The landscape of the National College Athletic Association and college athletics in general are changing. But not for the better.
The NCAA is currently getting sued by past players. With that there is a settlement that is being agreed upon. However, the settlement that is proposed would ruin college athletics as we know it.
Every school would have the opportunity to opt in or out of all the agreements that are settled on, head football coach Chris Wilkerson said. However, opting out would mean forfeiting chances to play in championship games and tournaments, he said.
Right now, many athletes are here for the experience of playing sports at a higher level. Not many will make it to the professional level, but they know that and are happy to play a sport they love for the time being.
There are many new things that will affect the NCAA, but the big things are roster caps and colleges being able to pay student athletes.
Roster caps being introduced gets rid of scholarship caps and instead places a cap on how many athletes can be on a roster.
In theory, this would mean everyone on a team could get a scholarship. However, no school would be able to have that much money to give everyone a scholarship. Instead, it would limit how many athletes can be on a roster.
In Eastern’s case, this would mean cutting 14 athletes from men’s track and field. Currently EIU has 59 athletes on the roster. With the new caps, Eastern can only have 45.
Many programs would have to cut current and future athletes. This is already happening.
According to Yahoo Sports, nearly 20,000 parents and athletes are a part of a Facebook group that are now mobilizing a public fight to change the roster caps. This is due to the fact that many incoming athletes are getting their offers taken away to prepare for these caps.
Eastern women’s soccer coach Dirk Bennett has been keeping a close eye on the settlement and what it could mean for Eastern as a whole.
Bennett would have to cut three players next year if EIU decides to opt in to the agreement. Many sports on campus would have to cut players including football and men’s basketball.
This would mean fewer students on campus and less money given to the university from housing plans.
“In a place like Eastern, for example, if we were to opt in to the terms and then adhere to the roster caps, you could see anywhere between, I would estimate 50 or higher student-athletes who, A, no longer have an opportunity and B, for a place like EIU, that’s 50 or more kids who are no longer living in housing for two years as required for athletes,” Bennett said. “So that’s housing revenue that decreases and then tuition at a time, at a place like Eastern where enrollment is a major factor.”
These roster caps will mean less chances for athletes to play at a higher level and get a quality education.
Which brings me to my next point in the settlement.
Schools will now be allowed to revenue share and give athletes a percentage of what they make on a per sport basis. This would mean athletes would turn more into workers than students.
The revue share aspect is that colleges will pay athletes based on what the sport makes from ticket sales, broadcast deals and any other revenue that the sport brings in.
Mostly big conferences will be able to use revenue sharing, and the smaller conferences will just get their athletes poached for better money.
This is not a fully bad thing, as student athletes do a lot of work. They are juggling schoolwork and a full athletic schedule with travel, games and practices. However, letting colleges pay players to play will make college athletics less of an amateur sport and is the first step in making college sports professional.
It will also take away athletes from smaller schools. The transfer portal has already seen its fair share of players leaving for NIL money. Now, bigger schools can directly offer athletes money to join their school.
College athletics is supposed to be an amateur sport. The athletes are supposed to be student athletes, not full-time athletes.
Colleges paying athletes blurs that line.
Overall, the House settlement is making decisions based on the top 50 schools, not the entire nation.
Athletes getting paid will only benefit the top 5 conferences that are making the most money. The smaller conferences will not get much out of it. That includes EIU.
There are only two big changes coming to college sports mentioned here, but there is still more that affects the landscape.
Every school in Division I will be losing at least triple digits, Bennett said, to pay back the settlement.
That will lead to cuts in sports, as smaller schools do not have the money to lose that much in a year. Bennett voiced his concerns about male Olympic sports, as they have very few protections and could be the first to go in many programs to save money.
College athletics should be about the experience and not how much money you’re going to make.
Very few are fortunate to make money from playing sports, and college athletics should not be tailored to the few but to the many that are here for a good experience.
Like Wilkerson said, “The actual experience of being a collegiate student in this environment and continuing to grow in addition to not just mentally but intellectually as a person and the lessons and values that you have created for yourself while you were an undergraduate student is stuff that will continue to give to you for the rest of your life.”
Patrick Schmitz can be reached at 581-2812 or at pfschmitz@eiu.edu.
