The Business Of The NCAA Goes On

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UConn head coach Dan Hurley celebrates after cutting down the netting from the 82-54 win against Gonzaga of an Elite 8 college basketball game in the West Region final of the NCAA Tournament, Saturday, March 25, 2023, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker)

Money, money, money is what everyone wants.

What is going on in the college sports industry? NCAA President Charlie Baker, the former Massachusetts governor, wants Congress to come up with some uniform policy regarding marketing partners signing players to name, image and likeness deals while University of Colorado officials are thinking about bolting the Pac 12 conference for the Big 12 where there could be more money available. In the end, whether it is Baker lobbying federal lawmakers or the University of Colorado president, and no one should kid themselves as it is a school president or chancellor or board of trustees that make the call on shifting conferences, it is all about money. The poohbahs of the college sports industry still want to control players salaries. Meanwhile University of Alabama football coach Nick Saban has a solution. The college football players should have a college football players association.

“Unionize it, make it like the NFL. If it’s going to be the same for everyone, I think that’s better than what we have now. What we have now is some states and some schools and some schools in some states investing a lot more money in managing their roster than others,” he said. “This is going to create a real competitive disadvantage for some in the future, and it’s also going to create an imbalance in the competitive nature of the sport.” Actually, only a handful of schools compete for the national football championship as there has been an imbalance in football competition. Meanwhile Baker continues lobbying Congress asking for help. The NCAA put out a statement. “With more than 30 different laws in 30 different states affecting college sports, the Association lacks the legal clarity necessary to put in place consumer protections for student-athletes and other important functions of a national governing body for sports.” It is all about money.

Evan Weiner’s books are available at iTunes – https://books.apple.com/us/author/evan-weiner/id595575191

Evan can be reached at evan_weiner@hotmail.com

Alabama head coach Nick Saban speaks during NCAA college football Southeastern Conference Media Days Tuesday, July 19, 2022, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)