ESPN OTL: Internal NCAA, EA Emails/Memo's Released in O'Bannon Lawsuit

Having a facebook account is nothing at all like working damn near 40 hours a week, while being a college student, to be a student athlete. Not even close.

I understand that it seems unfair.  However, I think too often we point fingers at athletes being the sole abberation in an otherwise perfect meritocracy of admissions.  They are not and it is not.

First, there aren't that many of them (relatively speaking).  There are something like 750 athletes on U-M's campus, not all of them getting the full scholarship.  Not all of them have a "remarkably" lower academic profile than the average student, either.  You're talking about a pretty small number of athletes that qualify for the complaint you are lodging.

I would also point out that some number of them would qualify for financial aid if the athletic department were not paying their way, so even without their special status they would get things paid for.

Furthermore, athletes are merely the most visible of the people who get a boost (or a scholarship, or a tuition discount) for something beyond grades and test scores.  It's not just those who can "run a bit faster or jump a bit higher."  You've got people who can play the trumpet really well.  Who have shown outstanding leadership in high school.  Who missed their entire sophomore year due to life-threatening illness.   Who parents are alumni.  Or in the case of U-M, who had the good fortune to live in Michigan instead of being from out of state.  

It's far from a perfect meritocracy, and not everyone pays the same or gets the same perks while in college.  It can be pretty galling at times, I get that.  But IMO athletes seem to get bitched about the most, and painted with a broad brush, it chafes at my sense of fairness.

I think the main thing to take away from this rant is that "chafe" is just a funny word regardless of context.

so by your assertion, all student should be irrate at the fact the children of coaches who can afford to pay for their childs education get to go to school for free. my point is this a great student can get a scholarship from a school because that student brings something to the school. same with an athlete. people need to understand that somebody with marketable skills has the right to profit off their skill. everybody can do it except for a college athlete. gimme a break.

This is all irrelevant and colossaly-sized sour grapes. Its really a news flash that some people in society get preferrential treatment based on nearly arbitrary things? Is what it is man, our society rewards pretty people more than ugly people, tall people more than short people, skinny people more than fat people, and so on. Where's the news?

If there were a viable minor leage for football and  (to a lesser extent) basketball then yeah, the Demar Dorseys of the world could at least take their chances. But there isn't. Moreover, a player can get cut from Alabama for no reason and not be allowed to transfer without penalty. They aren't even guaranteed an education (NCAA forbids 4 year scholarships), and so on. Moreoverer, the definition of the word education is being stretched by some of these tailored degree programs being offered by essentially all schools. Players cant even sell their own property (gold pants and bowl rings for example). I know why, I just think its a bogus reason.

The gap between athletes and the student body at large brings nothing to bear on this conversation. Revenue sports athletes, especially the elite ones, generate a whole lot of scratch for a whole lot of people and are forbidden from participating in that benefit. The people creating the value are the only one forbidden from benefiting from that value. That's bunk. Pay 'em.

Give me a freaking break, man. If you worked 40 hours a week in ANY capacity (even as a janitor) in addition to schooling, you would be able to pay most of your tuition and have some spending cash (more than what football players have). Just because you can get a high score on a freaking test doesn't entitle you to the same benefits as somebody who works their butt off in high school sports and will bring in millions of dollars of revenue, while you study in the library and get drunk on Thursday night. What they do helps the university (and on special occasions, can help the players by getting them to the nfl). What you do helps yourself (and on special occasions, can help the university if you make enough to give back) And, please, you think theyre going to have an easier time in the job hunt just by being a bench warmer at michigan? You think somebody Russel Bellomy is walking into a hedge fund job without good credentials just because he played football at Michigan?

  Why not get mad at the fact that just because a kids smarter than you are he gets to goto school for free too! Maybe if you had paid a little bit more attention in school you wouldn't have to slave away in a basement. Sports programs not only rake in millions for large universitys through ticket sales, jerseys and concessions they also inspire alumni to give back millions every year.

 It probably wouldn't be that big of a deal if the NCAA allowed them to work (i'm sure any regular student has a job) or the fact practice , film study, weight conditioning and anything else it takes to try and be competetive takes more time in a week than 99% of college students spend studying.

 Patrick Omameh held a 4.0 GPA in high school and scored a 28 on his ACT.  PFFT remarkably lower grades

 Off the field, Omameh visits the U-M Mott Children's Hospital weekly and participates with numerous service groups and charitable causes, including Relay for Life, Victors Day and From the Heart. He also has visited the Ann Arbor VA Medical Center and has participated in several other fundraising events, such as the David Mealer Memorial Golf Classic and "Bowling for Camp Mitchitanki." Omameh also was selected to the Order of Angell, Class of 2012, which includes leaders from a variety of campus organizations.

  What do you do in your off time to give back to your community or the university

People are under the impression that the NCAA and the schools that play games under its banner are the same thing. If you have a problem with the student-athletes getting all that, your problem is with the schools, NOT with the NCAA. The NCAA doesn't provide any of that. Nada.

This is the problem -

Schools recruit student athletes

Student athletes play a sport for their school, and in return recieve free or discounted tuition and room and board.

School makes money by selling game tickets, merchandise and so on.

NCAA sells licencing rights for products featuring the student athletes and makes money.

The School/Student-Athlete relationship is a sound, stable relationship wherein payment (in whatever form) is provided for services rendered. If you think that payment is biased or unfair one way or the other, fine, but at least it is a two way street. (Your particular argument also fails to recognize you can earn a scholarship for applying yourself accademically, artisitcally or socially, where it benefits the world in some way, so basically it sounds like you're bitching that some people work harder than you and get free education for it.)

The Student Athlete - NCAA relationship, on the other hand, is beyond bogus. Nothing is provided for services rendered under the pretense that  digital representations, numbered jerseys and other non-specific gear don't relate to a specific person, which we all know is bullshit.

Here's how it should work:

Student athletes agree to play a given sport for a given school, and recieve free or discounted education in return.

Schools make money by selling game tickets and team based merchandise. A portion of that money is paid to the NCAA to provide governance and structure for competition and the lives of student athletes.

Item manufacturers, like EA, approach individual schools about licencing fees to represent the school and its players in various merchandise. (If you're too small for a merchandise manufacturer to care about putting you in its product, that's too bad).

The school, either through a pre-set agreement in the LOI or through as-needed contracts, gets approval from the student athletes to be represented to okay that likeness or representation, in return for a portion of the licencing fees. To preserve some level of amatureism, entire teams must be licenced, not jsut individual players. You wanna make a Michigan licenced #16 shirt? Okay, but you'll be making all of the other numbers currently represented on the roster, and each player will receive the same portion of the licencing fees (football players might recive 0.25%, whereas basketball players might recieve 3%, due to the smaller number of players).

"I would also be irritated that these athletes essentially have their pick of any job they want upon graduation due to their status while I stress out over interviews and applications and resumes."

As a recent grad, I for one do not agree with this at all.  Many employers couldn't care less what you used to do on Saturdays.  Really depends on the job I suppose.

Also when I was a student "at a D-1 school", what irritated me A LOT more than any of those was when Michigan lost a football game.

 

Remember that annoying smart guy we all knew who could skip class, never study, and ace the exam by cramming the night before? Do you remember that friend we all had who would always do better than you on the exam even though he studied with you and reviewed the exact same material for the exact same amount of time? Are you irritated by them as well just because they're quicker or better at memorizing, comprehending, or test taking? 

 Most of the larger schools are for paying their athletes. There most certainly is money for it there. The smaller schools who barely get by as it is are the ones that hold back this from happening. The thing is, not everybody can be a BCS AQ school.

If we are talking about a hypothetical situation in which players are getting paid for their own licensing rights, then why can't we talk about a hypothetical situation in which you don't have to compensate everyone equally and instead do something that makes actual sense?