Poor NCAA. They seem to get battered from left to right, from the BCS setup to unfair enforcement of rules to making gobs of cash. The last issue seems to be the one that many people have an issue with. It goes like this: it's not fair that colleges rake in all of this money from TV deals, ticket sales, merchandising, etc. and the student-athletes can't even get "walking around money."
Yes, the poor student-athlete: the one that has multi-million dollar facilities (see: Oregon) to work out and study in, an army of tutors and academic support specialists to help with homework, and instant name recognition when applying for a job after school. Oh, and going to school itself is free.
For the anti-NCAA crowd, even the notion of a free education is poo-poohed. To many of them, the education is worthless if the student-athlete doesn't value it. I would buy that argument 10 years ago, but not today, with the APR keeping a huge name like UConn out of the basketball tournament because its team graduation rate is too low.
Yes, it's disconcerting that the NCAA and its member institutions make and spend as much money as they do. But, at the end of the day, who's fault is that? Mine, and every other ticket buyer and donor that demands that coaches win...or else.
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