Wednesday, August 17, 2011

The U

It's easy to shake your head and "tsk-tsk" at the latest revelations on Yahoo Sports about the University of Miami and booster Nevin Shapiro. And, it's easy to simply think of Shapiro as a wealthy "jock sniffer" who liked hanging with the U's athletes, many of whom migrated to Coral Gables from urban, inner city environments. It all seems part of the Hurricane mystique which began back under the football helm of guys like Howard Schnellenberger, Jimmy Johnson, Dennis Erickson and Butch Davis, and had a prior booster like rapper Luther Campbell acting as the 'Canes sugar daddy.

Let's focus though, shall we, on the adults involved in this soap opera. We hear a lot in collegiate athletics about the "student-athlete" and many a coach talks about the joy of positively impacting the life of a young man. How then can you explain the alleged actions of coaches and administrators who were involved in this orgy of glitz and greed? Did they simply get caught up in the bright lights offered by Shapiro, his riches, his homes and his toys, or were they motivated by the need to succeed, at any cost? Is that what it's come to in the primary college revenue sport of football?

Judging by the 100+ hours of interviews which Shapiro has provided coupled with what we now know happened at Ohio State, Tennessee, Oregon, USC and other recent NCAA rules violators, the state of college football is in a mess.

Yes, there will be strong declarations for an overhaul of "the system" and a demand for harsh penalties. Perhaps the issue is deeper than that--maybe the hypocrisy is in believing that football is anything but a developmental league for the NFL. This isn't to condone what happened at Miami or with "tatto-gate" at Ohio State. It's simply to acknowledge that the sport of college football has grown to a point where it means too much, financially, to institutions of higher learning and the conferences to which they are affiliated.

Do I have an answer? No--none that I want to publicly proclaim just yet. The point here is to acknowledge that the problem may be far greater, and different, than simply trying to punish the offenders while keeping the present system in place. What's required here has to be much more dramatic and has to acknowledge that more than punishment is needed to save the credibility of this great college sport. True reform must take place--by responsible adults acting in the best interests of the institutions, the student-athletes, the students and the supporting alumni and fans.

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