Written by:
Wade Senti

College Basketball isn’t what it used to be

Over the last few decades, the landscape for college basketball and to some extent, the NCAA, has changed. Today, the NCAA is nearly a $6 billion collaborative institution, with over 1,200 members – all benefiting from media contracts, merchandise licensing, and of course -- exceptional athletic talent. If the BCS Championship series as well as the NCAA Basketball Tournament has proven anything, it is that money plays a crucial role in the direction and structure of the landscape of collegiate sports, especially football and basketball. As March Madness rolls along, it seems fitting to articulate two serious issues, (I) ‘the one-and-done rule’ by the NBA and (II) it’s correlation to mass sports media and the NCAA.

Given the focus of the NCAA is the ‘student-athlete,’ much attention has been given to the topic of ‘athlete-student,’ at least in respect to athletes putting-in a year of college to satisfy the 2005 age minimum of 19 and “one year out of high school” rule for entering the NBA. Speculatively, some analysts and sports columnists have hinted at the prospect of the minimum being bumped up to age 20. Since the beginning, NBA commissioner David Stern has been a strong proponent of the ‘college experience’ for athletes, even those with little interest in classrooms, textbooks, or exams.

Even so, Stern has a point. By ‘forcing’ the athlete to become involved with college experience the likelihood of potentially staying in school longer could arise. Last year one high school athlete, Brandon Jennings, went so far as to avoid college altogether, choosing to pursue basketball overseas, improving his skill-set while making some money.

The real question is – what does college basketball have to lose or gain from athletes making the jump straight from high school to the NBA? The answer is money, but also the purity and congruency of the game. This year marks the final year of the $6 billion television contract between CBS and the NCAA, illustrating the value and importance of television ratings to the economic engine of college basketball. However, if storied programs such as the North Carolina’s, Duke’s, and Kansas’s of the world struggle because of the “one and done rule”, where does that leave the NCAA over the long-term?

Regardless of the given facts – I do believe that extending the age limit to 20 and two years out of high school could provide greater benefits to the NBA, the NCAA, and the future professional (athlete), largely because of its potential positive influence on education and the preservation of team chemistry of the many competing institutions.

The gentleman that accompanied me on a short, 40 minute flight, conveyed more to me then about what the NCAA is really about – more so than anyone I have met so coincidently before. There was stories of Lou Holts, and coaches in the Big Ten 10, all of which promising the same thing – an education. What they won’t tell you are some important facts, facts that to the ordinary student would seem absurd and unethical.

Photo courtesy of Flickr.