I Just Don't Understand the NCAA
From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
ATHENS — A group of Georgia football fans took up a collection to pay for a Boise State player's father to fly from Baghdad to see his son play against the Bulldogs in Athens.
But the NCAA rule book got in the way.
Dan Miller, father of Broncos sophomore guard Tad Miller, is a retired police lieutenant who is training Iraqi police officers.
When Sam Hendrix of Signal Mountain, Tenn. — "suthndawg" to his fellow Georgia fans on the Dawgvent, an Internet message board — read a story in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution about the Millers, he started an online movement to raise the $2,700 it will cost Dad to make it to Sanford Stadium to see his son play in the home opener Sept. 3.
But when Crowe checked with the two schools, he was told the UGA fans' generosity would be a violation of NCAA bylaws regarding extra benefits and expenses for student athletes and their families.
The NCAA is so vigilant about ensuring that student athletes—who generate millions of dollars for the NCAA and several large, state universities—are in no way compensated for their performance that it fails to see the silliness in its actions. Playing in Athens is huge for a school like Boise State, especially since they could legitmately pull an early season upset of the Dawgs. That Georgia alums and fans would raise money to fly in an opposing player's father is an extraordinary act of sportsmanship. Let Lt. Miller accept the gift and watch the game.
This is almost as silly as the 2004 case of Jeremy Bloom, a University of Colorado football player and Olympic-caliber skier. Bloom lost his NCAA football eligibility because he took skiing endorsements that were necessary to fund the travel and training essential to making the Olympic team. Skiing, of course, is not an NCAA sport.
ATHENS — A group of Georgia football fans took up a collection to pay for a Boise State player's father to fly from Baghdad to see his son play against the Bulldogs in Athens.
But the NCAA rule book got in the way.
Dan Miller, father of Broncos sophomore guard Tad Miller, is a retired police lieutenant who is training Iraqi police officers.
When Sam Hendrix of Signal Mountain, Tenn. — "suthndawg" to his fellow Georgia fans on the Dawgvent, an Internet message board — read a story in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution about the Millers, he started an online movement to raise the $2,700 it will cost Dad to make it to Sanford Stadium to see his son play in the home opener Sept. 3.
But when Crowe checked with the two schools, he was told the UGA fans' generosity would be a violation of NCAA bylaws regarding extra benefits and expenses for student athletes and their families.
The NCAA is so vigilant about ensuring that student athletes—who generate millions of dollars for the NCAA and several large, state universities—are in no way compensated for their performance that it fails to see the silliness in its actions. Playing in Athens is huge for a school like Boise State, especially since they could legitmately pull an early season upset of the Dawgs. That Georgia alums and fans would raise money to fly in an opposing player's father is an extraordinary act of sportsmanship. Let Lt. Miller accept the gift and watch the game.
This is almost as silly as the 2004 case of Jeremy Bloom, a University of Colorado football player and Olympic-caliber skier. Bloom lost his NCAA football eligibility because he took skiing endorsements that were necessary to fund the travel and training essential to making the Olympic team. Skiing, of course, is not an NCAA sport.
posted by Tinley | 6:40 PM
1 Comments:
the ncaa is like the church.. they've gotten so bogged down in maintaining themselves that they forgot who they actually serve.
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