nick Veronica, College sports and money: Decades-old issues
remain unresolved, POST-
GAZETTE.COM (June 16, 2013), http://www.post-
gazette.com/sports/college/2013/06/16/College-sports-and-
money-Decades-old-issues-remain-
unresolved/stories/201306160224#ixzz2ukNq2FNx.

17 Steve Berkowitz, Jodi Upton, and Erik Brady, Most NCAA
Division I athletic
departments take subsidies, USA TODAY.COM (Jul. 1, 2013),
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/2013/05/07/ncaa-
finances-
subsidies/2142443/.
18 Id.;
http://www.knightcommission.org/collegesports101/chapter-2.
19 This is particularly damaging in a time when higher
education more generally is coming
under attack for its high tuition levels. Id. See Jon Solomon,
Alabama universities spend money at
a faster rate on athletics than academics, AL.COM (Dec. 4,
2013),
http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2013/12/alabama_universitie
s_spend_mon.html.
20 Jorge Milian, NCAA investigators in Miami Hurricanes’
booster scandal probe under
investigation, PALM BEACH POST.COM (Jan. 23, 2013),
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/sports/college-
football/ncaa-investigators-in-um-
booster-scandal-probe-und/nT5RH/.
21 Dan Kane, A former UNC dean recalls athletes unable to do
college-level work,
CHARLOTTE OBSERVER.COM (Jan. 31, 2014),
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/01/30/4652834/a-
former-unc-dean-recalls-
athletes.html#.UwLE_PldUsp.
22 Nick Carbone, Ohio State Hit with One-Year Bowl Ban
Overe Bribery Scandal,
TIME.COM (Dec. 20, 2011),

http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/12/20/ohio-state-hit-with-one-
Oregon,24 and Oklahoma State.25 The child sex abuse scandal
at Penn State26
further sounded the alarm that the culture surrounding
intercollegiate athletics
has reached a dangerous level at many universities.
Perhaps most disconcerting, the academic experience of student-
athletes is,
in many situations, a compromised one.27 By any estimation,
the in-season
demands on college football and basketball players are that of a
full-time job.28
Student-athletes often spend over forty hours or more a week in
season,
including practices, meetings, and team activities, travel, and
the competitions
themselves.29
Couple that reality with the reduced academic credentials of
many of these
athletes when they arrive on campus, and the likelihood of such
students
receiving a robust college education becomes vastly
diminished.30 To expect
students who are often underprepared for higher education to
balance the

year-bowl-ban-over-bribery-scandal/.
23 Andy Glockner, Tennessee sex scandal could grow quickly
if academics are involved,
COLLEGE BASKETBALL ON SPORTS ILLUSTRATED.COM
(May 14, 2013), http://college-
basketball.si.com/2013/05/14/tennessee-sex-scandal-could-
grow-quickly/.
24 Reports: ‘Major’ violations occurred, ESPN.COM (Apr. 16,
2013),
http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/9177148/ncaa-
oregon-ducks-agree-major-
violations-committed-football-program.
25 Scott Coleman, Oklahoma State football accused of money
‘bonus program’ for players,
SBNATION.COM (Sep. 7, 2013),
football/2013/9/7/4705460/joe-defrost-oklahoma-state-west-
virginia-sports-illustrated-report.
26 Bill Chappell, Penn State Abuse Scandal: A Guide and
Timeline, NPR.ORG (Jun. 21,
2012), http://www.npr.org/2011/11/08/142111804/penn-state-
abuse-scandal-a-guide-and-
timeline.
27 See, e.g., Peter Adler and Patricia A. Adler, From Idealism
to Pragmatic Detachment: The
Academic Performance of College Athletes, 58 SOC. OF EDUC.
241 (1985).
28 Lynn O’Shaughnessy, Do College Athletes Have Time to Be
Students?, CBSNEWS.COM
(Feb. 18, 2011), http://www.cbsnews.com/news/do-college-

athletes-have-time-to-be-students/.
29 David Moltz, How Athletes Spend Their Time, INSIDE
HIGHER ED (Feb. 14, 2011),
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/02/14/ncaa_survey_d
etails_athletes_missed_class
_time. See, Time Demands, 2011 NCAA GOALS and SCORE
studies, page 16,
http://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/Goals10_score96_final_c
onvention2011_public_versio
n_01_13_11.pdf.
30 Doug Lederman, The Admissions Gap for Big-Time Athletes,
INSIDE HIGHER ED (Dec.
29, 2008),
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/12/29/admit, Allison
Go, Athletes
Show Huge Gaps in SAT Scores, USNEWS.COM (Dec. 30,
2008),
http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/paper-
trail/2008/12/30/athletes-show-huge-gaps-in-
sat-scores.
etails_athletes_missed_class_time
etails_athletes_missed_class_time
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/12/29/admit
demands of a full-time athletic commitment with a full schedule
of classes seems
shortsighted.

The responses to this combination of athletic and academic
pressure are well
known. Clustering of majors, excessive reliance on academic
tutors, and
restrictions in available class offerings are all commonplace,
even at the top
public universities in the country.31 Even worse, cutting
corners through
prohibited methods, including academic fraud, continue to
persist.32
The pending O’Bannon lawsuit has again raised questions about
the
propriety of the NCAA’s amateurism model, arguing that
student-athletes
should receive compensation for their athletic contributions,
including for the
use of their likenesses by the NCAA.33 Similarly, the football
team at
Northwestern University has recently filed for status as a labor
union with the
National Labor Relations Board.34
The NCAA continues, as it has done for a number years, to
argue that the
principle of amateurism is crucial to preserving the student-
athlete model that
has persisted over the past half century. While this has often
been a successful
litigation strategy,35 the commercialization of intercollegiate
athletics over the
past decade begs the question whether the NCAA can continue
to adhere to this
model.36

31 Paul M. Barrett, In Fake Classes Scandal, UNC Fails Its
Athletes—and Whistle-Blower,
BUSINESSWEEK.COM (Feb. 27, 2014),
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-02-27/in-
fake-classes-scandal-unc-fails-its-athletes-whistle-blower; Ella
Powers, Athletic Fraud in
Collegiate Athletics, INSIDE HIGHER ED (Oct. 2, 2007),
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2007/10/02/fraud
32 Id.
33 Mark Koba, The lawsuit that could reshape college sports,
CNBC.COM (Dec. 21, 2013),
http://www.cnbc.com/id/101285999.
34 Chip Patterson, Northwestern players start union movement
in college athletics, CBS
SPORTS.COM (Jan. 28, 2014),
http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/eye-on-college-
football/24422752/northwestern-players-start-union-movement-
in-college-athletics. Petition
available at
http://www.chicagotribune.com/media/acrobat/2014-
01/359300200-
28125606.pdf.
35 See, e.g., Hysaw v. Washburn University of Topeka, 690
F.Supp. 940 (D. Kan. 1987),
Waldrep v. Texas Employers Insurance Assn., 21 S.W.3d 692
(Tex. App. 2000), NCAA v.
Tarkanian, 488 U.S. 179 (1988), NCAA v. Smith, 525 U.S. 459
(1999), Brennan v. Board of
Trustees, 691 So. 2d 324 (La. App. 1 Cir. 1997), Bloom v.
CAA, 93 P.3d 621 (Colo. Ct. App.
2004); But see NCAA v. Board of Regents of Oklahoma, 468

U.S. 85 (1984).
36 See, e.g., Joe Nocera, Let’s Start Paying College Athletes,
NYTIMES.COM (December 30,
This article contends that if the NCAA and universities are
serious about
this model, then they should double-down on the concept of
“student” in the
student-athlete model. In particular, this paper suggests that
adopting a more
realistic approach to educating athletes will benefit both the
universities and
student-athletes, relieving pressure on the current model and
improving
educational outcomes.
Specifically, this article argues for a revised student-athlete
model. First, the
new model would require mandatory six-year scholarships for
student-athletes,
and a reduction in the required academic hours “in-season” from
9 to 3. The
model also mandates that students use their eligibility in the
first four years at the
university. After student-athletes use their eligibility up over
the four years, half
of their education will remain.37 The students can attempt to
become a
professional athlete, but if that fails, they will have the
opportunity to engage

academically for two years in a discipline that will prepare them
for the career
they seek, rather than follow the path of least resistance to
graduation. Indeed,
this idea that graduation rates alone indicate the receipt of a
robust and valuable
education, rather than a short-circuited and compromised one,
cheats many
student-athletes of the education that they deserve.38
Part I of the article briefly describes the broken model of
intercollegiate
athletics. In Part II, the article advances its central proposal for
saving the
concept of student-athlete: six-year scholarships with a
reduction to 3 hours in-
season for student-athletes, coupled with a requirement of
eligibility use in the
first four years. Part III concludes the paper by demonstrating
how the proposal
can resuscitate the concept of student-athlete and why the
proposal can improve
outcomes for universities and student-athletes alike.
2011); Taylor Branch, The Shame of College Sports,
THEATLANTIC.COM, (Sept. 7, 2011),
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/10/the-
shame-of-college-sports/308643/.
37 As discussed below, this proposal places no restriction on
students completing their
education and graduating in four years.
38 What athletes “deserve” is certainly a debatable proposition.

Here it simply refers to the
terms of the contracts that the student-athletes currently enter
into with the University when
becoming student-athletes.
I. THE BROKEN MODEL OF COLLEGE ATHLETICS
A. The Model in Principle
For a generation or more, the NCAA has based its existence on
promulgating and defending the ideal of amateurism in
intercollegiate
athletics.39 Section 2.9 of the NCAA Constitution provides:
Student-athletes shall be amateurs in an intercollegiate sport,
and their participation
should be motivated primarily by education and by the physical,
mental and social
benefits to be derived. Student participation in intercollegiate
athletics is an
avocation, and student-athletes should be protected from
exploitation by
professional and commercial enterprises.40
Not only does this principle clearly establish that intercollegiate
athletes should
not receive compensation for their participation, but also frames
athletic

participation as an adjunct to higher education.41 Indeed, this
principle of
amateurism specifies that the primary motivation for
participation in college
sports is “education.”42 In other words, the NCAA model of
student-athlete
characterizes athletic participation as an “avocation,” a hobby
or extra-curricular
activity that helps to diversify and enhance a student’s
education.43 Using the
NCAA’s own model, then, the most accurate definition of
student-athlete44 is
simply “student,” as the athletics is simply part of the
education.45 Recent
advertisements by the NCAA, which emphasize that student-
athletes typically
“go pro” in many other vocations besides athletics, highlight
this theoretical
39 See, e.g., Anna McCullough, Ancient Greek “Amateurism,”
the NCAA, and the Courts,
INT’L J. OF THE HISTORY OF SPORT (2014); Patrick Dobel,
The Beleaguered Ideal: Defending
NCAA Amateurism, (2012), manuscript available at
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2028182.
40 NCAA CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS, at 4 (2013-14).
41 Id.
42 Id.
43 Id.
44 Interestingly, former NCAA executive director Walter Byers
coined this phrase. See
Tom Ferrey, “Student-Athlete” Term in Question, ESPN.COM

(September 19, 2012)
http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/8396753/ncaa-policy-
chief-proposes-dropping-student-
athlete-term.
45 See NCAA CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS, supra note
xx.
frame.46
By tying the athletic experience to the academic one, the NCAA
justifies its
model of amateurism. If students are merely participants in a
university, then the
NCAA and its member institutions then have a duty to protect
these athletes
from “exploitation by professional and commercial
enterprises.”47 This
paternalistic approach, and any legitimacy it might possess,
rests on the concept
that the goal of the student-athletes in participation in athletics
is purely
educational.48
Before going further, it is important to emphasize the nature of
the NCAA,
the organization promulgating this model of the amateur
student-athlete.49 The
presidents of the colleges and universities participating in the
NCAA govern
it.50 Thus, a better understanding of the NCAA is not as some
external body

imposing its will on colleges and universities, but rather an
encapsulation of the
majority will of the colleges and universities with respect to
intercollegiate
athletics.51
B. The Model in Practice
Given the NCAA’s model, then, it is interesting to examine how
the
principle of amateurism intersects with the commercial realities
of intercollegiate
football and basketball, both of which are, by any measure, big
businesses.52 In
46 NCAA Launches Latest Public Service Announcements,
Introduces New Student-
Focused Website, NCAA.ORG (Mar. 13, 2007),
http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/PressArchive/2007/Announcements/NC
AA%2BLaunches%2BLatest
%2BPublic%2BService%2BAnnouncements%2BIntroduces%2B
New%2BStudent-
Focused%2BWebsite.html.
47 See supra note xx.
48 Indeed, this principle has saved the NCAA in a number of
court cases. See supra note xx.
49 See supra note xx (Walter Byers quote).
50 See § 4, NCAA Division I Manual,
http://www.ncaapublications.com/productdownloads/D114.pdf.

51 The complex governance structure of the NCAA, including
its largely democratic voting
system results often in smaller universities (of which there are
many) imposing their will upon
the larger universities. Indeed, much of the discussion within
the NCAA recently has not been
over the question of amateurism, but instead over the degree to
which the big 5 conferences
(SEC, ACC, BIG 10, PAC 12, and BIG 12) can possess a greater
level of autonomy within the
NCAA structure.
52 At least 20 collegiate basketball teams earn an estimated $8
million in profit every season
short, the current practice has three key aspects: (1) athletes
generate revenue
through competition, (2) the NCAA limits athlete compensation
for that
competition to the expenses of education (tuition, room, and
board),53 and (3) the
increased revenue related to the athletic competition places
undue pressure
upon, and in many cases compromises the student’s “non-
athletic” education.54
Upon closer examination, these three elements raise serious
questions about
whether the NCAA’s model is anything more than a sham, a
cover to preserve a

status quo that has long departed from the initial vision of
amateurism. Indeed,
the big business model that currently prevails allows virtually
everyone—
administrators, coaches, institutions, alumni, fans, sponsors,
networks—to profit
at the expense of the majority student-athletes. This is
especially true for those
who are unable to be among the few who can “go pro” in
football or basketball.55
1. Athletes Generate Revenue
At the heart of the current manifestation of intercollegiate
athletics is the
revenue-generating ability of college football and basketball.56
This revenue
while a number of college football teams regularly bring in
profits in excess of $30 million. Chris
Smith, Louisville Cardinals Lead The List of College
Basketball’s Most Valuable Teams,
FORBES.COM (Mar. 18, 2013),
http://www.forbes.com/sites/chrissmith/2013/03/18/louisville-
cardinals-lead-the-list-of-college-basketballs-most-valuable-
teams/, Chris Smith, College
Football’s Most Valuable Teams 2013: Texas Longhorns Can’t
Be Stopped, FORBES.COM (Dec.
18, 2013),
http://www.forbes.com/sites/chrissmith/2013/12/18/college-
footballs-most-
valuable-teams-2013-texas-longhorns-cant-be-stopped/.

53 See § 15.1 Maximum Limit on Financial Aid—Individual,
2013-2014 NCAA Division I
Manual, 194 available at
Although, the NCAA and a number of universities have
indicated that these benefits fall slightly
short of the total cost of education. As a result, in recent years
the NCAA has considered
adoption of a small stipend on top of tuition, room, and board,
but a majority of the membership
are against it because of its economic impact on athletic
departments.
54 This presumes, of course, that the NCAA’s characterization
of athletics as education is an
accurate one. Many do not share this view. See, e.g., Sarah
Ganim, Some College Athletes Play
Like Adults, Read Like Fifth Graders, CNN.COM (January 8,
2014),
http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/07/us/ncaa-athletes-reading-
scores/; Gary Gutting, The Myth
of the Student-Athlete, NYTIMES.COM (March 15, 2012),
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/15/the-myth-of-
the-student-athlete/.
55 Probability of Competing Beyond High School, NCAA.ORG
(Sep. 2013),
http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/research/probability-
competing-beyond-high-school.
56 Kristi Dosh, Which Football and Basketball Programs
Produce the Largest Profits?,

teams/
teams/
comes from several primary sources: television networks,
advertisements, ticket
and merchandise sales, and private donations.57 For instance, in
the
Southeastern Conference (SEC), television networks ESPN and
CBS pay a
whopping $ 205 million to televise their football games
annually.58 In addition,
ESPN and the SEC are launching a new network, the SEC
Network, in 2014,
to provide coverage of SEC sports 24 hours a day.59
While, in theory, this influx of money could benefit the
universities
themselves, most schools60 put most of this profit back into the
sports that
generate the income, as well as support the other non-revenue
sports of the
university.61 With the constant pressure to win from rabid fan
bases, athletic
departments spare no expense when attempting to recruit the
best high school
athletes.62 This includes use of private jets, helicopters, and
other travel
expenses, as coaches spend significant time and energy courting
star players.63
Coaches realize that recruiting the right athletes is the

difference between
another multi-million dollar contract and a pink slip.64
BUSINESS OF COLLEGE SPORTS.COM (Jun. 20, 2011),
http://businessofcollegesports.com/2011/06/20/which-football-
and-basketball-programs-
produce-the-largest-profits/;
58 Mike Ozanian, Deal Between ESPN and SEC Likely The
Richest Ever, FORBES.COM
(May 31, 2013),
http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2013/05/31/deal-
between-espn-
and-sec-conference-likely-the-richest-ever/.
59 Chris Suarez, ESPN and SEC to air new 24-hour network,
ONCAMPUSSPORTS.COM
(May, 2013), http://oncampussports.com/2013/05/espn-and-sec-
to-air-new-24-hour-network/.
60 Some universities do share this largesse with their athletic
programs. See supra note xx.
61 Indeed, without the revenue from college football and
college basketball, many athletic
departments would struggle to field teams in non-revenue sports
given the costs of coach salaries,
travel, scholarships, and upkeep of facilities.
62 Alica Jessop, The Economics of College Football: What the
Top-25 Teams Spend on
Recruiting, FORBES.COM (Aug. 31, 2013),
http://www.forbes.com/sites/aliciajessop/2013/08/31/the-

economics-of-college-football-what-
the-top-25-spend-on-recruiting/.
63 See, e.g., Mitch Sherman, Balancing the Recruiting Budget,
ESPN.COM (June 12, 2012),
sports/recruiting/football/story/_/id/8041461/the-cost-
recruiting.
64 Interestingly, firing a coach sometimes adds a significant
cost, and can postpone any
corresponding benefit. See, e.g., Jere Longman, Firing a Coach,
at a Price, With Little Evidence
the Move Pays Off, NYTIMES.COM (November 28, 2012),
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/29/sports/ncaafootball/time-
runs-out-but-not-the-money-
in-college-football-coaches-firings.html.
And the pressure to recruit has led to a facilities “arms-race”
among
universities.65 There is the consistent upgrading of facilities
with each school
attempting to keep up with their peer schools.66 The excesses
of the physical
plant of the athletics department, particularly when compared to
dilapidated
classrooms on the other side of many campuses, paint an
interesting picture of
where university priorities ultimately lie.67 As a result, most
athletic departments
run a deficit, and have to depend on outside revenue sources,
including student

fees and alumni giving.68
Even worse, the pressure to recruit has opened the door to a
number of
questionable, and in some cases, illegal activities on the part of
athletic
departments and universities.69 Each athlete is able, under
NCAA rules, to
65 David Harten, Dayton basketball getting a piece of $6
million athletic facilities upgrade,
COLLEGEBASKETBALLTALK.COM (Jul. 29, 2013),
http://collegebasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/07/29/dayton-
basketball-getting-a-piece-of-6-
million-athletic-facilities-upgrade/, Lindsay Schnell, Oregon
State athletics: Beavers plan facility
upgrades, but with limited finances, OREGONLIVE.COM (Dec.
6, 2013),
http://www.oregonlive.com/beavers/index.ssf/2013/12/oregon_s
tate_athletics_beavers.html,
Joe Scalzo, YSU using upgrades to lure recruits, VINDY.COM
(Jan. 26, 2014),
http://www.vindy.com/news/2014/jan/26/facilitating/.
66 Brian Bennett, Arms race proves recession-proof,
ESPN.COM (Jun. 14, 2012),
http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/8047787/college-
football-facilities-arms-race-
proves-recession-proof.
67 Sean Gregory, Athletics Over Academics: The Growing
College Sports Spending Gap,
TIME.COM (Jan. 17, 2013),
http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/01/17/athletics-over-

academics-the-growing-college-sports-spending-gap/; Brian
Lee, Are college sports worth the
cost?, PBS.ORG (Mar. 7, 2011), http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-
to-know/pitchroom/are-college-
sports-worth-the-cost/7827/.
68 See, e.g., http://espn.go.com/ncaa/revenue; and
http://espn.go.com/ncaa/revenue/_/type/expenses;
http://www.deltacostproject.org/sites/default/files/products/Delt
aCostAIR_AthleticAcademic
_Spending_IssueBrief.pdf;
http://www.forbes.com/sites/sportsmoney/2011/05/05/does-
football-fund-other-sports-at-college-level/
69 Doug Lesmerises, Tim Tebow's 8-second call, pocket dials,
Sports Illustrated's tobacco
reveal: Ohio State football's 2013 secondary NCAA violations,
CLEVELAND.COM (Feb. 24,
2014),
http://www.cleveland.com/osu/index.ssf/2014/02/tim_tebows_8-
second_call_pocke.html, Ryan Aber, OU releases list of self-
reported NCAA violations,
NEWSOK.COM (Feb. 18, 2014), http://newsok.com/ou-
releases-list-of-self-reported-ncaa-
violations/article/3934985, John Marshall, NCAA puts Oregon
football on probation for
recruiting violations, WASHINGTONTIMES.COM (Jun. 26,
2013),
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/jun/26/ncaa-puts-
oregon-football-probation-
basketball-getting-a-piece-of-6-million-athletic-facilities-
upgrade/

basketball-getting-a-piece-of-6-million-athletic-facilities-
upgrade/
http://www.oregonlive.com/beavers/index.ssf/2013/12/oregon_s
tate_athletics_beavers.html
second_call_pocke.html
second_call_pocke.html
http://newsok.com/ou-releases-list-of-self-reported-ncaa-
violations/article/3934985
http://newsok.com/ou-releases-list-of-self-reported-ncaa-
violations/article/3934985
oregon-football-probation-recruiting-vio/?page=all
participate in up to five “official visits” of campuses during the
recruiting
process, which creates opportunities for malfeasance.70
In many cases, prospective student-athletes receive benefits,
financial and
otherwise, as inducements to attend the university, despite
NCAA rules
prohibiting such practices. Other actors also have tried to cash
in as well. High
school coaches have demanded compensation to convince their
students to
attend a particular university.71 Similarly, parents of student-
athletes have
demanded financial compensation, including automobiles and
houses, in
exchange for their children attending a particular university.72

Also, it is common practice for schools to employ cheerleaders
and other
attractive female students as hostesses for the athletes on these
visits.73 Sadly,
some of these interactions have resulted in sex scandals at
several different
universities.74
As with recruiting, the fan experience also becomes an
important
consideration for university athletic departments. Stadium
expansion and
addition of skyboxes and other amenities to improve the fan
experience at the
recruiting-vio/?page=all, Chip Patterson, Washington
investigating alleged recruiting violations
under Sarkisian, CBSSPORTS.COM (Dec. 19, 2013),
http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/eye-on-college-
football/24380855/washington-
investigating-alleged-recruiting-violations-under-sarkisian.
70 § 13.6.2.2 Number of Official Visits—Prospective Student-
Athlete Limitation, 2013-
2014 NCAA Division I Manual, 101 available at
71 FBI Investigates Allegation of Money Paid to Coach of High
School Recruit,
LATIMES.COM (Jan. 27, 2001),
http://articles.latimes.com/2001/jan/27/sports/sp-17676.
72 See Cecil Newton scandal: Auburn releases Cam Newton
docs, ESPN.COM (Nov. 5,

2011), http://espn.go.com/college-
football/story/_/id/7190987/auburn-tigers-records-reveal-
details-cam-newton-scandal.
73 Pete Thamel and Thayer Evans, N.C.A.A Puts Tennessee’s
Recruiting Under Scrutiny,
NYTIMES.COM (Dec. 8, 2009),
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/09/sports/ncaafootball/09tenn
essee.html?_r=2&.
74 George Dohrmann, Thayer Evans, and Melissa Segura,
Special Report on Oklahoma
State Football: Part 4 – The Sex, SPORTSILLUSTRATED.COM
(Sep. 13, 2013),
football/news/20130913/oklahoma-state-part-4-the-
sex/.,/., Scandal deepens with company’s confirmation,
ESPN.COM (Feb. 10, 2004),
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=1731589, Mindy
Sink, COLLEGE FOOTBALL;
Rape Inquiry Involves Players From Colorado, NYTIMES.COM
(Dec. 15, 2001)
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/15/sports/college-football-
rape-inquiry-involves-players-
from-colorado.html.
oregon-football-probation-recruiting-vio/?page=all
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=1731589
game, and in doing so, extract more money for tickets,
concessions, and
merchandise. Indeed, college revenue sports remain at the

center of a feeding
frenzy that by many estimates has not reached its saturation
point.
2. Athlete Compensation Limited to Education
Despite the influx of capital and revenue resulting directly from
the
performance of student-athletes in football and basketball
games, the NCAA
prohibits athletes from receiving any compensation for their
efforts.75 Under its
principle of amateurism, the NCAA insists that student-athletes
remain
amateurs in every sense of the word.76
For instance, the NCAA does not allow student-athletes to
participate as a
professional in one sport while maintaining amateur status in
another.77 One
particularly telling example is that of former Olympic skier
Jeremy Bloom.78 A
world champion before attending college, Bloom wanted to
receive endorsement
money related to his skiing while playing college football at the
University of
Colorado. The NCAA denied him this opportunity, requiring
him to eschew
such opportunities to maintain his eligibility as an amateur.79
The NCAA also denies student-athletes the ability to profit from
sales of
merchandise, even when such merchandise directly relates to

their performance
on the field or court. Student-athletes may not derive income
from sales of
jerseys with their name and number on them, photographs of
their games, video
reproductions of the games, and other similar items, despite the
financial
windfall that they provide to the university. Student-athletes
such as former
Michigan basketball player Chris Webber have questioned this
situation,
finding a fundamental problem with the university and/or
NCAA profiting off
their name at a time when they could not afford to buy the
jersey with their
name on it.80
75 2013 – 2014 NCAA Division I Manual § 12.1.2,
76 Id. and at § 12.02.4
77 NCAA Division I Manual § 12.02.4
78 Bloom v. National Collegiate Athletic Ass’n, 93 P.3d 621
(Colo. Ct. App. 2004).
79 Bloom challenged this in court and lost, based largely on the
Court’s affirmation of the
NCAA’s principle of amateurism. Id.
80 ESPN 30 for 30, The Fab Five (2013).
Even more limiting, athletes cannot receive any compensation

for things that
they possess.81 Athletes may not sell their old uniforms,
championship rings, or
other memorabilia, or they lose their status as amateurs.82 A
number of Ohio
State football players, including star quarterback Terrelle Pryor,
violated this
rule and received suspensions for selling their rings and jerseys
in exchange for
tattoos.83
Similarly, student-athletes may not sell their autographs, make
photographs,
or use their likeness to advertise for anything, even non-profit
organizations.84
The NCAA investigated Texas A&M star quarterback Johnny
Manziel at the
beginning of the 2013 football season based on allegations that
he had sold
memorabilia with his autographs.85
These limitations exist despite the own marketing and
advertising efforts of
the NCAA and the universities. Perhaps most egregious is the
licensing of
student-athlete likenesses to video game companies, which
generated revenue
for the NCAA and its member schools.86 The O’Bannon case,
pending at the
time of this writing, challenges this use of player likenesses.87
The video game
company, EA Sports, has settled its part of the lawsuit with the
plaintiffs, and
has discontinued its college sports video games.88 The NCAA
continues to

81 2013 – 2014 NCAA Division I Manual § 12.5.2.1,
83 Starting Blocks, Terrelle Pryor under investigation by the
NCAA and Ohio State on
allegations he received cars, other benefits: Report,
CLEVELAND.COM (May 30, 2011),
http://www.cleveland.com/ohio-sports-
blog/index.ssf/2011/05/post_177.html.
85 Peter Berkes, Johnny Manziel briefly suspended, ending
NCAA autographs investigation,
SB NATION.COM (Aug. 28, 2013),
football/2013/8/28/4668634/johnny-manziel-suspended-texas-a-
m.
86 Chris Smith, NCAA Football Video Game Is Worth Over
$75,000 Per Year For Top
Teams, FORBES.COM (Aug. 22, 2013),
http://www.forbes.com/sites/chrissmith/2013/08/22/ncaa-
football-video-game-is-worth-over-
75000-per-year-for-top-teams/.
87 Robert Wheel, Ed O’Bannon vs. the NCAA: The lawsuit
explained, SB NATION.COM
(Jan. 31, 2013), http://www.sbnation.com/college-
football/2013/1/31/3934886/ncaa-lawsuit-

ed-obannon.
88 Steve Eder, E.A. Sports Settles Lawsuit With College
Athletes, NYTIMES.COM (Sep. 26,
2013),
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/27/sports/ncaafootball/ea-
sports-wont-make-
defend its role in the case, which now includes all uses of
current student
likenesses.89
One word encapsulates the justification for the limitations
imposed by the
NCAA on the ability of student-athletes to earn money:
amateurism.90 The
NCAA has long reasoned that allowing student-athletes to
receive any form of
compensation will compromise its mission.91 Further, allowing
any
remuneration for the athletes will destroy the integrity of
intercollegiate
athletics.92
As each year passes, this justification becomes increasingly
thin, for several
reasons. First, as mentioned above, the amount of capital and
the sheer
magnitude of the business that is intercollegiate athletics
becomes such that the

divide between unpaid athlete and compensated university
becomes
unsupportable. It is difficult to tell student-athletes that it is
improper for anyone
to help them pay for a bus ticket home when assistant coaches
have million
dollar salaries (much less the head coaches with multi-million
dollar salaries).93
Second, this gap gives rise to cheating under the NCAA rules. It
has been a
significant problem for decades, but is reaching unforeseen
depths.94 By any
estimation, 2011 was the “year of the scandal” in college
football, and the
problems do not seem to be dissipating any time soon.95
Oregon, Ohio State,
college-video-game-in-2014.html?_r=0.
89 Stewart Mandel, Judge allows Ed O’Bannon v. NCAA to
proceed to trial,
SPORTSILLUSTRATED.COM (Feb. 20, 2014),
football/news/20140220/ed-obannon-lawsuit-proceeds-to-trial/.
91 NCAA prez: Stipend not ‘pay-for-play’, ESPN.COM (Nov. 3,
2011),
http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/7187028/ncaa-
stipend-not-lean-pay-play-
president-mark-emmert-says
92 Id.

93 College Coach Salaries, USA TODAY.COM,
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/salaries/.
94 See NCAA Legislative Services Database Search available at
https://web1.ncaa.org/LSDBi/exec/miSearch, Doug Lederman,
Half of big-time NCAA
programs had major violations, USATODAY.COM (Feb. 7,
2011),
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/college/2011-02-07-
ncaa-infractions_N.htm, Doug
Lederman, Bad Apples or More?, INSIDE HIGHER ED (Feb. 7,
2011),
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/02/07/ncaa_punishes
_almost_half_of_members_o
f_football_bowl_subdivision_for_major_rules_violations.
95 Mike Huguenin, NCAA Football in 2011: Year of the
scandal, YAHOO.COM (December
https://web1.ncaa.org/LSDBi/exec/miSearch
ncaa-infractions_N.htm
Southern California, LSU, Auburn, Tennessee, North Carolina
and Miami all
had major scandals that raised serious questions about the
influence of money in
intercollegiate athletics and the lack of commitment to
education.96 Of these, the
North Carolina scandal, which involved widespread academic
fraud for over a

decade, was the most egregious with respect to academics.97
And the Miami
scandal exceeded any scheme of paying players since the
Southern Methodist
scandal in the 1980’s in which it received the death penalty.98
The volume of such scandals at high profile programs blackened
the image
of intercollegiate athletics and raised new questions about the
ability of the
NCAA to regulate the universities in any meaningful way.99 To
make matters
worse, unethical tactics used by NCAA investigators in the
investigation of
Miami, brought the NCAA itself its own set of negative
publicity.100
Third, the exultation of intercollegiate athletics has reached
such a pinnacle
that criminal behavior goes unreported in an effort to protect
the good name of
the program.101 The child sex abuse allegations at Penn State
are the paradigm
example of allowing the allure of a successful program to cloud
the judgment of
officials—both athletic and academic. Jerry Sandusky, an
assistant football coach
and later a consultant to the program, engaged in numerous
incidents of sexual
abuse of children within the football facilities. Despite evidence
that many
members of the athletic department were aware of such
allegations, including
head coach Joe Paterno, many of these incidents went
unreported for over a
decade.102

Fourth, the tuition, room, and board amounts are increasingly
unable to
cover the basic needs of the student-athlete.103 The NCAA has
recognized this,
and in 2012, proposed the award of a $2000 stipend to student-
athletes.
Characterized as a supplement to cover the cost of attendance,
the NCAA
27, 2011) http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ncaa-football-2011-
scandal-091200840--ncaaf.html.
96 See supra notes xx-xx.
97 Id.
98 Id.
99 Id.
100 Id.
101 Id.
102 Id.
103 Nina Mandell, Why Full Scholarships and Stipends Don’t
Always Add Up For Student-
Athletes, THE POST GAME (Jul. 30, 2013),
http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/daily-
take/201307/living-high-life-not-so-much-college-athletes-say.
membership ultimately voted against this reform.104 The
negative vote most
likely stemmed from the smaller colleges and universities that
make up a

majority of the NCAA being unable to afford such a stipend for
all of their
student-athletes. Under Title IX, the universities would be
obligated to pay such
a stipend equally to male and female athletes.
Finally, the reality of big-time college sports looks nothing like
the amateur,
intramural type of competition that comports with the original
vision of student-
athlete.105 Rather than small competitions attended by friends
and family
members, many contests involve over 100,000 spectators, plus
millions more
watching on television. The practical reality is certainly a far
cry from its humble
beginnings.
As this pressure cooker continues to tighten, particularly with
the impending
O’Bannon lawsuit, the primary response from the NCAA is that
student-
athletes do receive sufficient compensation for their efforts: a
university
education, including room and board.106 At prestigious private
universities like
Stanford, Duke, Northwestern, and Vanderbilt, this argument
gains more
traction, as annual tuition at those institutions can exceed
$50,000.107 Even at
public universities, the cost of higher education is not
insignificant, and reflects a
meaningful financial benefit.108
And pressure from the NCAA increasingly results in student-
athletes

receiving degrees from these institutions, not just attending
them.109 As part of
104 Jeremy Fowler, NCAA president Mark Emmert hopes to
unveil new stipend plan in
April, CBSSPORTS.COM (Jan. 1. 2013)
http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/writer/jeremy-
fowler/21483211/ncaa-
president-mark-emmert-hopes-to-unveil-new-stipend-plan-in-
april.
105 Former NCAA Executive Director Walter Byers coined this
phrase.
106
107 Tuition and Fees, 2013-14, STANFORD.EDU,
http://www.vanderbilt.edu/financialaid/costs.phphttps://studenta
ffairs.stanford.edu/registrar/
students/tuition-fees_13-14, Cost & Financial Aid, DUKE.EDU,
http://admissions.duke.edu/application/aid, Tuition, Fees, And
Expenses,
NORTHWESTERN.EDU,
http://www.ugadm.northwestern.edu/financial-aid/tuition-fees-
and-
expenses.html, Costs for 2013-2014, VANDERBILT.EDU,
http://www.vanderbilt.edu/financialaid/costs.php.
108 What’s the Price Tag for a College Education?,
COLLEGEDATA.COM,
https://www.collegedata.com/cs/content/content_payarticle_tmp
l.jhtml?articleId=10064.
109 A recent study believes that the NCAA’s method of
measurement is skewed because it
includes part time and non-traditional students instead of
comparing only traditional, full-time

http://admissions.duke.edu/application/aid
and-expenses.html
and-expenses.html
its effort to emphasize academic education, the NCAA has
heighted its
academic standards in the past decade, both with respect to
eligibility
requirements for scholarships and eligibility requirements
during college.
Currently, the NCAA requires completion of 16 core high
school courses,110
as well as a minimum combined GPA and SAT/ACT on the
NCAA’s sliding
scale.111 On this scale, there is a minimum GPA of 2.00, and
the minimum
ACT/SAT inversely dependent upon GPA; the higher GPA, the
lower the
required standardized test score.112 A GPA of 2.00, for
instance requires an
SAT of 1010 or an ACT of 86, while a 3.00 GPA only requires
an SAT of 620
or an ACT of 52.113 At the other end of the scale, a GPA of
3.550 requires an
SAT of 400 and an ACT of 37.
In addition to the eligibility requirements for incoming

students, the NCAA
attempts to promote academics through its Academic Progress
Rate (“APR”)
system.114 The APR measures academic eligibility and
graduation rates of
students.115 Beginning with the 2012-13 championships, teams
without either
an APR average of 900 over 4 years or an average of 930 over
the most recent
students. See
http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2013/09/27/report-
football-players-
graduate-rates-lower-non-athletes and
http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/why-athletes-
graduate-at-higher-rate-than-other-students/. Others contest this
allegation of bias.
http://www.tidesport.org/Grad%20Rates/2012_Bowl_Study.pdf
http://www.tidesport.org/Grad%20Rates/2013%20Men's%20Bas
ketball%20Tournament
%20Teams%20Study.pdf
110 These include 4 years of English, 3 years of mathematics
(Algebra I or higher), 2 years of
natural / physical science, 1 year of additional English,
mathematics, or science, 2 years of social
science, 4 years of additional courses (from the above areas,
foreign language or comparative
religion / philosophy.
http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/eligibility_center/Quick_Reference_She
et.pdf.
Beginning in 2016, prospective student-athletes must have
completed 10 of these courses by the
end of their junior year. Id.

111 Id.
112 Id.
113 Id. In 2016, the numbers at the bottom of the scale will
increase slightly. Id.
114 http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/research/academic-
progress-rate-apr.
115 While eligibility requirements make the individual student-
athlete accountable, the
Academic Progress Rate creates a level of institutional
responsibility. The Academic Progress
Rate is a Division I metric developed to track the academic
achievement of teams each academic
term. Each student-athlete receiving athletically related
financial aid earns one retention point
for staying in school and one eligibility point for being
academically eligible. A team’s total points
are divided by points possible and then multiplied by one
thousand to equal the team’s Academic
Progress Rate score. Id.
football-players-graduate-rates-lower-non-athletes
football-players-graduate-rates-lower-non-athletes
http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/why-athletes-graduate-at-
higher-rate-than-other-students/
http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/why-athletes-graduate-at-
higher-rate-than-other-students/
http://www.tidesport.org/Grad%20Rates/2012_Bowl_Study.pdf
ketball%20Tournament%20Teams%20Study.pdf
ketball%20Tournament%20Teams%20Study.pdf
http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/eligibility_center/Quick_Reference_She

et.pdf
two years are eligible to compete.116 Teams that fall short are
not.117 In addition,
the NCAA imposes three levels of penalties for low APR
scores.118 The first
level reduces the number of hours of practice per 5 days from
20 to 16 hours,
with the 4 hours used for academic activities.119 The second
level adds
competition reductions.120 The third level provides for more
serious penalties,
including coaching suspensions, financial aid reductions, and
restricted NCAA
membership.121
Graduation rates reflect this pressure, with student-athletes
graduating at a
higher rate than non-student-athletes at a number of
institutions.122 Further,
these results speak to the outstanding efforts of many athletic
departments to
educate their students in the classroom, particularly in light of
the lack of college
preparedness of many student-athletes. The resources invested
in keeping
athletes eligible, including vast tutoring resources, complicated
tracking systems,
robust enforcement of class attendance, all are important
contributions to the
educational development of student-athletes. Indeed, for
programs to remain
successful, they must, at all costs, keep their student-athletes

academically
eligible and ultimately graduate them.
The deeper issue, though, is whether these graduation rates
reflect the
provision of a robust education. As financial pressures begin to
compromise
every other aspect of the student-athlete model, it seems
unreasonable to expect
that academics can remain insulated. The next section explores
this question.
3. The Potential of Athletic Demands to Compromise Academic
Education
A close examination of the provision of academics to student-
athletes
reflects, at best, a system that compromises many of the
NCAA’s core ideas of
student-athlete. As discussed below, several problems persist,
including
clustering of majors, focus on eligibility to the detriment of
academic
116 These numbers increase to 930 and 940, respectively, for
2014-15, and become a four
year average of 930 in 2015-16 and beyond. Id.
117 Id.
118 Id.
119 Id.
120 Id.

121 Id.
122 Id.
achievement, heavy reliance on tutors, unrealistic expectations
placed on
unqualified students, athletic participation requirements exceed
those of an
average full-time job, and most disturbing, pure academic
fraud.
a. Clustering of Majors
One recent phenomenon among student-athletes is the clustering
of
majors—where student-athletes in the same sport all choose the
same major.123
One study indicated that over half of the BCS schools had
student-athletes
clustered in majors.124 In the abstract, this reality might be
innocuous, as
student-athletes perhaps have similar academic interests. The
truth, however,
might be more troubling—that student-athletes seek out the path
of least
resistance with respect to their academic schedule. In other
words, student-
athletes and their coaches learn, over time, which classes are
“athlete-friendly.”
To the degree to which this is really happening, the academic

education of
student-athletes serves the primary purposes of eligibility and
graduation, and
arguably undermines the academic education itself.
Given that the subjects of the clustering are different at
different
institutions, it seems to indicate that, at the very least, athletes
face some cultural
restrictions in the type of classes that they can choose to take.
That is not to say,
that some student-athletes may not be receiving robust
educations. The
clustering merely raises important questions about the degree to
which the
external pressures and demands of athletics limit the ability of
one to pursue
certain educational paths.
b. Pressures of Eligibility Requirements
Similarly, the pressure to remain eligible, particularly in light
of the APR
consequences, also favors the path of least resistance. The
NCAA’s stated goal
of universities providing the student-athlete with a robust
academic education
can easily fall prey to the more imminent goal of remaining
eligible to play.
Despite the student-athlete’s academic interests, the difficulty
level of certain

123 http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/11/20/cluster;
majors-graphic_N.htm?csp=34
124 http://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/2011-09-
05/athletes-sticking-together-
classes
classes and the possibility of failure strongly dissuade at least
some students from
pursuing certain classes. Practically, the commitment and study
time required
for some disciplines has the effect of making it very difficult, if
not impossible, to
do both at the same time.
As a result, universities rely heavily on tutors to help athletes
make the
grade. Indeed, for most big-time athletic departments, tutoring
constitutes a
significant item in the budget. One view is that tutors serve a
valuable function
in helping students succeed. A more pessimistic view is that the
students’
inability to learn the material on their own means that they rely
on tutors to help,
undermining their own learning process. A further disadvantage
of the heavy
involvement of tutors is the potential for academic fraud, or
even help that
moves into the gray area of who really did the work.

c. Athletic Participation Is a Full-Time Occupation
Likewise, participation in major college athletics is, for most
student-athletes,
its own full-time occupation. Despite the NCAA’s limit of
practice time to 20
hours a week, student-athletes often spend up to another 20
hours a week
preparing for games, studying film, and reading playbooks. In
addition, the travel
involved in many sports adds considerable time. Other team
policies, such as
sequestering players in hotels the night before important games,
also carve into
the student’s time.
While athletic departments and coaches are often equally
diligent about
requiring students to spend time in study halls or otherwise
focus on their
studies, the academic demands required of student-athletes
make for a
challenging and demanding schedule. Add this to the academic
deficiencies of
many student-athletes when they enter college, and the
challenge becomes even
greater.
Again, this model creates a pressure cooker for all involved,
and one not
necessarily conducive to learning. The full-time commitment
intercollegiate

athletics requires cannot help but overwhelm a student-athlete’s
academic
pursuits, particularly during the season for the revenue sports.
d. Graduation Does Not Equal Education125
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the core assumption of
the NCAA’s
promotion of academics is that receiving a degree symbolizes
academic
achievement. On some level, this may be true, particularly for
individuals who
arrived at the university under-prepared for college. The
NCAA’s APR scale
clearly demonstrates that it has adopted this proxy.
The reality, though, is that it is very possible to receive a
degree without
receiving an education. This is particularly true where students,
faculty, and/or
administrators cut corners to maintain student-athlete
eligibility. Certain athlete-
friendly classes are at one end of the spectrum, with complete
academic fraud, as
at North Carolina, at the other end. It is difficult to assess the
degree to which
the academic degrees conferred on student-athletes reflect some
degree of
education. One would like to think that they all do, but media

reports continue
to suggest that this may not be the case, at least in some
circumstances.
Focusing on graduation rates is not in itself bad, but if it merely
adds
pressure to a system fraught with academic challenges, it has
the potential to
compromise the delivery and utilization of education. Finding a
more realistic
approach to educating student-athletes—one that accounts for
the full-time
demands of both academics and athletics, will both help restore
integrity to
intercollegiate athletics and improve the likelihood of student-
athletes receiving
a robust education. The following modest proposal seeks to take
a step in that
direction.
II. THE PROPOSAL
If the NCAA is serious about its concept of “student-athlete,” it
needs to
make immediate reforms to alleviate the pressure described
above that arises
from the commercialization of intercollegiate athletics.
Accordingly, this article
proposes a series of small reforms that will enhance the ability
of college athletes
to receive an educational opportunity more in line with that of
other non-athlete

125 Sara Ganim, CNN analysis: Some college athletes play like
adults, read like 5th-graders,
CNN.COM (Jan. 8, 2014),
scores/;
Dennis Dodd, UNC whistleblower Willingham: Academic sin
not isolated, CBSSPORTS.COM
(Feb. 11, 2014),
http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/writer/dennis-
dodd/24439378/unc-whistleblower-willingham-academic-sins-
not-isolated.
scores/
students.
A. Mandate six-year scholarships for revenue-generating
sports.
The first step to improving the ability of student-athletes to be
students is to
provide a six-year scholarship for athletes participating in
revenue sports. The
long tradition of the NCAA has been to allow universities to
provide one-year
renewable scholarships to student-athletes.126 This approach
created the
possibility of coaches choosing not to renew scholarships when

athletes suffered
injuries, or even worse, to provide the scholarships to new
recruits who had
better prospects for on-the-field success.127 Even worse, this
situation was largely
one-sided, as the NCAA transfer rule requires students to sit out
for a year if
transferring to another institution.128 In addition, the ability of
the university to
cancel scholarships after one year could put indigent students in
a position
requiring them to borrow significant amounts of money or leave
school
altogether. Thus, a student-athlete who does not have his or her
scholarship
renewed faces a difficult situation, while the university
typically has no trouble
filling the scholarship.129
In 2011, the NCAA and its member schools decided to provide
universities
the option of extending scholarships up to four years, to cover
the athletic
eligibility of the student-athletes. This reform has allowed some
student-athletes,
126 The one-year scholarship rule has met with significant
backlash in recent years,
including a 2010 antitrust suit and a narrowly passed NCAA
rule amendment. While the
NCAA now mandates that multiyear scholarships are available,
they remain at the member
school’s option. Michelle Brutlag Hosick, Multiyear
scholarships to be allowed, NCAA.COM

(Feb. 17, 2012), http://www.ncaa.com/news/ncaa/article/2012-
02-17/multiyear-scholarships-
be-allowed, Suit claims antitrust law violations, ESPN.COM
(Oct. 26, 2010),
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=5727755,
127 Technically, the Financial Aid Committee determines the
renewal of scholarships to
discourage this practice, but given the influence of coaches
within some universities, it is
certainly possible that such decisions were made based on
ability and talent as opposed to
academics or other reasons.
128 Student-athlete transfer policies are often dizzying. See
Eamonn Brennan, Want to
understand transfer rules? Give up, ESPN.COM (Aug. 28,
2013),
http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/87697
/trying-to-understand-
transfer-rules-give-up; NCAA, Transfer 101, NCAA
PUBLICATIONS.COM,
http://www.ncaapublications.com/productdownloads/TGONLIN
E2012.pdf.
129 See supra note 120.
http://www.ncaa.com/news/ncaa/article/2012-02-17/multiyear-
scholarships-be-allowed
http://www.ncaa.com/news/ncaa/article/2012-02-17/multiyear-
scholarships-be-allowed
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=5727755
/trying-to-understand-transfer-rules-give-up
/trying-to-understand-transfer-rules-give-up

particularly those at wealthier institutions to have some
security, at least with
respect to their athletic career.130 There remains a wide variety
in the number of
such scholarships schools offer, varying among sports and
within sports.131
As discussed above, the accompanying pressure for institutions
to graduate
their athletes also helps to ensure that athletes stay beyond one
year.132
Nonetheless, many student-athletes do not receive four-year
scholarships under
the current system.133
Whether the university provides a four-year scholarship, or four
consecutive
one-year scholarships, the athletic department typically pays
tuition, room, and
board for student-athletes for four years. In addition, many
football programs
redshirt some of their student-athletes, sitting out their first
year, meaning that
the athletic department pays for a fifth year.134 This can also
occur if a student-
athlete suffers a significant injury that causes him or her to miss
most of a season,
with the NCAA granting a medical redshirt.135
In light of this current reality, the proposal of this Article seeks
to give the
student-athletes six years to complete their education. In other

words, athletic
scholarships would cover tuition, room, and board for students
for six years.136
130 It is important to remember, though, that multiyear
scholarships are awarded at the
university’s option. See supra note 120.
131 NCAA College Athletics Statistics, STATISTICS
BRAIN.COM,
http://www.statisticbrain.com/ncaa-college-athletics-statistics/.
132 This is especially true of football players, who are unable
to enter the draft until they are
out of high school for three years. See Clarett v. National
Football League, 369 F. 3d 124 (2nd
Cir. 2004), NFL Draft Rules, DRAFTSITE.COM,
http://www.draftsite.com/nfl/rules/. The
National Basketball Association, by comparison, allows players
to enter the draft after only one
year. National Basketball Players Association Collective
Bargaining Agreement, Article X,
NBPA.ORG, http://www.nbpa.org/cba/2005/article-x-player-
eligibility-and-nba-draft.
133 In fact, at least one school has been outspoken against
multiyear scholarships: “’Who gets
a four-year, $120K deal guaranteed at age 17?’ Christine A.
Plonsky, women’s athletic director at
the University of Texas, wrote…’The last thing young people
need right now is more
entitlement.’” Zac Ellis, Report: NCAA multiyear scholarships
not taking hold in major
programs, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED.COM (Apr. 19, 2013),

http://college-
football.si.com/2013/04/19/ncaa-multiyear-scholarships/.
134 NCAA rules, of course, limit student-athletes to four years
of eligibility. 2013 – 2014
NCAA Division I Manual § 14.2
135 Id. at § 14.2.1.5.1.1(a)
136 This is particularly important for the revenue sports of
men’s football and men’s
basketball.
http://www.draftsite.com/nfl/rules/
This proposal would not require students to take six years to
graduate, but would
give them that option.
The argument for the proposal is three-fold: (1) many students
take six years
to graduate already, (2) the cost to the athletic department is not
excessive, and
(3) given the other parts of the proposal, six years is necessary
to receive a
worthwhile education. I explore each in turn.
First, at most large public universities, including those that
dominate college
football, four-year graduation rates among the general
population of students are
low. Many flagship state universities have four-year graduation

rates of 40% or
less.137 Indeed, the NCAA assumes a six-year academic career
for its student-
athletes already, as it measures their graduation rates for APR
purposes using a
six-year metric.
Second, at many universities, the school determines the amount
of tuition a
student pays per academic credit hour taken.138 As a result, the
tuition burden of
the student-athlete will be the same, irrespective of the time it
takes to
graduate.139 The increased costs, then, for many athletic
departments under a
required six-year scholarship would be for room and board only.
While such
costs are not incidental, the increase in television revenue,
particularly at larger
schools, could cover such costs.140
Finally, if student-athletes need only to take 3 hours per
semester in-season,
137
College Completion, CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION,
http://collegecompletion.chronicle.com/state/#state=ms&sector=
public_four; COLLEGE
RESULTS ONLINE, http://www.collegeresults.org/default.aspx
138 For students enrolled in fewer than 12 hours, many
universities charge per credit hour.
Fees vary per school. See, among others, Undergraduate Tuition
and Fees, UNIVERSITY OF

MARYLAND,
http://www.umd.edu/catalog/index.cfm/show/content.section/c/4
9/s/962,
Tuition, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY,
https://scs.georgetown.edu/admissions/tuition,
Undergraduate Tuition and Fees, INDIANA STATE
UNIVERSITY,
http://www.indstate.edu/tuition/overview.htm, Tuition and Fees
Required of Every Student as
a Condition of Enrollment, WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY,
http://webs.wichita.edu/?u=tuitionfees&p=/2013/tuitionfees/,
Tuition and fee schedules for all
programs, UNIVERSITY OF AKRON,
http://www.uakron.edu/student-accounts/costs/.
139 Note that for some schools, this might be different, but
generally speaking, spreading the
cost of tuition over six years instead of four is not an excessive
cost to the university in most cases.
140 Eric Chemi, The Amazing Growth in College Football
Revenues, BUSINESSWEEK.COM
(Sep. 26, 2013), http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-
09-26/the-amazing-growth-in-
college-football-revenues.
http://collegecompletion.chronicle.com/state/#state=ms&sector=
public_four
http://www.umd.edu/catalog/index.cfm/show/content.section/c/4
9/s/962
https://scs.georgetown.edu/admissions/tuition
http://www.indstate.edu/tuition/overview.htm
http://webs.wichita.edu/?u=tuitionfees&p=/2013/tuitionfees/

as proposed below, a six-year time frame is necessary to
complete the required
academic work to graduate. Again, this seems like a small shift,
particularly given
that many student-athletes already spend five years on campus,
and much of the
general population takes five or six years to graduate.
B. Reduce Academic Load to 3 hours during in-season
semesters.
The core part of the proposal is the reduction of the required
academic hours
during the season (autumn for football, winter-spring for
basketball) to 3 hours of
academic credit. Currently, NCAA rules require that student-
athletes take a
minimum of 9 academic hours per semester.141
By allowing student-athletes to reduce their course load to 3
hours, this
proposal takes into consideration the current requirements of
athletic
participation. As indicated above, NCAA rules allow college
football and
basketball teams to participate in up to 20 hours of required
team activities per
week.142 Studies show, however, that the reality for many
student-athletes is that
they spend closer to 40 hours per week on their sport.143
With the current limitations on practice schedules and time

outside of the
season, such a schedule would create a more reasonable burden
on student-
athletes. In particular, this model could really help the many
student-athletes
who come to college underprepared academically.144 Students
who are partial
qualifiers, usually known as “special admits,” and others who
fall at the bottom
141 2013 – 2014 NCAA Division I Manual § 14.3
142 The NCAA limits weekly participation to 20 hours per
week. NCAA Bylaw § 17.1.6.1.
143 The 2011 NCAA GOALS and SCORE study showed that
students often spend 38
hours or more on practices, conditioning, film, etc. See pp. 16-
20:
onvention2011_public_versio
n_01_13_11.pdf
144 Colleges and universities frequently make allowances for
“special admits,” or relaxed
admission standards for student-athletes. While this opens the
door to a better chance for an
education, it also sets these students who demonstrate a history
for poor academic performance
up for failure. Jeff Barker, ‘Special admissions’ bring colleges
top athletes, educational challenges,
THE BALTIMORE SUN (Dec. 22, 2012),
http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2012-12-22/sports/bs-
sp-acc-sports-special-admits-20121222_1_athletes-graduation-

success-rate-college-courses;
Allison Go, Athletes Show Huge Gaps in SAT Scores, U.S.
NEWS (Dec. 30, 2008),
http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/paper-
trail/2008/12/30/athletes-show-huge-gaps-in-
sat-scores.
onvention2011_public_version_01_13_11.pdf
onvention2011_public_version_01_13_11.pdf
http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2012-12-22/sports/bs-sp-acc-
sports-special-admits-20121222_1_athletes-graduation-success-
rate-college-courses
http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2012-12-22/sports/bs-sp-acc-
sports-special-admits-20121222_1_athletes-graduation-success-
rate-college-courses
end of eligible student-athletes in terms of their academic
credentials would
benefit from having time to adjust to college for an entire
semester before having
to take a full complement of classes.145 Further, slowing down
the academic
process and spreading it over six years would allow those
individuals who have
less academic ability to develop over their time at the
university. In many ways,
then, such an approach could act almost as a type of “academic
redshirt.”
Student-athletes would also have a better chance to focus on
their studies

without the full-time burden of games in their sport during the
off-semesters.
The travel, media, public pressure, and campus focus on the
athletic events
alone provides significant distraction for athletes during the
semester. Further,
the travel schedule of many sports precludes those students
from taking certain
classes, particularly science labs. Having one of two semesters
where the
student-athlete’s experience can have some level of similarity to
other
undergraduate students would aid immensely in their academic
education.
Indeed, a recent study indicated that the academic motivation of
football athletes
in the spring semester significantly increased.146
Allowing student-athletes the opportunity to focus more
completely on
academics would not only improve their ability to learn, but
also boost their
grades. Perhaps more importantly, it would lessen the worry of
maintaining
academic eligibility, as the schedule would be much more
manageable. This
would provide students to more fully explore their academic
interests, and put
less pressure on limiting their curriculum to certain “athlete-
friendly” classes. It
would likewise diminish the clustering of majors phenomenon,
and provide
greater legitimacy to the academic achievements of student-
athletes. Other
potential gains include reduction of the need for tutoring. Over
time, the image

of the student-athlete among faculty on campus might improve,
undermining the
current “athlete-student” stereotype that is pervasive on many
college campuses.
Perhaps most significantly, students would have two full years,
after their
eligibility expires, in which to focus on “going pro” in
something besides sports
(for the large majority that does not make the cut
professionally). Student-
athletes, then, would spend half of their college career as just
students, without
145 For basketball players, of course, this would be a second
semester phenomenon.
146 Ian R. Potter, Investigating academic motivation among
NCAA division I football
players within their competition and non-competition
semesters., Doctorial Dissertaion (2013)
Available at
http://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?
article=1872&context=etd.
article=1872&context=etd
article=1872&context=etd
the responsibility or obligations of athletics.
An important part of the proposal is requiring the three hours of

academic
work in-season. The reason for this requirement is to keep the
student-athletes
enrolled as students at all times. Otherwise, having a semester
without classes
would move the student-athletes in a direction that makes them
look more like
employees and less like students, a proposition the NCAA fears.
Further, requiring one class will keep the student-athletes
connected to the
university academically, albeit in a small way, which will help
maintain some
level of continuity in their studies.
C. Reduce College Basketball Season to One Semester.
One additional change necessary for the proposal to work would
be the
reduction of the college basketball season to one semester.
Currently, the season
begins in early November, with teams playing several games,
including early
season tournaments around the fall semester examination
period.147 As football
season is still in full swing, these games are often not a large
source of revenue
anyway,148 and moving them into December and/or eliminating
them entirely
would seem to be a possible outcome. If necessary, the NCAA
could extend the
regular season one week to create time for the additional games.

It is worth noting that I am not the first to advocate for such a
change. As
Dan Wolken and others have pointed out, the amount of revenue
generated, the
level of competition, and the popularity of the sport could
increase by shifting
the season entirely into the spring semester.149
147 In recent years, the NCAA has considered and approved
earlier practice dates for
college basketball programs, presumably to increase
competition and athleticism earlier in the
season. The effect is that student-athletes are forced to miss
additional classes ,further
diminishing their ability to realize an effective fall semester.
Michelle Brutlag Hosick, Calendar
Moves Forward For Midnight Madness, NCAA.ORG (May 3,
2013),
http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/media-
center/news/calendar-moves-forward-midnight-
madness; Eamonn Brennan, Earlier practice date approved for
fall, ESPN.COM (May 3, 2013),
/earlier-practice-date-
approved-for-fall.
148 For many schools, this would be moving only a handful of
games, as teams typically do
not play many November games.
149 Dan Wolken, NCAA should shift basketball season,
FoxSports.com (Feb. 29, 2012),
http://gamedayr.com/sports/college-basketball-one-semester-
sport-91693/#.

center/news/calendar-moves-forward-midnight-madness
center/news/calendar-moves-forward-midnight-madness
The idea here is to limit the games to one semester, so that the
students can
fully focus in the classroom as discussed previously. While
basketball will have
an intense practice season in the fall leading up to the season,
postponing games
until after the completion of the first semester will reduce the
impact of team
duties on academic performance.
For other sports the one semester season seems to be less of a
problem.
Certainly for football and baseball, their games are in the fall
and spring
semesters, respectively. For some other non-revenue sports, this
may be more of a
problem, but they might be acceptable exceptions given the
student-athlete
results in such sports. Unlike in the big revenue sports of
football and basketball,
non-revenue student-athletes have traditionally had a much
stronger record in
the classroom. Indeed, if the NCAA adopted the proposal
advocated herein,
most non-revenue student-athletes would likely take a full
academic load and
graduate in four years.

D. Limit Eligibility to the First Four Years
The final part of the proposal is to require the student-athlete to
complete
their eligibility in their first four years at the institution. The
common practice, at
least for college football, has been to redshirt a large number of
incoming
freshmen student-athletes. The idea is, in part, a vestige of the
historical system
that did not allow freshmen to participate in varsity athletics.
The benefit under
the current system is to allow the student-athlete to adjust to
university life, but
more importantly, to improve physically for a year before
playing in games. This
process, though, merely extends the athletic career of the
student-athlete; its
academic benefits are marginal because the responsibilities of
the redshirted
athlete do not substantially differ from the rest of the student-
athletes on the
team.
Requiring student-athletes to exhaust their eligibility in the first
four years,
then, allows them to get the athletic responsibilities out of the
way after four
years and thus enable greater focus on academics during the last
two years of
college. Indeed, that is the core thought behind the proposal of
this paper—it is

hard to succeed in the classroom and on the field at the same
time, without
compromising one or both. And typically, it is the classroom
that is the victim.
Limiting eligibility to four years, with 3 hour semesters in-
season creates a much
better opportunity for balance and per the NCAA’s goals, a
better opportunity
for education of athletics, both athletically and academically.
The one potential exception to this rule would be medical
redshirts.
Currently, the NCAA grants a fifth year of athletic eligibility to
some student-
athletes in situations where an injury precludes competition for
most of a season.
Under this model, medical redshirts would still be acceptable,
but in such cases,
students would have to take a full academic load in-season.
On the whole, the model then requires four elements: (1)
required six year
scholarships (2) changing the NCAA rule to require only 3
hours per semester,
(3) limiting sports, at least revenue ones, to one semester, and
(4) requiring
completion of eligibility within four years.
III. JUSTIFICATIONS

A. Amateurism Fails without Real Educational Opportunity
The obvious justification for adopting the proposed reforms is
to recapture
the amateurism model, at least to some degree, by refocusing
some rules on the
welfare of the student-athlete. As discussed above, the model of
amateurism rests
in large part on the idea that the ultimate goal is the education
of the student.
Indeed, the athletics themselves, from the NCAA’s perspective,
are a part of that
education. But, they should not be the only part.
For the amateurism model to succeed, student-athletes must
have real
educational opportunity. This does not mean that student-
athletes must merely
receive the path of least resistance (with extensive tutoring) to a
college degree of
some sort. Instead, student-athletes should have an opportunity
to pursue any
course of study they desire, and be able to do so in a robust
manner.
If the reality of commercialized intercollegiate athletics is that
it requires a
commitment that seriously compromises the academic
opportunity of student-
athletes, the amateurism model begins to collapse. With each
step that
universities take toward compromising academic education for
student-athletes,
the model loses credibility, and ultimately, sustainability. This

is because the
commercial value of the athletics success ultimately will
overtake the academic
component of the university.150
At first, the academic requirements become a hassle to the
student-athlete,
and ultimately become an impediment to the athletic success
that receives
150 Some have argued that this happened long ago.
greater significance, both for the athlete and the university. In
such a world, the
amateurism model seems less authentic. Indeed, the criticism is
that the model is
simply a tool to keep athletes from receiving their share of the
financial windfall
arising from the athletic competitions.
To avoid the perception, then, that the amateurism model and
the concept of
student-athlete is merely a sham, then, universities must provide
real educational
opportunity for students. This does not mean opportunity that
does not interfere
with athletics. Rather, it means opportunity in spite of athletics.
The advantage of the proposal advanced in this article with
respect to this
idea is that it is more realistic concerning these competing

demands. By
separating the academic and athletic pursuits temporally, it
allows each to
complement each other, rather than oppose each other. In
essence, it provides a
road map for preserving the amateurism model.
B. Students Deserve a Chance at an Education
Perhaps more important than saving the concept of amateurism
is providing
student-athletes a genuine chance at an education. As detailed
above,
participation in revenue sports compromises the ability of most
student-athletes
to receive the kind of education that ordinary students do.
Adopting a more realistic educational model, as the one
advocated above, at
least deepens the possibility that this will happen. By limiting
the academic
requirements during the season, athletes can focus on their
sports without having
to attempt to strike the virtually impossible balance between
academics and
athletics. In the off-seasons and the two years after the
expiration of eligibility,
student-athletes will have fewer distractions and can pursue
their desired course
of study.
This approach will be particularly valuable to students with low
test scores

or otherwise deficient qualifications. Such students can take
remedial classes in
season, and have more time to get up to speed academically.
Likewise, by making
expectations more realistic on such student-athletes, the
possibility for academic
success increases. In addition, first generation college students
also will thrive
under this arrangement, as spreading the course of study over
six years will
enhance their ability to adjust to college life and acquire the
cultural capital
needed to succeed academically.
Beyond the time constraints associated with athletics, college
athletes
frequently face a certain stigma on campus, possibly further
preventing them
from realizing their full academic potential. Moving athletic
seasons to a single
semester will not only allow athletes to better concentrate on
studies, but can
also give them an opportunity to overcome any stigma
associated with being a
student athlete.151
As Jeff Stone has argued, the way schools and the NCAA have
relaxed
admission and eligibility standards, student-athletes now have a
“dumb jock”
stigma hanging over their heads that penetrates throughout

campus: in the
classroom from both students and professors as well as on a
social level.152 That
school newspapers and national news publish academic
eligibility stats for
individual athletes furthers this stigma.153
It is certainly possible that some students will drop out of
college after
completing their eligibility. It is surprising nonetheless, that
such individuals
would forego the free housing, meals, and tuition in doing so.
Providing students
with a genuine opportunity for education is preferable to
providing a sham
version that results in a degree but not an education. Indeed, if
universities
cannot impress upon such students the value of education during
their first four
years on campus, the institutions need to re-evaluate their
educational process.
C. Universities Have an Obligation to Educate
Even beyond the value of saving the amateurism model and
providing
student-athletes a fair chance at a robust education, colleges and
universities
have an obligate to educate all of their students, not just the
ones who do not
play intercollegiate athletics. At the heart of the mission of
most institutions of
higher education is the goal and responsibility to educate their

students.
And education, not big-time athletics, is what the universities
can and should
do well. The mission and obligation of all higher education
institutions is to
educate their students and prepare them for the workforce. It
should be no
151 See Jeff Stone, A Hidden Toxicity in the Term “Student-
Athlete”: Stereotype Threat for
Athletes in the College Classroom, 2 WAKE FOREST J.L. &
POL'Y 179, 184 (2012)(arguing
152 Id.
153 See, e.g., Pete Volk, Auburn, Florida State players all
academically eligible for BCS game,
SBNation.com (Dec. 28, 2013),
football/2013/12/28/5251990/bcs-national-championship-fsu-
auburn-players-eligible; Jake
Trotter, 3 Texas players out of Alamo Bowl, ESPN.com (Dec.
22, 2013),
football/bowls13/story/_/id/10180623/texas-longhorns-daje-
johnson-kennedy-estelle-jalen-overstreet-academically-
ineligible-alamo-bowl-vs-oregon-ducks
auburn-players-eligible
auburn-players-eligible

different with student-athletes. If higher education really seeks
to educate, and
not merely create hoops to jump through to receive a piece of
paper, it should
seek to maximize that opportunity for all of its student-athletes.
CONCLUSION
Over the past quarter century, the commercialism of
intercollegiate athletics
has placed an increasing number of obstacles in the way of the
academic
education of student-athletes. If the student-athlete model is to
survive, the
NCAA and its member universities should reinvest in the
concept of academic
education.
This article offers a proposal to take a step in that direction. It
proposes the
adoption of six-year scholarships and reducing the required

academic hours in
season to three. It would make student-athletes part-time
students for four years,
and allow them two years without intercollegiate athletics in
which to complete
their degree. As explained above, this approach is a more
realistic and robust
approach to ensuring that student-athletes are able to maximize
the educational
opportunities that a university has to offer.

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