Search the Community

As NCAA Teams Subsidize World-Class Instruction for Foreign Olympians, Some Cry Foul + "Arkansas is part of an unlikely training ground for foreign Olympians: the NCAA. At American colleges, athletes can receive an experience they can't get anywhere else: In addition to first-class facilities and coaching, they also can get room and board and top-tier education worth more than $50,000 annually." + "The damage adds up. At the 2008 Beijing Games, foreign athletes from U.S. universities earned at least 28 medals for their countries—and possibly twice that many...foreign athletes from U.S. universities may have won 60 medals in 2008...48 countries fielded athletes from the Pacific-12 Conference alone" + "Critics wonder why athletic scholarships, on which the NCAA places limits per sport, so often go to international athletes." "Efforts to limit foreign athletes on American campuses have failed. About 20 years ago, then-Auburn swimming coach Dave Marsh proposed a 20% cap on scholarships to foreigners, arguing that it would preserve opportunities for young Americans and improve U.S. Olympic fortunes. But Marsh says he was told such a cap may be illegal"

Ditching a Playoff to Save the Rose Bowl Why the Big Ten and Pac-12 Should Secede From College Football's Postseason by Rachel Bachman "When it comes time for the BCS's committee of university presidents to render a decision on this playoff proposal, the two oldest and most intertwined major conferences of all, the Big Ten and the Pac-12, ought to do something unexpected. They should do the only thing that makes sense for them in this mixed-up, money-soaked, logic-challenged situation. They need to say no." + "The schools of the Big Ten and Pac-12, whose shared history dates to the early 20th century, need to push away from this diabolical poker table... and book a flight to Pasadena, Calif. They need to renew their vows and pledge themselves to serve the greater glory of the best thing about college football: the Rose Bowl." + "A playoff would diminish the value of the Rose Bowl, which has long been college football's most prized asset." + The more playoff games there are, the less the season matters. The sport's leaders have alluded to this danger, repeatedly stressing the importance of preserving the regular season. As former Oregon president Richard Lariviere said of a playoff, "I'm dubious about the advantages." + "The Big Ten has some of the nation's most massive stadiums and largest alumni bases. The Pac-12 has won more national titles across all sports than any other conference. Both have TV-rights deals worth about $250 million annually. Beyond sports, both have a majority of members in the prestigious 61-member Association of American Universities. No other major athletic conference can say that."