The Hard Truth About College Sports
A column by Jesse Frazier
With college hoops starting this past week it had me thinking about the substantial differences between Division 1 and Division 3 athletics.
Big name programs have been playing football since the start of the fall season and luckily, they will be able to have a basketball season that just began.
It’s hard watching these highly funded schools with big booster clubs and money from tickets, merchandise and miscellaneous endorsements while Division 2 & 3 athletic programs have cancelled seasons altogether. I cannot imagine how any athlete would feel thinking that it truly comes down to money when it comes to the NCAA.
Last Friday I was watching Boston College play Villanova in Connecticut for a neutral site opening tournament with no fans at Mohegan Sun. The Eagles will then travel to Minnesota and take on the Golden Gophers. My point is that the NCAA can invest in neutral site and full country travel for its top tier teams but cannot even coordinate an inner conference season for the next two divisions.
It feels like they care more about the product they put on television or in March as the best conferences cannot even keep a limited travel across country and stay in their own regions. It must be hard to watch that as an athlete a fan, and especially a coach of any Division 3 program.
The funding to send kids across the country for a TV product when you cannot set up a “bubble setting” for all programs in the NCAA goes to show that money is what is more important for the higher ups and making money for universities comes bigger than giving athletes the chance to play the games they love and potentially make a career.
The NCAA should be putting its student athletes above profit and TV deals come March.
