Money Players

Guest Column: Terry Holland on NCAA reform

Terry Holland, director of athletics at East Carolina University, is a longtime friend of the Money Players Blog. He responded to my earlier post, "The wins have left the building."

From Terry Holland, director of athletics, East Carolina University

You are on target. In this particular case, Memphis is only guilty of doing what everyone else does - accept student-athletes who have been cleared by the NCAA's own "Clearinghouse". Memphis just happens to be doing so for more talented players than most schools. The "Clearinghouse" was established with the very best of intentions but it has been obvious for some time that it is not working in the very situations it was designed to address - the less than 10% of recruits annually who have borderline grades and/or test scores. So we now have this cumbersome and expensive process that is unnecessary for 90% of the student-athletes recruited by NCAA institutions and ineffective for the other 10%. The 2009-2010 school year will be my 50th year on the "front lines" of intercollegiate athletics as a scholarship basketball player at Davidson (4 years); as a coach of nationally ranked teams at Davidson (10 years) and the University of Virginia (16 years); and in athletic administration at Davidson (5 years), the University of Virginia (9 years) and East Carolina University (6 years). Many of the 10% on the borderline have received a lot advice and help from many entities (high school or prep school coaches and teachers, AAU coaches, SAT prep courses, etc.) in order to reach the Clearinghouse minimums. It then becomes impossible for individual institutions to ascertain the level of help (possibly including having someone else take their tests) the student-athlete may have received to enhance the student's chances of becoming certified by the Clearinghouse. The membership has handed the NCAA an impossible task in today's world - to certify students who may be presenting enhanced information as well as to certify the burgeoning private high schools created strictly for basketball players. One such high school is named after a large booster of a particular institution who recruits young men from all over the world to play for his "high school." There are no classrooms or teachers at this high school but that does not matter. The players simply attend another private high school in the city while playing games all over the country. If the NCAA and the Clearing House can not stop this kind of blatant abuse, how can they pretend to have the ability to certify students and/or high schools who are not so obvious? There is truly only one standard that counts - Will the student-athlete do the class work necessary to be successful at the particular institution where the student-athlete is enrolled? And the only way to measure this standard is by requiring the student-athlete to present a full year of grades before being allowed to represent the institution in competition. This would return the determination of eligibility at each institution to the faculty members of that institution who teach the students and grade their coursework. Adopting a "year of academic residency" requirement before being allowed to represent the institution in competition is the most effective method to certify students for competition. And, an added blessing would be that those students who do not want to be in college would attermpt to become professionals after high school. The NCAA should provide a safety net that would allow these individuals to reclaim their NCAA eligibility if they return to college within two years of trying the professional ranks. Will we continue to sit on our collective hands for another decade before we act to curb blatant abuse or will we simply continue to try to punish a few institutions who are only doing what everyone else is doing - accepting the NCAA's own certification process? There are always plenty of excuses to do nothing. Devra Lee Davis in her book, When Smoke Ran Like Water, references a Jewish Midrash (story-telling) traditional parable: A group of workers is asked to something quite difficult and complicated. They protest, "the day is short"; "the work is too hard"; "the project is too big"; "we do not have the right tools"; "and anyway we will never finish this job!" Their teacher replies "it is not for you to finish the task. But.....you must begin." We (the NCAA) must stop making excuses and begin the task.

The wins have left the building

The NCAA announced today that Memphis men's basketball will be forced to vacate its 2007-08 record-setting 38 victories, which culminated in a Final Four appearance. Memphis gets slammed by the NCAA, but not really. The harshest penalty is the forfeiture of NCAA tournament money earned by Memphis's Final Four run. But, the economic brunt is actually felt equally by other C-USA schools, since they all agree to share basketball and football post-season revenues. New coach Josh Paster fortunately gets to move forward without further penalties and, best of all, everyone who could possibly be held accountable can make the reasonable argument that they are not at fault. The biggest losers will probably be lowest-paid athletic department employees at these already cash-strapped schools. Just what college sports doesn't need: More pink slips.

This is usually the point in my blog posts where I criticize the NCAA for its bungling of these situations. But I actually have to cut them some slack here. Why?

The most damaging evidence contained in the NCAA's Public Infractions Report...Before Derrick Rose ever played a college game, Memphis knew that his SAT test was questioned: "The institution began an independent investigation related to the allegations involving student-athlete 1 which included a November 2007 interview of him. The institution was unable to substantiate the allegations of academic improprieties involving student-athlete 1 and the institution cleared him to compete with the men's basketball team during the 2007-08 season."

If it was me, I am sure I would have cleared Derrick Rose to play, just as Memphis did. When a team has a legit chance to run the table, you take your chances that the mess gets cleaned up. But, the NCAA is not an "innocent until proven guilty" organization, so you do so at your own risk. Had Memphis brought this to the NCAA's attention in the Fall, I doubt Derrick Rose would have ever played college basketball. Interesting Catch-22.

Let's frame Derrick Rose's decision to get a qualifying SAT score by any means necessary as an economic, rather than a moral dilemma. What would you do? Consider these factors that might lead you to have a stand-in take your SAT... 1) This is your only chance to play college basketball, especially if your career is likely to only span one season. 2) You perceive the chances of getting caught to be low (Yes, Rose got caught, but he certainly didn't think that would happen). 3) The perception that others cheat in both academics and also when it comes to NCAA rules. Hey, if others are cheating, why shouldn't I? Maybe in your world, cheating is never the answer, but in the bizarro world of big-time basketball, cheating just may be worth the risk. Especially if you subscribe to Jerry Tarkanian's thesis that, "In major college basketball, nine out of 10 teams break the rules. The other one is in last place." (Related: my Basketball Times article on the basketball underground.)

Because Derrick Rose could not go straight to the NBA, college basketball was the most productive way he could spend his "gap year." He got great coaching, he played competitive games in big arenas and he led Memphis (according to the NCAA) to the most phenomenal 0-40 season ever. (Given that the NCAA erased Memphis's tournament appearance, I hope the NCAA can show some leniency by declaring their record a more respectable 0-34). Most importantly, he demonstrated his game was NBA ready.

After his Freshman season, Rose declared for the NBA Draft. He was the first selection, he earned NBA Rookie of the Year honors and, after just one NBA season, he projects to earn $100 to $200 million playing professional basketball. Taking everything into account, Rose may express regret about what ultimately went down, but the NCAA ruling will not adversely impact his basketball career or his life in any way.

College athletics only has itself to blame for creating a system that encourages academically unmotivated basketball prodigies to risk whatever some think he was supposedly risking. Think about it this way: Today's ruling is pretty much the worst-possible scenario for Rose. He cheated on his SAT, got caught, his former school gets penalized and everything is still awesome for Derrick Rose.

The last word: I think it is unfair to erase the 2007-08 basketball season from the record books. The entire team, not just Derrick Rose, worked incredibly hard to accomplish what they did. On the basketball court, they won fair and square. Spare us the notion that it was unfair to the other schools who allegedly fielded teams of "amateurs." If you want to punish the school and/or the coach, fine. But, taking a moral stand against the Memphis players is misguided.

Let us know what you think.

--Marc Isenberg

Walking in Memphis on eggshells

I am coming to you from Treviso Italy, where I came hoping to get away from the morass of college basketball. I am here for the Reebok Eurocamp and looking forward to seeing some great basketball -- and learning more about a developmental system that does not include the sometimes crazy notion that sports and academics can sanely coexist.

I have defended athletes in all kinds of situations, not because I reflexively defend them, but because too often the process is rigged against them as they try to seek justice. That doesn't mean athletes shouldn't be held to the same academic and legal standards as others. But there is a flipside: situations where young athletes are unfairly and unjustly accused by the media and people in college athletics. I have certainly seen this first hand and I always caution not to jump to conclusions until justice runs its course. Money Players previously defended Memphis, Calipari and Derrick Rose, who now stands accused of having a stand-in take his SATs. ESPN and others are now reporting a similar situation with 4-year Memphis player Robert Dozier.

Yes, I am big on privacy rights, especially when high profile athletes are singled out for no other reason than because they are famous. I also think it is important to allow investigations to be carried out methodically and fully before reaching conclusions. As my friend Shane Battier, who co-founded the unfortunately now-defunct Student Basketball Committee, wrote in 2000, when he was at Duke:

"We are immediately concerned and highly disappointed about the image that a lot of players are getting due to perceived violations of NCAA rules," Battier said in a statement issued following the teleconference. "We feel that a lot of these players are getting a bad reputation and are being vilified in the eyes of the public when, in fact, nothing morally wrong has occurred. So, as a group, we are trying to come together and support our brothers who have been ostracized."

While I hope there is some reasonable explanation as to why two high-profile Memphis players have been accused of SAT impropriety, my active imagination fails me here. Even if the Rose allegations turn out to be true, there are potential mitigating circumstances that would bolster Memphis's case, including privacy laws (e.g. Calipari may never have been made aware of the allegations, especially if the matter was resolved), the fact that the NCAA Eligibility Center cleared Rose to play, and the fact that up until ESPN reported what took place with Robert Dozier, this was a one-time occurrence.

As far as Dozier is concerned, cheating on an SAT test is a very serious matter. But, it should not come with a form of a college sports death sentence. Yes, penalize him, but I think it would have been wrong to ruin the kid's life based on one serious mistake. Some school was going to take a chance on him, of course. And, assuming he worked to redeem himself academically, he deserved the opportunity to go to college and also play basketball.

With allegations of almost-identical nature, the "I didn't know" defense is weakened. Fool me once, as the saying goes. Note: The Dozier allegations will not be brought up in the current NCAA investigation, per NCAA rules (applause for this relatively recent bylaw).

My only defense of Memphis and Calipari -- and I am not sure this is a defense -- is college basketball might just be rotten to the core, even if the apple appears to have a nice, healthy skin.

Calipari may bring in multiple players with questionable backgrounds -- and he may take in more than other programs -- but there are plenty of other schools that take in these academically at risk athletes. As my father in law Art Spander wrote in this previously-linked article:

And as the sports sociologist Harry Edwards points out, “If you don’t get him, they’ll get him and use him against you.”

CBS Sportsline's Garry Parrish provides a nice run down of the Memphis allegations.

And, now it's time to get my morning cappuccino.

--Marc Isenberg