In this age of television and mass marketing, some college sports have become a major industry. Cable contracts generate millions of dollars in revenue to universities across the United States. Official and corporate sponsors abound, and luxury boxes are becoming common in college football stadiums. For example, the NCAA discovered in March that a faculty advisor at the University of Minnesota was completing course work for men's basketball players. They continue to perform, to generate revenue, and to entertain.
Punishments are minimal.
The Minnesota players were temporarily suspended, but will be back on the court this year. Millions of people do not turn on ESPN every Saturday to see a group of young men who are pursuing an education first and are athletes second. How to go about fixing this abuse of the system is not immediately clear. At a recent Jefferson Literary and Debating Society meeting, University of Virginia men's basketball head coach Pete Gillen voiced his support for a proposal that would make acceptance of an athletic scholarship a binding commitment, requiring athletes to stay in school for a minimum number of years. Another suggestion is that athletic scholarships could be structured more like student loans, except that the athlete would not have to actually pay them off unless he did not graduate.