taht is a good take. THe problem with NC is s sticky one. The NCAA has no jurisdiction. Who is the NCAA to become the body that tells NC that sthletes involved in Independent Study of African American subjects? Who are they to say it is wrong meeting with advisors who give them grades for doing next to nothing and granting a degree that leads to very little chance of future employment. UNC sets their own standards and that degree is on them. The NCAA has no business accrediting coursework. If UNC wants to give a sham degree that is on them and they are responsible to the accreditation body who IIRC has already told them they were unhappy with the local standard. Those 18 year olds just want to hoop and their handlers do not think about the degree because "my boy gonna be the next Michael Jordan". There is no thought about the future.

THe bad part of that is that the P5 is reaping the benefit of the sham and are the ones making the rules. The folks like OHIO and similar that have a real stake in evening the playing feild do not have a choice or a voice in how College athletics are administrated. Just silly followers shaking their heads and wagging their fingers with no money and no clout.

Roy does not expect anything, Nor should he, as the athletes know they are in a sham major with no job prospects down the line. AND they don't care. The NCAA has no dog in this fight as far as being an enforcer of academic standards. http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/151...

We Have heard from OHIO independent studies grads who used the program to good effect and have benefitted in their professional lives. I do not think the athletes at UNC are receiving the same guidance and path.

Stallings will be happy to get more and better players than he could at Vandy....just like Akron, NIU and BG can do in the MAC compared to OHIO and Fiami.

The ironic part is that by bringing in the athletes that have no interest in getting an education the school is bettering it's academic standing by winning more basketball games. Applications will skyrocket. And unfortunately, as you mentioned, only a very small portion of the students care.

The only part that I disagree with Collier on is the point about the players getting nothing. My oldest is currently looking at schools and where he goes will depend a lot on how much money he gets. We just hit Carnegie Mellon, Case Western and RPI over Spring Break. Not many swimmers get full scholarships but he'll get some help depending on how well he swims this summer and next season. But the help he does get will be a big help and he'll end up with a great education and won't have the same burden that other students might coming out. I've heard people argue that these kids don't appreciate the education and all I have to say is that it's a shame. But that's also on them. Essentially they are being written a big fat check and are not interested in cashing it. Their loss.

Van, I agree with you. They were given an opportunity and they wasted it. It happens all the time and sing no sad songs for them. The blame lies with the chancellor and the deans. They set the tone. I do believe it tarnishes the value of the education when you admit and help kids who don't belong there stay afloat for reasons other than merit. Without a minor league and the big money incentive, it will not go away. I would rather see the kids who can't hack it have some kind of campus job while they were on the team. At least that's honest.

And then I read someone like Cardale Jones' Twitter account and just laugh.

I listened to him on Mike and Mike this am

Saying things like "we should be able to sell our shoes and stuff like any other college kid does"...is laughable. My kid did not pay for a pair of shoes after 6th grade till he had to buy a pair in Beavercreek on the way to an unofficial in Athens....I had no idea what the ones he had been playing in for 5 years with 3-9 pairs a year being given to him cost. That Cardale thinks they should be able to sell things he has not paid for in the first place is insane. If he had bought them in the first place it might not be quite as unpalatable.

He is in a wholly different spot than 95% of all college athletes and that entitled ezxperience at a U with a foundation that supports athletes at an unusual expense puts him in a world most NCAA D1, 2 or 3 athletes can only imagine. I say that knowing my kid just got his first settlement check from the NCAA video game case ....and bitched because the IRS took a hunk. I'm thinking ...son that is free money. Take it and run. I told him the same thing I would tell Cardale ....just shut up and smile. Be happy with the gifts you got.

Yeah.

That is something I talk to parents of all spectrums from dads who are lawyers or mBA's to those who don't have a pot to piss in.... I will ponder that idea for a few days and speak to some of the thoughts over the years. Just a general impression is that anyone who is saying those things is stretching the issue unless they are at a place like a poor SWAC school or Grambling where I know athletes get next to no benefits. When ever I hear it I look at the kid saying who often has the latest cellphone, brand new Jordans and a pretty nice ride. There are athletes who do have money problems but when I talk to baseball parents and other who have to split schollies and partial rides....I have less empathy for those athletes in revenue sports with full rides.

Could be worse, Jimmy. Could be Tyler Summitt:

http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-basketball-news/4701286-...

This is horrid on a number of levels.

Absolutely you can. At UC, you can use your Bearcat card at pretty much any restaurant in the surrounding area of Clifton, including fast food places that are open late. If you have an unlimited meal plan, I don't see how this is ever an issue.

In fact, I remember my freshman year at Akron and sophomore year at OU, we would go to the markets on campus and stock up on anything they were getting rid of before the end of the semester and quarter because we had so much money left on the meal plan.

And this doesn't even include the team meals that they eat before games. At least I'm pretty sure they don't have to use their cards for that stuff. Xavier doesn't.

I'll hop in here and say that sometimes it's possible to just run out of time. As a cheerleader I could having lifting in the AM, followed by class all day, and practices from 6-9 or 10 at night. There were nights when I skipped dinner, not because I didn't want to go - I just simply didn't have time to get there before the dinning halls closed; and I'm sure my athletic/academic load was a lot less demanding then a football or basketball players.

We're not even sure what type of meal plan they get as part of thier scholarships. When I was a student, super 14's were not a thing, much less places on court street that took your card like I hear they have now.

Back on point ...North Carolina http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2015/06/05/university-north...

Not quite the same, but I get the correlation. It would be like getting free coffee, plus a new sports car every year, and a shirt with the company logo. If life is so hard and the NCAA is so unfair, then just go to college and be a regular student. If your aspirations are professional, you don't have to go to college or the NCAA. It sure is a great situation to get premier training and platform to showcase your talents/skill/work ethic. I don't see a situation where I'll sympathize with the student athletes. I appreciate the work/effort that they put in and I will support them. I do however believe that the NCAA should be giving much more back to it's member institutions so tuition could stop rising so fast.

Then this should be a good life lesson to Cardale. You have options. He can accept the $200,000 offer from the college to play sports or he can do something else. If he doesn't think that's acceptable then don't do it.

I work for a company that made a profit of over a billion dollars last quarter. That gives me the right to sell company inventory, like the note pads and pens they provide me with doesn't it?