As the scandals in major-college basketball grow, so does the scrutiny. The Congressional Black Caucus became the latest entity to take an interest in the comings and goings of men’s college basketball players, coaches and sports agents.
The CBC last week announced the formation of a task force to examine issues involving payments to student-athletes and a bevy of other rules violations. CBC chairman Cedric L. Richmond will spearhead the task force, saying in a statement: “The purpose of this task force is to assess the treatment of student-athletes, including the extent to which they are able to get a college education, and the money that influences college sports, including the revenue that is generated by the student-athletes themselves.”
Black athletes comprise 53 percent of Division I college basketball players in the NCAA, according to 2016-17 statistics compiled in the latest annual racial and gender report card produced by The Institute of Diversity and Ethics in Sport at the University of Central Florida.
The topic of clandestine and forbidden under-the-table payments to student-athletes comes under a broad NCAA heading and for years have been commonly referred to as “extra benefits” or “improper gifts.”
During the 2016-17 school year, the NCAA garnered more than $1 billion in revenue for the first time in history, according to sports business correspondent Darren Rovell of ESPN. The $1.06 billion in revenue was accumulated from September 2016 through August 2017, with the NCAA’s audited financial statements released last week.
What was the source of most of that revenue? The NCAA men’s basketball tournament, as the organization earned $761 million from the 2017 Tournament. Incidentally, that figure is projected to rise to $869 million this March, which is likely to increase the spotlight on the NCAA.
The 68 schools invited to the NCAA Tournament reap the benefits of free advertising and marketing. Studies show that they, on average, experience a 10-percent bump in applications from high school students for the next academic year.
