This stroke of brilliance just came to me! So instead of the NCAA or institutions paying athletes, why not just let all college kids sign with an agent (if they want to.) Then, allow for the agent(s) to pay the players via loans of any amount. If the kid ends up going pro, he can pay back the agent the money. There's no reason to NOT properly and truthfully document all these transactions, as the agent would want to get his money back eventually. Plus the agent(s) would make money when the kid goes pro, based on the commission from the contracts.

If the kid doesn't go pro/get drafted, then he doesn't pay the agent(s) back, and the agent loses his money. So this ensures that the agent(s) are on the hook for paying athletes, not the NCAA. And agent(s) won't sign EVERY college kid, so it (more or less) ensures that the "worthy" athletes are the ones getting paid.

Who loses here? I don't see how anyone does. It doesn't "corrupt" the NCAA, and there shouldn't be more scandals because kids won't be going to the highest bidding colleges. It's all on the agent(s) and how much they are comfortable with loaning players. If the kid doesn't make it in the pros, well he still got some money. So what if the agent(s) don't get their money back on every player, they will get it back (and nice profits) on the ones that do go pro.

How is this not a great solution? Seriously, if there are any holes here please chime in!

If something needs reforming it is the AAU world not the NCAA. The worst thing happening in the filthy NCAA right now is the coaches lobbying to have the draft date moved up.

Everything the NCAA has going for it is lost if players are paid. No more aura of kids growing as amateurs, no more listening to coaches. You push agents into the high schools to get these guys signed up at age 13.

pants wrote: Well, first off, the NCAA definitely needs reforming in a huge way. That is all the media is talking about these days... all the scandals, paying the athletes, and other things they can do to attempt to fix everything.

However, your bold point is a good one. I didn't think about that.

College Wolf wrote:
It is? I must not be paying attention. I guess the OSU thing just happened. The first thing I'd do is ban coaches involved and require that they not be paid for that time. If you give Coach Cal or Tressel a 2 years to cool their heels after a scandal it might do something.

pants wrote: That's a good start/idea. I like it a lot.

Just wanted to post this link since it's a good article, and somewhat related to the discussion at hand here:

Championships without cheating? History is against it