In listening to talk radio the last week or so..some thoughts occurred to me.

 Every year there are a finite number of Division 1 football scholarships awarded.  I don’t know what the number is, but let’s say they are 200 schools with 20 scholarships per year or 4000 annual scholarships. A couple of weeks ago the NCAA penalized USC by taking away 15 scholarships for the next two years. So theoretically by my numbers above, in 2011 there will only be 3985 scholarships awarded.  

 So why does that matter?

 I assume that one of the greatest moments in a kid’s life is that day he sits in the high school cafeteria with his parents and his coach and announces that he has accepted a scholarship to X school.  In 2011, 15 fewer kids will have the opportunity to fulfill that dream.  It won’t be the 15 kids who were going to go to USC.  Those kids will all go to other Division 1 schools.  The 15 kids impacted will be the borderline players who will never play in the NFL and sincerely need the scholarship to get a college degree.  

 So…

 Reggie Bush cheated and is a millionaire

Pete Carroll knew it and escaped to become an even bigger millionaire.

Joe Borderline High School player gets screwed

 My solution:

 Take the 15 scholarships and redistribute them to other Division 1 schools, and make USC pay the expenses.  Many ways to do this:

 -               Redistribute within the PAC 10 equally

-               Redistribute within the PAC 10 on some weighted factor, i.e. worst teams get more based on past 3 years wins and losses

-               Redistribute by giving the 15 lowest ranked teams in the NCAA 1 additional scholarship

 You see the point…I would be in favor of keeping them in the conference because then the cheaters gets slammed twice.  Once by losing the scholarship and again by strengthening his competitor.  Today’s system punishes the wrong people.  Many say there is no way to punish the right people.  That seems to be a cop out to me, but I accept that no one has the stomach to take it on.

 Just my thoughts…

 

Note: On the Sports Reporters this week (which I catch only occasionally) one of the reporters (the little white guy who would never stand next to someone over 6 feet tall because then you’d know he was 5’2”) said he wondered when the day would come when these big schools decided they didn’t need the NCAA and just go off on their own.  It reminds me of an article I read on that super site JASZone.com a year or so ago (see link):

 http://www.jaszone.com/ARTICLES/ncaapiece%2012_10_08.html

 Not as well written as an Uncle Tony Speaks column…but worth a glance.