College basketball players not "amateurs" anymore?

[collisrost]

Doug's been preaching this for years, now someone's actually trying to do something about it. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124503597

Doug, I'd like your take. Might be worth a Chicago Now post at some point too, or maybe a quick mention in a podcast.

Me, I think there are pros and cons of having student athletes earn huge money for playing basketball and having money to throw around while still in college. But I could see a system where they get an annuity or a payoff after their career in college is over.

I just wouldn't want to see them be real "professionals" while they are still 18 and end up sacrificing their educational goals then get injured or something and losing it all. Holding the money and paying it to them later would prevent this kind of stuff

 

[WearShades]

Re:College basketball players not

collisrost wrote:

I just wouldn't want to see them be real "professionals" while they are still 18 and end up sacrificing their educational goals then get injured or something and losing it all. Holding the money and paying it to them later would prevent this kind of stuff

Unfortunately this isn't true. While not a great number of college athletes are destined for the pros, many, many of them treat college sports as though they have a future at the next level, and as such sacrifice educational goals. That's the reality of the current system. Perhaps having players earn money at the college level would keep them there and allow some of them (certainly not all of them though) to earn a degree.