[legion]

I honestly think the whole college football system has become a farce. I guess the original idea was to have various student athletes compete with other schools for bragging rights. Over time, football became the dominant athletic competition and schools began recruiting people specifically to play football, offering free tuition in return.

Now, after over 100 years of evolution, the college football system has essentially become this:

1) Players are recruited for their football skills compensated by being given free degrees. Their academics are totally subservient to their football schedule, and players are often steered to degrees most compatible with football. The degrees themselves are often worthless.

2) Players risk physical injury for a shot at the pros. Very few players will make it. Meanwhile, the university makes TONS of money off of the players they do not pay. If a player has a career-ending injury, they are ejected from the team and the university. They are on their own with no degree and potentially a lifetime of medical bills.

3) The football coach is often the highest-paid employee at a university. Some can make millions a year.

4) Schools are deemed to be "bowl eligible" by the NCAA to protect the football revenue for elite schools and conferences. Schools outside this elite few have virtually no possibility of breaking into an elite conference or becoming "bowl eligible". Any non-elite school that shows success will probably have it's players and coaches poached by an elite school.

What I'd like to see:

-Have all football programs be on a level playing field, like basketball and other sports.

-Give up on the farce that is "student athletes". Acknowledge that college football is a big business. Allow students to get paid. Create a major called "professional athlete" that gives these people the correct skills to move on to the professional level. Classes should include topics like contract law, kinesiology, athletic training, personal finance, and investing.

-Have athletic scholarships continue to cover students even if they have a serious injury and can no longer play. This shifts some of the risk back onto the university.