The National Crooked Athletic Association (NCAA)

I’ve given up on the NCAA. Once an avid fan of both college football and basketball, I cannot sit here and tell you I truly care about either sport anymore. As a lad, I dreamed of being the next Andy Katz, a college basketball guru who interviewed big-name coaches and gave his insight on the ins and outs of the college game. I proclaimed college basketball my favorite sport to watch and follow and it really was not close. I went from six → midnight every time I saw the likes of Jared Dudley, Craig Smith, Sean Williams and the rest of that crazy-good 2006 Boston College basketball team take the court. Now, the lure isn’t totally gone but it’s on as much life support as Terry Schiavo pre-plug-pull.

The reason for this does not involve the athletes at all. Instead, the NCAA is completely responsible for my waning interest in their sports. A complete lack of any sensible, proper management has been displayed from the “company” that is the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Let me explain.

Say you worked for a company who literally refused to adapt to any sort of social, economic, technological change in our world. That company would file for bankruptcy faster than it takes Lindsay Lohan to make 3 lines disappear off a nightclub toilet. Well that company is the NCAA, but they cannot go bankrupt because they are funded by respective universities who know that their schools would become nearly extinct without collegiate sport. Essentially the NCAA never has to be a real business and make tough decisions because they understand they’ll always be funded.

So based on the information presented we know that:

1) The NCAA will always exist. And..

2) Because of this, as any company under these circumstances would, they take advantage of that fact.

Thus, bringing us to Cam Newton and, for that matter, any other speculation/allegation/violation that the NCAA has gone through. As you may know, Cam Newton is currently being accused of cheating on his exams at Florida, transferring out of Florida right before they found him guilty, and subsequently creating a pay-to-play program with his father for every school involved in the recruitment of him and allegedly taking between 100 and 180 G’s from recruiters before finally landing himself at Auburn. Color me impressed.

Now, the NCAA has undergone a formal investigation of Mr. Cam Newton and rightfully so. Yet, as we assume something will end up coming out of this, the investigation will likely conclude as Cam Newton is lighting up Alphonso Smith in the NFL. So when the NCAA in 5 years puts a bullshit bowl-ban on the Auburn football program and reduces its scholarships, it will be hurting student-athletes who had absolutely NOTHING to do with Cam Newton and probably never even knew the guy.

This type of thing happens over and over again in the NCAA.

• Pete Carroll and Reggie Bush leave fingerprints all over USC football. Carroll leaves USC and the NCAA punishes the new coach and his players by impacting a two year bowl-ban on USC. Makes sense right?
• Memphis basketball gets their scholarships reduced a year after the culprits (John Calipari and Derek Rose) leave the program. In essence the NCAA punished a school for something two people did who no longer have any association with that school. Makes sense right?
• UConn Basketball loses one scholarship for recruiting violations. You think Jim Calhoun is upset because his junior walk-on who averages less than a minute of playing time now has to pay for school instead of getting a free ride? Doubtful.


While the NCAA tries to show us it can flex their muscles and reprimand these schools, they do so in a completely backwards manner. Mostly hurting student-athletes who worked their ass of to play college sports and not the people that were involved in the crime. Until the NCAA fixes this, I will continue to slowly drift towards the professional game.

@acallagy