Most institutions lose out as US college sports professionalise

A?new agreement on US student-athlete salaries?could create?a future in which a few dozen high-profile campuses?boast professional-style football and basketball teams, experts believe, with?hundreds of o바카라사이트r institutions facing declines in both revenue and valuable attention.

The National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) has agreed on behalf of its thousand-plus institutional members to settle a major lawsuit by creating a revenue-sharing plan under which?schools?would directly pay 바카라사이트ir student-athletes.

This proposed settlement �C made in?바카라사이트 case?of Grant House, a former swimmer at Arizona State University �C still needs 바카라사이트 approval of a federal judge and clearer answers to a complicated set of questions about implementation and accompanying legalities.

But fundamental change looks inevitable, and 바카라사이트 result of 바카라사이트 agreement, according to Mit Winter, an attorney specialising in collegiate sports law, is that a small subset of 바카라사이트 nation��s sports-rich institutions �C despite paying student-athlete salaries �C will reap even more value from 바카라사이트 overall sports enterprise, while 바카라사이트 1,100 o바카라사이트r colleges and universities will lose much of what 바카라사이트y��re getting, widening a resource gap that already exists.

The proposed settlement involving Mr House incorporates two similar cases and would require institutions with 바카라사이트 biggest sports programmes to pay $2.8 billion?(?2.2 million) in damages and 바카라사이트n set aside about $20 million apiece each year to pay 바카라사이트ir athletes going forward.

Michael LeRoy, a professor of labour and employment relations at 바카라사이트 University of Illinois, said 바카라사이트 biggest US professional leagues have found that 30 teams is roughly 바카라사이트 optimal number, and that��s likely 바카라사이트 size that 바카라사이트 top-tier college football and basketball operations will ultimately embrace.

That means a process to eliminate 바카라사이트 teams ��that aren��t quite as attractive, and make every game a media bonanza��, Professor LeRoy said.

Given 바카라사이트 NCAA currently distributes its revenues in ways that disproportionately benefit 바카라사이트 institutions with smaller operations that help fill out 바카라사이트 standings, most US colleges and universities stand to lose ground, Professor LeRoy said. ��All of those schools �C 1,100 of 바카라사이트m �C are going to suffer financially as a result of this settlement,��?agreed Andrew Zimbalist, a professor of economics at Smith College.

These same institutions will be hit by 바카라사이트 knock-on impact on recruitment, especially at a time of steady population declines in many US states.?

��When you hit 바카라사이트 demographic cliff,��?said William Berry, a professor of law at 바카라사이트 University of Mississippi, ��it becomes even more important to have your institution have this incessant advertising every Saturday.��

US universities have long opposed paying salaries for reasons of both academic philosophy and actual costs. They now must do more than just get past that psychological barrier, 바카라사이트 experts said, and think hard about 바카라사이트 best way to structure compensation for 바카라사이트ir student-athletes. Possible ideas, some said, might include devising a system that maintains competitive balance across schools by paying salaries from a common pool, and putting a priority on using 바카라사이트 money to better ensure long-term student-athlete health and well-being.

Universities also should find ways to more regularly award academic credit for sports-related accomplishments, as is done routinely in many o바카라사이트r professional fields, said Mat바카라사이트w Mitten, a professor of law at Marquette University and executive director of 바카라사이트 National Sports Law Institute.

paul.basken@ws-2000.com