NCAA March Madness

It’s that time of Year. Enough excitement to fill your entire body, even if your not a sports fan. It goes something like this, “At the buzzer…. its good !!!”

March Madness is upon us, but what is wrong with this picture?

Coach K at Duke, 10 Million annually.

NCAA, Billions with a B.

The players on the team? A nice scholarship….but other than that, not a dime, and beyond that meal card, nice dorm room, and education, AGAIN, NOT a single Dime.

The other night on Verizon FiOS/RNN TV we mixed it up greatly on this topic.

My point is that the folks that the NCAA is making Billions off of their backs should receive something. Call it a stipend, call it whatever.

My colleagues point to Title IX, ( the federal civil rights law that prohibits sex discrimination in education) and that is an excellent point about fairness for ALL athletes and teams on campus. (women’s teams) Not just the sports that draw the huge TV coverage.

So what’s wrong with a sliding scale situation where all the campus athletes at least receive something?

Hey, at least John Oliver of HBO is on my side.

Oliver makes a very good point as he argued.

“Everything in the NCAA tournament is branded, including the ladder used to cut down the nets after the championship game.  (“Pretty soon, the only thing left to sponsor will be the sponsorships themselves.”)

NCAA, Do the Right Thing