Let me just start this post by saying this: I still love watching college basketball. I love hoops in general. It gets me through the winter.
However, I'll be telling non-truths if I said I watch it, and most importantly, feel towards it, the way I used to. The product connects and hits in a different way for me because of the lack of essence of what I believe the level should be about.
Again, repeating for the quick, can't wait to troll or react individuals out there - WHAT I BELIEVE the level should be about.
Nonetheless, as we gear up for tournament time, here is the latest Pondering 10 on my takes regarding College Hoops.
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10. Gambling and Credibility
The basketball tournaments - men and women - are a great concept, and have always been. It makes a ton of money and also helps institution members within the NCAA.
However, we've been down the road of shaving scandals in college athletics before. With the landscape about money, more so than ever, it's not easy to shut off the idea that these athletes with little investment in the institution other than an arranged NIL deal are all honorable.
Some aren't going pro, and maximizing profit during this period has become the ultimate goal. I'm not saying it's prevalent, but we all know it's happening.
9. Minor League Basketball
Just my take. In the current landscape, is NCAA basketball nothing more than a minor league system for the NBA? I want to get past this idea, but I'm struggling to do so.
8. Basketball is an Elitist Sport
Pick-up basketball is a fading culture. Or at least feels like it. This isn't the fault of the NCAA or college basketball, but hoops carried a soul of innovation, access, and hope from the playgrounds, driveways, and backyards. The arc towards making money has seen a push toward constant training sessions, focus on games, and less spontaneity and connection it once had. I miss that.
So many spaces within the basketball pipeline are now pay-to-play. Unfortunate.
7. Institutions will Adjust
Here is a truth that many sports fans miss in their discourse around college hoops - it's just not that important to institutions and college leadership. Athletics were meant for student development. Now, it carries major debt to compete, and for some schools where enrollment isn't impacted by this, it's not a priority.
What we see on TV and discuss as "college sports" is merely the top minority percentage of programs around the country. The current economic and higher education climate will certainly begin to see a shift in thestructure and availability of college basketball...which is sad.
6. Entertainment > Athletics
Flowing from #7, this is the truth. Programs have become entertainment vehicles on campus. Serving large television contracts, boosters, donors, fanbases, and their competitive position in the marketplace is the top priority.
Less education-focused individuals are in these spaces today.
5. Youth Sports Impact
Youth sports are a mess, and High School sports are now becoming the end of the line for so many who played a sport (or a few). This space is about to get worse with the access to college sports becoming much more selective, wider in range of eligibility, and more international than ever before.
Has anyone seen some of the platforms these kids play on?!!!
4. Student-Athlete is Dead
Dead. Done.
In the past, at least some schools pretended their athletes were somewhat students.
Most schools, fanbases, and, in general, no one cares about the balance.
3. NIL is Crazy
I still don't understand it. Millionaires and billionaires willingly give their money to students who may not be committed for more than one year, just to see their alma mater win? I struggle to understand that.
And I continue to wrestle with this thought - how easy and free some of these elite individuals are with their finances for something like winning a college championship. Where is that energy for truly trying to impact lives?
No judgment on them. Really, none. It's their money. But it is very noticeable in the optics and action of this landscape.
2. I Miss the Stories
My favorite part of college basketball (sports in general) was the amateurism. The individual who pulled socially mobilized themselves through sports. The walk-on athlete. The late-bloomer who stayed the course and got their moment as an upperclassman. The teams defined by multiple years through vital development years, forging bonds unbreakable forever. The lives impacted go beyond what we see on television or in your local arena.
Call me a sucker - but I miss that. It's rarely there. A few still exist, though.
1. Lost Respect
Hard truth. There is a lot of lost respect in this space. Just is.