NCAA Football: 3 Reasons Why College Football's Problem Is Unsolvable

Another week, another major program gets caught with players who took illicit benefits from boosters or agents. 

This has become the norm in college football.  Almost every major program has been investigated or sanctioned in the last few years.  The University of Miami took this shady business of boosters helping athletes to a new level. 

It really feels like that no team that has won the national championship has done it without breaking the rules in one way or another.  College sports, especially football, are turning into a laughingstock and there is no way around it. 

No matter what the rules and punishments are, this will continue to happen because of three reasons: male testosterone, poor methods of punishing college programs, and no way to discipline boosters or agents. 

The Mindset of a 20-Year Old Male

Think about it for a second. What does a 20-year old male college athlete care about most? 

Booze and girls.

Many people are suggesting that increasing the monthly stipend for college football players will solve the problem. If college athletes have more money then they won't be tempted by guys like Nevin Shapiro and other rogue boosters and agents. 

Really?

Folks, an increase in the monthly stipend, no matter how large it is, will not change the behavior of a 20-year old college athlete.  He still wants to party, drink, and have fun with girls.  By increasing the monthly stipend, athletes will be even more irresponsible.  They'll have more money to burn on entertainment.

Consider this. 83 percent of NFL players go broke within three years of retirement.  These players make a lot more than a college football athlete does with his monthly stipend.  Giving away more money does not solve the problem.  These are athletes.  They didn't get accepted to USC because they're educated.  They got in because they know how to play football.

Obviously if an uneducated person is given a huge amount of money, it will vanish eventually. Besides, just because the players have an increase in their monthly stipend it doesn't mean that boosters and agents are going to leave. 

Essentially, an increase in the monthly stipend does absolutely nothing.  In fact, it worsens the problem because the players now have more disposable income to spend on themselves. 

Finally, these players don't even deserve an increase in the monthly stipend.  The quality of life for a college football athlete is significantly more lavish than a regular student.  Cam Newton didn't have a problem getting dates, that's for sure.  The whole campus knows who these athletes are and they're the most popular students on campus.

They get free food, free flights to luxurious hotels for bowl games, and most importantly, a free education. They also get to showcase their talents to their future employees every Saturday on national television. Economics majors don't get to do that.  College athletes already get enough benefits from the NCAA let alone the extra luxuries they get from boosters and agents.

Ditch the notion of increasing the monthly stipend.  It's not going to fix anything. 

Punishing Schools Just Doesn't Work

USC is entering their second year of sanctions.  They have lost plenty of scholarships for the next few years.  How does this punish Reggie Bush? 

It doesn't.

Let's say the NCAA comes down hard on the University of Miami.  How does that punish Devin Hester?

It doesn't. 

It only punishes the current players.  The punishments don't really discipline the individuals that were involved in the scandal. It punishes the institution.  And who's to say that they still wouldn't keep a blind eye toward their players?

For instance, just because USC is sanctioned right now, who's to say that their players aren't still receiving benefits from boosters?  It's very well possible.  The incentive is still there. That's why these punishments don't work.

If the NCAA can team up with Roger Goodell and the NFL and punish players by suspending them in the NFL, then a change may happen.  However, the chances of this happening are very small and most college athletes don't go to the NFL.  It would be very difficult punishing them for their actions. 

We Can't Afford to Get the Government Involved

The only way this is ever going to stop is if it becomes a crime for rogue boosters and agents to give illicit benefits to college athletes.  If there's a risk for an agent to become a felon, there's less of a chance for him to give an athlete a bounty for on-field performances.

Car dealers will stay away from giving away cars.  Tattoo artists will stop inking quarterbacks. Jewelers will stop giving away their gems. 

That's the only way this will be stopped.  Legislation needs to be passed that makes it illegal for anyone to assist these athletes.

However, have you seen the stock market recently?  Have you seen the unemployment rate? Have you seen the number of people that die overseas in combat?

This country has way too many problems.  Let the time Congress dealt with the steroid issue be the last time government is involved in sports. 

Please.

The last thing society wants in this poor economy is our politicians passing legislation regarding college football in Washington.  This issue is not a societal problem and should not be dealt by the government. 

It's true that the steroid problem in baseball stopped once the government got involved, but they should have never been involved in the first place.  The government has more important tasks. 

So in short, this problem is unsolvable. 

Giving players more money doesn't change anything.  They'll still spend it.

Punishing school doesn't change anything because the players involved in the scandal have left the program.

Finally, punishing the boosters and agents involves legislation and quite frankly, we can't afford to get government involved in something so minor in society.