Let me state up front, if you think this is going to be a rant against the NCAA, it is.

Two of my hot buttons are hypocrisy and inconsistency. The NCAA has taken both to an art form in the way they run college athletics today. The sad thing is it's only going to get worse as the NCAA goes from the ridiculous to the absurd. The governing body of college sports is totally out dated and over matched in todays big business, sports world.

The core of the NCAA's problem is their desire to be seen as a pure "student/athlete" organization with altruistic goals and philosophies and as an efficient, successful college sports organization and business. Idealism and the dollar are not good bed partners and there lies the root of the NCAA's problems. They want to be seen as this shining shrine of college athleticism, but also want the money and perks that go along with being a big time sports business. They cast a jealous eye on their pro sports brethren and say, "That's what I want. Show me the money." You can't have it both ways in college sports.

A philosophical and attitude adjustment is long overdue. First, the NCAA needs to acknowledge times are different than when the governing body of college sports was started. That means saying, "If we started the NCAA today, what would we do and how would we do it." With that as the premise, the athlete has to be first and foremost in the "new" NCAA's decisions and policies. The universities and colleges are second.

There are two groups within the family of college athletes. The athlete who plays for the joy of competing and the athlete who sees the college playing experience as a road to the pros. The "new" NCAA must and can satisfy the needs of both groups by understanding that both bring something important to the college sports experience. College sports needs both groups of athletes. Without the group that plays for the love of doing so, you wouldn't have enough athletes to field the teams. And, without the athlete who desires to have a pro career, you wouldn't have the entertainment appeal that brings the big commercial bucks to college sports.

So, what's the answer? The overall answer is to keep it simple. Give the athletes a stipend to reduce their need to take illegal money. Give them the stipend because it's the right thing to do for those who are generating billions of dollars for college athletics. Give them the stipend because our universities and colleges are where we teach kids the right way to do things. They're taught those who work, and athletes work, and generate income for businesses, are paid. As it is now, letting athletes work and generate income for the schools and not paying them sends the wrong message about the truthfulness of education.

The "new" NCAA must simplify the rules university and college athletic programs run under. Let a coach buy a kid a meal. Give every school a set amount of money that can be spent on their athletes. Make it a salary cap. If they want to spend it on recruiting meals or paying a kids way home for the holidays or flying his parents to a big game, fine. Once that "salary cap" money is gone, that's it. It forces schools to be accountable and to run their programs in a more business like manner. All schools, big and small, have the same resources and money to spend. If a school exceeds their salary cap or cheats in a sport, that sport is suspended from competition for a season. Do it twice and it's two seasons. Do it a third time and you're finished competing in that sport forever.

Finally, create a sports degree program that allows athletes, if they choose, to take courses they can use in life. A sports degree program would give any athlete courses in public speaking, personal growth, self esteem, computer sciences, life economics, writing and other areas that will help them in being a productive member of society. The only reason some athletes are in college is someone likes the way they shoot a basketball or run with a football. They may be good athletes, but not good students. Those student/athletes could care less about some history or English lit professor's class or even going to that class. Give those athletes who want a non-hard core curriculum something that interests them. If you do, you'll find both the serious and non serious student athlete will leave school with something they can use.

It's time to make a change in college sports. If we don't, then I don't want to hear the NCAA or anyone else talk about the purity of the college sports experience. That purity went away the first time someone said, "I'll pay to sponsor that." It's a new century. Let's hope the NCAA has looked at their calendars and will decide they have to join the 21st century too.

I feel better now.

I'm Ron Barr.

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