I don't care if college football playoff games won't sell out. Not every bowl even does right now anyway. Remember those reports about how cheap Orange Bowl tickets were going for the day of the game? So, now today I hear some nobody sportscaster opining that we shouldn't have a playoff because the games won't sell out.
What B.S.
Yes, of course I understand what big business college football is. But it is still a sport, and not even a professional one at that. If the integrity of the game is to be preserved, all other considerations besides fairness must be pushed aside. End of discussion.
The NCAA and the Presidents and Athletic Directors of the BCS conferences have proven that they could care less about fair play. It's about the money. It's worse than the other rigged sports like Professional Wrestling or the NBA because at least in those sports the athletes are getting paid.
Sure, the college athlete gets a scholarship, and I'm not going to disparage the scholarship itself. Nor the degrees these athletes earn. Other people diminish this accomplishment, but I'll never understand why. It's an honorable compensation for their efforts. There's two other things that upset me instead.
First, academic dishonesty. Universities either lower their academic standards or actually cheat in order to attract skilled athletes that would otherwise be academically ineligible. The Universities themselves are cheapening the athlete's education and the degree conferred upon them. In essense, they are diminishing the compensation to the athlete. They are saying that their education is worth nothing. So, thanks alot for that.
Secondly, there is the greater effect that a football program has on a University's finances. Not only does a successful football program boost student applications to the school, but the more profitable a program is, the less of a burden it is on tuition-payers. This is important because it means the BCS gives an advantage to certain institutions of higher learning. This then affects (to exactly what degree, I can't say) their research capabilities, their grants, the economies of the surrounding cities, and the state that funds them in part. So, when someone says this isn't Congress's problem, I respectfully disagree.
