Marty Gordon
The words “March Madness” this time of year typically brings about a shiver down the spine of sports fans everywhere, but it has lost a little of the luster because of the recent FBI investigation that has singled out many major programs for improprieties.
I can remember there would be so many people playing hooky from school and work that finally teachers at my high school would just bring in a television so we could watch the ACC tournament in the classroom.
The “blue flu” would affect lots of companies and businesses when others started calling sick.
Again, the announcement several colleges paid agents and players to bring superstars to their programs over the past 10 years has taken everyone by surprise.
Maybe, it has affected no school as much as Louisville who was already in the midst of a “stripper” scandal. Coach Rick Pitino lost his job and is now defending himself and his program that it could have also been involved with the bigger allegation.
The Cardinals have had to vacate a previous national championship and look to be on the downward slide of earlier national prominence.
So far, several other major basketball programs like Duke, Kentucky, Arizona and Michigan have reportedly been investigated by the FBI for NCAA violations involving gifts and loans from agents to players and their families.
Yes, all of this is a black eye on what has been the most popular sport and time of year for a long, long time.
Of course, all of this comes as the NCAA announced it has earned $1.06 billion this past year, topping that mark for the first time ever. In fiscal year 2016, it reported $996 million.
The NCAA is being criticized for its “business model” as a whole, and many sportswriters are wondering if the athletic body should start paying players in some form. According to audit reports, some colleges have made almost $100 million from athletics.
The FBI has labeled the investigation as bribery with institutions competing not only on the athletic courts but also in the living room of many of the potential athletes.
Arizona officials are already waiting for more details into a FBI eavesdropping of its head coach and an agent discussing as much as $100,000 to make sure a top athlete played basketball at the school.
The first schools mentioned include Arizona, Auburn, Oklahoma State and Southern California. Several assistant coaches have been charged with bribery conspiracy, solicitation of bribes, fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud.
Is there a problem in college basketball? Yes. Can we solve it overnight? No.
I don’t know where we start as it all has to do with money. The NCAA needs to reel in the recruitment process while figuring out how to control the rising cost of doing business.
I believe players need to be given a small stipend that will cover living costs, but we must do it in a way that one school is not giving more than others. There has to be a level playing field. The bigger programs have managed to outmuscle other ones because of the amount of money they have in their back pocket.
In turn, the NCAA also has to work with the National Basketball League to agree on a longer period of time for college players to stay at their respective school before jumping to the professional league. The idea of money has caused many of these athletes to jump to the NBA to quickly. Also, there has to be a minor league for basketball. Yes, there is a D-League or how is now known- a G-League.
But again, there is not a complete solution, but the NCAA has to try.
Meanwhile, in the back of my mind, and I’m sure many of yours is how has this affected the current March Madness and the flair we used to know. We will never look at the schools mentioned in the FBI program the same ever again.
I know as I watched Louisville play this week in the ACC tournament I wondered who was getting paid and who was not.
For now, I take my hat off to our local schools, Virginia Tech and Radford University. Neither have been mentioned in the investigation or impropriety. But because of the tarnish now on college basketball, we will always have a spot in the back of our minds wondering what really goes on behind closed doors and on phone calls by college colleges and their recruits.
I just hope the sport can gain back some of my respect in the future.
Congrats to both Radford and Virginia Tech who look primed for the big dance with seatings slated to be announced tomorrow.
An interesting side note on Radford University winning the Big South tournament is the fact RU Coach Mike Jones’ son, Nate, is a member of the Bucknell team that also won their conference championship. An early matchup in the Big Dance could include the two teams making it an intriguing family affair.
If you have any sports tip bits, send them to NRVsports@ourvalley.org
