Introduction to Sports Hypocrisy 101

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College sports, in case you haven't noticed, has become big bisiness.  Everybody has been getting rich off of the young men and women who play for the glory of old State U--colleges and universities, coaches, shoe companies and TV networks.  Everyone, that is, except the players themselves.  They're supposed to be amateurs, but it's getting difficult to play for free when even athletic scholarships don't cover the cost of getting a degree.  Little wonder, then, that they bolt for the pros after a year or two of eligibility.

The NCAA does what it can to get its share of the pie.  They have corporate partners such as AT&T and Coca-Cola helping to foot the bill, and self-serving TV commercials explaining how the millions of dollars they get from broadcasting rights is spent on their tournaments.  All while telling us that the "student-athletes" we're watching will someday "turn pro in something other than sports".

Another way the NCAA is making money is to put their men's and women's basketball Final Fours in domed football stadiums, such as what they did this year in Indianapolis for the men (won by Duke) and in San Antonio for the women (won by Conneticut).  This year hockey is getting into the act, with the men's Frozen Four held later this week at Detroit's Ford Field.

Now the NCAA is thinking of expanding its men's basketball tournament from 65 teams to 96.  Never mind that it will dilute the quality and importance of the regular season, but that we'll end up seeing a lot more Butlers than Dukes joining the Big Dance.  And you can forget about filling those brackets.

The NCAA might even ditch their present TV deal with CBS (which has three years to run) to sign with ESPN.  While this might mean trading in Jim Nantz for Dick Vitale and the other squawking heads on the Worldwide Leader in Sports, CBS wouldn't have to pre-empt "CSI" or "The Mentalist" for two weeks a year.

While the NCAA is perfectly willing to expand its basketball tournament, they won't do the same when it comes to a legitimate football playoff.  The reason, they claim, is that "student-athletes" already miss plenty of class time during the season.  So how come there were 34 bowl games, with more on the way?  And how much class time do basketball players miss because of the amount of games they play during the regular season, along with conference and NCAA tournament games?

With all that going on, it's amazing that anyone graduates, let alone having time to study.  Shouldn't they be compensated for all that hard work?  But then, the economics of college sports would come crashing down in a heap if they did that.  Better to keep stoking the Golden Goose until she could no longer lay eggs.  And that day might be coming sooner than anyone thinks.