The latest “get-paid-to-play” scandal in college basketball has so far toppled one hall of fame coach and is rippling through other programs, promising to roil the upcoming season as even more allegations surface against even more institutions. For colleges and their sporting fans in Utah and across the country, the episode again begs for examining the ethical framework of our institutions of higher education.
Sports fans will hope the latest revelations of recruiting violations — in the form of outright bribery — will end up being contained to a few institutions and not taint the entirety of college basketball. Unfortunately, that’s unlikely going to be the case.
First, the taint is already on the sport after years of similar scandals involving recruiting violations at various schools. Second, those targeted by prosecutors in the current matter may not only face NCAA sanctions, they could also face time in prison. And the FBI has warned its investigation is just getting started. “We have your playbook,” the FBI assistant director in New York said. “Our investigation is ongoing.”
Regardless of where it ends, the investigation again highlights how big-money interests are influencing a game that has morphed from an extracurricular school activity (decades ago) to a driver of university pride that attracts admissions and money from donors proud of their school.
Yet, the ongoing investigation is revealing a scheme that stacks the playing field in favor of those programs that choose to compromise ethics and participate in funneling large sums of money to prospective star players through agents, recruiters and shoe and clothing companies. So far, the highest profile figure implicated in the case is University of Louisville coach Rick Pitino, who has earned two national championships and is among the top-paid college coaches in the country.
Pitino is earning over $5 million a year, a figure that by itself gives context to just how much colleges in every part of the country have come to value their sporting programs. In Utah, two of the highest annual salaries paid with public money belong to the University of Utah’s football and basketball coaches. There is no hint that any sports program here is in jeopardy of being implicated in the current scandal, but local schools are adversely affected nevertheless.
By not playing along, they are at a competitive disadvantage. One school implicated in the current scandal, the University of Arizona, is a perennial leader in the Pac-12 in which Utah competes.
Much of the shady dealings among NCAA teams can plausibly be attributed to the fact that college basketball programs have become unofficial farm teams for the NBA.
Unlike Major League Baseball, which recruits players directly into professional minor league programs, the NBA and the NFL have relied on colleges to groom their next stars. There have been discussions about paying student-athletes, partly as a way to eliminate under-the-table recruiting enticements. That won’t solve the essential problem. If there is no cap on the stipends, the richer schools will recruit the better players. If there is a cap, the less ethical schools will find ways to sweeten the pot, and we will be essentially where we are now.
College sporting programs have long had great value as a source of pride and community bonding. It’s important that any actions necessary are taken to ensure the sport isn’t skewed by the influence of an ever-rising tide of shady money.