<a href='http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/nyt/20030307/ts_nyt/b_y_u__soccer_finds_novel_alternative_to_n_c_a_a_&e=1' target='_blank'>B.Y.U. Soccer Finds Novel Alternative to N.C.A.A.</a>
I think this is very interesting.
Very interesting indeed. Great move by BYU.
With many universities adding "technology incubators" the line between universities and business has already been blurred. Sports and entertainment is another business, so the call for alarm is again overstated. (Not surprisingly by ESPN "journalists" who don't know ****** about academia or sports.)
These athletes are non-scholarship so this is untouchable by the NCAA, just another club sport.
But, my guess is that this is one step closer to teams with scholarship students playing at a "club" or perhaps even "semi-pro" level (considering the pending legislation in Nebraska).
And it wouldn't be hard to circumvent alot of roadblocks simply by making the "scholarships" part of a semi-pro pay package, and requiring university enrollment as part of the terms of employment.
Still think I'm off the deep-end here, DG?
Times they are a changin'.
What's wrong with a technology incubator program? They provide start-ups with specialized coaching and mentoring. UCF has one that's located in the Research Park and it's a very successful one I might add -- one of the Top 10 incubator programs in the nation according to the National Business Incubation Association. Although that falls short of the long-term goal to be the model technology incubator for the U.S.
More info available here: <a href='http://www.incubator.ucf.edu/' target='_blank'>http://www.incubator.ucf.edu/</a>
From the article:
"Brigham Young's involvement in the league also raises questions about whether a university strays beyond its academic mission if it sponsors a team involved in a separate sports venture, in this case a for-profit soccer league."
What would you call D1-A football or basketball at a school like OSU or Michigan. Even BYU? That seems like a bit of a stupid argument. Many schools already have this in their existing athletic depts. For some schools, athletics already is a profit center.
hashmander Wrote:What's wrong with a technology incubator program?
I don't think I said there was anything wrong with a technology incubator program.
What I am saying is that this curious perspective that universities are isolated from the "real world" is absurd, and there are plenty of examples for this.
The article you cited had the author make the statment that this club, "blurs the line between amateurism and professionalism." I'd disagree since it's clear the soccer players won't get paid. Moreover, such sentiment comes from a source which has a vested interest in keeping the status quo among sporting events, a serious conflict of interest.
One could equally argue that a "technology incubator seriously blurs the line between pure scholarship and professionalism." Big whoop.
The vehicle that a university chooses to provide recreational opportunities for students should be up to the university. This is no different than a university providing intern positions for students for opportunities in a chosen career. The costs and market for such endeavors should be the deciding factors for universities; not the NCAA, not the courts (misuse of public funds being the obvious exception) and certainly not some dimwit from ESPN.
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