John Calipari's Ideas To Improve the NCAA. What Say You?
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http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/10760355/kentucky-wildcats-coach-john-calipari-likens-ncaa-dying-soviet-union-new-book
In his new book, Kentucky coach John Calipari likens the NCAA to the dying Soviet Union and admonishes college sports' governing body for not changing with the times, according to a report.“The situation reminds me a little of the Soviet Union in its last years. It was still powerful. It could still hurt you. But you could see it crumbling, and it was just a matter of time before it either changed or ceased to exist.”
-- Kentucky coach John Calipari, from his new book "Players First: Coaching From the Inside Out"
"The situation reminds me a little of the Soviet Union in its last years. It was still powerful. It could still hurt you. But you could see it crumbling, and it was just a matter of time before it either changed or ceased to exist," Calipari writes in his book, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.
The outspoken coach has numerous ideas as to how to reform the college experience from the athlete's standpoint, but he says his suggestions have fallen on deaf ears from the NCAA.
"I think we could have gotten somewhere with me as the point man, but the NCAA was not interested in my help," Calipari said, according to the WSJ. "The message I got, between the lines, was, 'No, not you. Not Calipari. We don't want him involved.'"Among his ideas presented in "Players First: Coaching From the Inside Out," which is scheduled to be published on Tuesday, the WSJ reported that Calipari presents a 13-point plan for NCAA reform. Among them:
• Players should receive stipends of $3,000 to $5,000;
• The NCAA should cover eligible players' insurance premiums;
According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, John Calipari writes in his book that players should have access to lawyers and be compensated to buy formal attire when representing the school, and that families should be able to buy championship rings.
• Athletes should be able to accept loans up to $50,000 against future earnings;
• If a coach leaves an institution, players should be able to transfer from that program without having to sit out a season;
• Athletes should be allowed one round-trip flight home every year.
"I believe the tide is turning. The NCAA will soon have to reform itself or it will not remain the dominant force in college athletics," the WSJ quoted Calipari from the book.
The WSJ reported that Calipari writes that he wants the NCAA to relinquish some of its power -- to conferences, to schools and/or to a new entity that has the power to subpoena. He writes that there is just too much on the NCAA's plate to oversee, and he uses players' meal allotments as an example."Is the NCAA afraid we're going to make them fat? Give them too much ice cream and chocolate cake?" he writes. "The whole thing really defies sanity." But the NCAA still has a place in college athletics, Calipari writes, as long as it changes with the times.
"I don't endorse all of what the NCAA critics say," he writes. "But I don't think the organization -- and the institution of college sports -- would be under such attack if we made some of the common-sense changes that I, and many others, are recommending."
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/10760355/kentucky-wildcats-coach-john-calipari-likens-ncaa-dying-soviet-union-new-bookIn his new book, Kentucky coach John Calipari likens the NCAA to the dying Soviet Union and admonishes college sports' governing body for not changing with the times, according to a report.“The situation reminds me a little of the Soviet Union in its last years. It was still powerful. It could still hurt you. But you could see it crumbling, and it was just a matter of time before it either changed or ceased to exist.”
-- Kentucky coach John Calipari, from his new book "Players First: Coaching From the Inside Out"
"The situation reminds me a little of the Soviet Union in its last years. It was still powerful. It could still hurt you. But you could see it crumbling, and it was just a matter of time before it either changed or ceased to exist," Calipari writes in his book, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.
The outspoken coach has numerous ideas as to how to reform the college experience from the athlete's standpoint, but he says his suggestions have fallen on deaf ears from the NCAA.
"I think we could have gotten somewhere with me as the point man, but the NCAA was not interested in my help," Calipari said, according to the WSJ. "The message I got, between the lines, was, 'No, not you. Not Calipari. We don't want him involved.'"Among his ideas presented in "Players First: Coaching From the Inside Out," which is scheduled to be published on Tuesday, the WSJ reported that Calipari presents a 13-point plan for NCAA reform. Among them:
• Players should receive stipends of $3,000 to $5,000;
• The NCAA should cover eligible players' insurance premiums;
According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, John Calipari writes in his book that players should have access to lawyers and be compensated to buy formal attire when representing the school, and that families should be able to buy championship rings.
• Athletes should be able to accept loans up to $50,000 against future earnings;
• If a coach leaves an institution, players should be able to transfer from that program without having to sit out a season;
• Athletes should be allowed one round-trip flight home every year.
"I believe the tide is turning. The NCAA will soon have to reform itself or it will not remain the dominant force in college athletics," the WSJ quoted Calipari from the book.
The WSJ reported that Calipari writes that he wants the NCAA to relinquish some of its power -- to conferences, to schools and/or to a new entity that has the power to subpoena. He writes that there is just too much on the NCAA's plate to oversee, and he uses players' meal allotments as an example."Is the NCAA afraid we're going to make them fat? Give them too much ice cream and chocolate cake?" he writes. "The whole thing really defies sanity." But the NCAA still has a place in college athletics, Calipari writes, as long as it changes with the times.
"I don't endorse all of what the NCAA critics say," he writes. "But I don't think the organization -- and the institution of college sports -- would be under such attack if we made some of the common-sense changes that I, and many others, are recommending."
None of them are outrageous.
More reasonable than a lot of the wack job ideas about paying players that I have seen. Some of the recent kerfuffles between the Phillies and college players have made me realize how messed up it is that players aren't allowed proper legal representation.
The one that seems like a terrible idea is letting them take out a 50k loan against "future earnings." That could end up with a lot of sad endings considering a lot of the guys that don't make it probably won't have any real job skills from school.
The one that seems like a terrible idea is letting them take out a 50k loan against "future earnings." That could end up with a lot of sad endings considering a lot of the guys that don't make it probably won't have any real job skills from school.
Yea, that one seems like it should be for top prospects only, but defining that would very difficult. I imagine lots of kids would take the max 50k and send it directly to their parents if they're from low income families. Stipends sounds better, and everything else on that list should have been part of the NCAA a long time ago.
The one that seems like a terrible idea is letting them take out a 50k loan against "future earnings." That could end up with a lot of sad endings considering a lot of the guys that don't make it probably won't have any real job skills from school.
Yeah, it's the only iffy one out of all of them. It would depend on who was granting the loan. If it was the NBA... they could be almost guaranteeing a guy a shot in the D-League.