Opinion

Nat’l college corruption association

The National Collegiate Athletic Association says it was “founded more than one hundred years ago as a way to protect student-athletes.” But if a new federal lawsuit is right, the NCAA in fact exploits them.

Former UCLA hoops star Ed O’Bannon claims the NCAA improperly licenses his image to a computer-game maker. O’Bannon wants his suit given class-action status, potentially opening the financial-rewards door to thousands of former athletes.

Meanwhile, the NCAA continues to find member colleges guilty of violations ranging from improper recruitment and under-the-table compensation to grade-fixing.

Beneath both the suit and the scandals is the huge amount of money generated by men’s Division I football and basketball — and the lucrative TV contracts they produce. In 2010, for example, the NCAA signed an $11 billion contract with CBS and Turner to air the March Madness basketball tournament. And individual conferences such as the Pac-12, Big-10 and SEC all have their own multibillion-dollar TV contracts.

With so much money at stake, it’s little wonder colleges do whatever they can to recruit star athletes, and that the players are tempted to seek more than just tuition and room and board in return for the riches they bring in. It’s also no coincidence that the scandals that follow generally do not involve sports such as baseball. In part, it’s because pro baseball has functioning minor leagues where athletes can go to develop if they are not ready for the pros.

That’s how it should be. If someone’s skill is that he can throw a bullet pass 40 yards or put a ball through a hoop, why shouldn’t he just go pro? LeBron James, to name one, became the NBA’s top player without a lick of college. Instead, the NBA and NFL now impose arbitrary age-related barriers to entry (one and three years after high school, respectively), which help send to college people who don’t belong there.

The dirty truth is that the NCAA is part of a system that has our universities serving as the minor leagues for professional basketball and football, an arrangement that is as profitable as it is corrupting.