When Will the NCAA Stop the Charade?

Seriously NCAA, when will you act like you have the "Student-Athlete's" interest truly at heart? One of your "core values", an inclusive culture, is rather laughable. Why is it November 16th and one of the top recruits from the 2010 class is still ineligible? He is not the only. It wasn't until November 2009 that John Wall was cleared by the NCAA. The list can go on and on.

If this were a business were to have roadblocks introducing a new product, the following questions would need to be answered in an expeditious manner.

• What are the bottlenecks?
• Who is responsible?
• What are the solutions?

When will the NCAA step up and do what is best for the kids? They are taking their time, just in case something comes up later. This is same argument that is being made for the upcoming Heisman vote.

Anyone with a brain in their head can see that Cam Newton is clearly the best player in college football this year. Here are a couple of stats. Through Nov. 16th, 2048 passing yards, 1297 rushing yards, 117 rushing yards per game, 17 rushing touchdowns and 21 passing touchdowns. He is tied for first in rushing touchdowns and he is a QUARTERBACK.

He is head and shoulders above everyone else, yet many voters have come out and said they will not vote for Cam because he and his father may have asked for money. The testimony is damning, however it is in the court of public opinion rather than under oath in a court of law. Nevertheless, what happened to innocent until proven guilty.

In the end the NCAA just doesn't want to take ownership, they figure if they ignore it long enough it will just go away. Which leads me to the last part of my rant. When will the NCAA move from the BCS to a playoff. A minimum of 4 teams to a maximum of 8 will be sufficient. If Auburn runs the table like expected. We could have a potential champion that could vacate the title in the future. What happens to the non-automatic qualifier teams that could be left out only to see the title vacated later.

Remember 2004? OU and USC played for the BCS title. USC wins the game with starting running back Reggie Bush. Now technically there is no champion for that season. How many people remember that there were 3 undefeated teams at the end of that season USC, OU and ironically Auburn. I am sure Auburn would have like a chance to play for the title that year.

Moreover, One can make the argument that some of the BCS conferences (Big East, ACC some years) are less deserving than others, such as the Mountain West.

Let's review some of those "core values" of the NCAA.

• The highest levels of integrity and sportsmanship
• The pursuit of excellence in both academics and athletics
• An inclusive culture

They definitely do not pursue excellence in athletics. If they did, the NCAA would have a playoff where the championship is decided on the field, not by computers. They clearly lack the integrity to acknowledge the problem and address it. Inclusive? The NCAA still believes the legal precedent established by Plessy v. Ferguson is still on the books. I can tell you the BCS clearly segregates but it is not equal.