I keep hearing how the NCAA has injected uncertainty into college sports. NIL, Portal, and $20.5 million commitments, etc., all create a new world for college athletics. So I hear a lot of "What comes next" in this new world of the end to a long period of relatively stable NCAA sports rules. Now there are adjustments going on continuously. Some prefer the old world and others seem satisfied with college sports becoming professional. Admittedly a free college degree due to a scholarship is not entirely amaturism, but on the other hand, why have college sports sort of drifted to be like the NFL -- whoever has the most money gets the best athletes.

I don't know how things will end up, but the role of the NCAA just seems uncertain as they try to find some kind on model to settle upon. It seems to me that ex-students who donate to support their university in general are now being ask to donate to pay athletes, and this dilutes to some extent the investments that help schools improve their educational programs. This question arises over and over now-a-days, but with a constantly changing NCAA, an answer is uncertain. A disturbing opinion I have heard is if left unchecked, universities might tend to move down in sports level and athletics may become more important for some and less important for others.

Opinions???

I feel the NCAA has strayed from its core mission of protecting amateur sports. I had zero problems when the idea of NIL was first going. If a car dealer wants the local QB to endorse his hatchbacks, no worries. But having a school pay $100,000 flat for a third string running back has gone too far. They are deathly afraid of the big schools leaving to make their own Association of some kind and are therefore bending over backward to accommodate their every wish. What made collegiate athletics great - regional rivalries, average joe students, on-campus events, student attendance, etc - are quickly going away for the pursuit of money.

Can and should have always been at odds...

(09-11-2025 09:30 AM)Outsider Wrote:  Can and should have always been at odds...

Sadly, the NCAA has proved itself not deserving of survival. Probably, it will take an act of Congress to straighten out the mess. And given Congress' track record, it's hard to be optimistic about that being a viable solution.

(09-11-2025 10:26 AM)wewererebels Wrote:  

(09-11-2025 09:30 AM)Outsider Wrote:  Can and should have always been at odds...

Sadly, the NCAA has proved itself not deserving of survival. Probably, it will take an act of Congress to straighten out the mess. And given Congress' track record, it's hard to be optimistic about that being a viable solution.

Agree