Tressel, who amassed a 106-22 record during his tenure as coach of the Buckeyes, winning 8 Big Ten Conference championships and one national title, first learned of the improprieties in April 2010, but decided to keep things quiet. Later, it was learned that as many of 50 Buckeyes players may have received favorable treatment when purchasing cars from a local dealership. NCAA regulations strictly forbid payments to players although there are certain ways players can be “compensated” such as in receiving free ride college scholarships.

Pay For Play

All the noise surrounding Tressel’s departure from Ohio State is just that — noise. The problem of student athletes receiving “favors” dates back decades and will likely continue in some form for many years even if the NCAA decides that football and basketball players should be allowed to draw a stipend.

One way for NCAA to get a handle on the athlete payola plan would be to build upon the free scholarship foundation by including a signing bonus for student-athletes. That bonus could and should be tied to student academic performance — if athletes fail to make the grade, then the monies would be withheld. For example, if a football player flunks a class, then no money would be given. However, if the student passes his or her classes and eventually graduates, then funds would continue to be distributed. Perhaps a monthly pay out would be sufficient, based on performance for the previous semester or trimester.

Signing Bonuses

Of course, schools would be limited by the amount of money they could give and that money might also be indexed to increase as the student progresses through school. For example, first year students would receive $10,000, second year students $15,000, third year students $20,000 and fourth year students $25,000. Limit the pay out to four years to coincide with player eligibility. Consider getting rid of red-shirting too — the emphasis for colleges should be to get students through school and in four years too.

The total pay out for four years is $70,000 per athlete which is less than the $100,000 suggested by John Infante on the NCAA blog this past January. In a four year period, schools would pay $5,950,000 for its 85-member football team, perhaps less as some athletes turn professional before their senior year.

Paying $1.5 million annually to football players alone seems like a stretch for some programs, but television revenue can cover that cost. There are 120 teams playing at the top level of college football which means an annual cost of $180 million. That’s chump change and even less than the 15-year $3 billion television contract ESPN has with the SEC.

Presidents Hold the Key

Will the NCAA push for change? Perhaps, given that it has allowed Infante to even post some suggestions on its blog. But, the push also have to come from university presidents who dictate college athletes and have the most to lose or gain by change as well as by maintaining the status quo.

Resources

The Seattle Times; Ohio State Coach Jim Tressel Resigns Amid Scandal; May 30, 2011

Business Insider; Here’s The Only Realistic Way To Pay NCAA Student-Athletes; Adam Fusfeld; Jan. 18, 2011

NCAA; What Would Paying Student-Athletes Look Like?; John Infante; January 11, 2011

When the first poll is announced the Boise State Broncos are likely to snag the top spot. That is because the Alabama Crimson Tide lost to the South Carolina Gamecocks last week, knocking them out of the top spot in the other polls. Both Boise State and the Oregon Ducks are expected to move up in the computer generated poll.

Ohio State

The Ohio State Buckeyes, the consensus top pick in the three human polls — Associated Press, United Press International and Harris — could finish several notches down. Indeed, in a mock BCS poll conducted by ESPN, the Buckeyes would finish fifth as TCU and Oklahoma would occupy the third and fourth spots respectively behind Boise State and Oregon.

The projected rankings are based largely on the schedules each of the teams has played so far this season. Obviously that will change — Boise State’s schedule for the remainder of the season is weaker than Ohio State. Should both teams finish undefeated, the Buckeyes could very well be placed ahead of the Broncos given that they would have to beat some very good Big Ten teams along the way including Wisconsin, Iowa and Michigan. With early season games against Marshall, Ohio and Eastern Michigan, Ohio State’s schedule thus far hasn’t been especially challenging.

Boise State

Having Boise State number one so early in the season is likely to fuel calls for a college football playoff system. Both Boise State and the TCU Horned Frogs are highly ranked and the only top-ranked teams not belonging to Bowl Championship Series (BCS) automatic-qualifying conferences. As at-large bids they can qualify to play in the BCS, but the criticism being levied at these two schools is that neither one has a schedule worthy of what SEC, Big Ten or even Pac 10 teams face each week.

Bottom line is that the way college football is set up today — bowl games instead of a playoff — will keep people wondering who is the best team in the nation. Likely, some sort of eight or 16 team system will eventually be put into place, allowing the best teams in the nation to work it all out on the field.

For some fans and college programs that day cannot come soon enough.

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Week one was filled with tune up contests with a few surprises including Kansas losing to North Dakota State, an FBS school. Not that the Jayhawks are a football powerhouse, but they shouldn’t lose to a Missouri Valley Conference program. With #15 Georgia Tech coming to town this weekend, the Jayhawks are looking at a long, dismal season.

If the first week of the season didn’t tell you that Notre Dame and Michigan have improved while the Big East is looking especially lame, then you’ll have to spend a few extra hours this weekend taking in some of the top contests including:

Georgia at South Carolina — Every SEC match up is a dog fight, but in this case the #24 Gamecocks have the edge over #22 Georgia because of its home field advantage. Odd that this game was scheduled for noon because by halftime the air temperature should be pushing past 95 degrees. That might cook a few eggs, but I believe that South Carolina will finish on top in a close one.

South Florida at Florida — The Gators are ranked #8, but are without Tim Tebow. Will that make a difference? It didn’t last week when Miami of Ohio came in, but the Bulls are a better team and likely to put up a good fight. If they pull off a surprise, then everyone will wonder if South Florida is “that good” or whether the Gators have simply faded.

Florida State at Oklahoma — The #17 Seminoles travel to Norman to take on the #10 Sooner in one of the better inter-conference battles of the young season. I don’t have a stake in this game, but I have to think that the Sooners will shake off their close contest against Utah State to knock off the Noles. If not, bye-bye BCS aspirations!

Miami at Ohio State — The Buckeyes are ranked #2 in the nation and the Hurricanes are #12 which means that this game should be well played, a back and forth affair which could yield a frontrunner for a BCS contender. I’m not entirely convinced that the Buckeyes deserve a #2 rating, but I’m also not sure that the Canes are that good either.

Penn State at Alabama — JoePa is still around and his #18 Nittany Lions look to challenge for the Big Ten title. Playing the #1 Crimson Tide on the road in an inter-conference tilt means that Penn State can’t afford to make any mistakes while Alabama will have to make several if the cats are to stand a chance to pull a huge upset.

Happy footballing!

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With Selection Sunday just 12 days away, several teams remain on the cusp as the regular season winds down and conference tourney play begins. Smaller conferences are already gearing up for their tournament runs with those first games scheduled this weekend.

Fun Five

Several games this week could help polish the resumes of teams likely bound for the tournament while a number of match ups could allow some teams on the bubble to prove whether they belong in the field of 65 or not. 34 bids are awarded to conference slots with the remaining 31 consisting of “at large” schools. At least two dozen of these positions are probably already decided leaving just ten slots available.

Games you are going to want to watch this week:

Illinois (18-11) at Ohio State (23-7) – Beating the Buckeyes at Columbus would be huge for the Illini, a win that would likely punch their ticket for the post season. After that, it is a home game against the Wisconsin Badgers (21-7), not a sure victory either. Win both games and the Illini can play much more relaxed basketball during the Big Ten tournament.

Connecticut (17-12) at Notre Dame (19-10) – The Huskies were on everyone’s list of tournament bound teams at the beginning of the season, but Big East conference play has been tough for UConn. At 7-9 in the Big East, the Huskies aren’t likely to get to the tournament unless they beat the Irish and South Florida (17-11) for their last two regular season games and win at least one game in the Big East tournament. Notre Dame is in if they win; South Florida is in if they win and advance at least one round in the tournament too.

NC State (16-13) at Virginia Tech (21-7) – Once considered a virtual lock three games back, the Hokies have lost three straight and need to get a monkey off of their backs by knocking off the Wolfpack at home. There are four ACC teams breathing down the Hokies back; a late season collapse could mean that the VT is out while those currently following are in. Hokie junior guard Malcolm Delaney needs to have the kind of game he had against Wake Forest last month when he scored 31 points.

Charlotte (19-9) at Rhode Island (20-7) – The fourteen team Atlantic 10 will send Temple and Xavier to the NCAA tournament with Richmond at 22-7 having a decent shot. There is a possibility a fourth A10 team will get in, which likely means that Wednesday’s match up between the 49ers and Rams will eliminate one team from content. By the way, Saint Louis (19-9) and Dayton (19-9) are also on the bubble. A Saint Louis victory over the #16 Temple Owls (24-5) helps their case.

Oklahoma State (20-8) at Texas A&M (20-8) – In all likelihood the Cowboys secured an at large bid by beating then #1 Kansas at home on Saturday. But if they lose to the Aggies, are upset by the Huskers and collapse in the first round of the Big 12 tournament, that win against KU may mean that the selection committee won’t be interested in a 20-11 Cowboy team. But that’s a doubtful scenario as junior guard James Anderson will continue to make a huge impact for OU.

March Madness

Of course, even after this week’s action is over, several teams will emerge and others will find themselves submerged. A handle of conference upsets will scramble the field further which means those team’s in the driver’s seat need to keep winning if they have a chance of being a part of March Madness.

Already, we’re seeing some big surprises, none bigger than the East Carolina Pirates who dispatched Virginia Tech and West Virginia over successive weekends. Now ranked #14, ECU has made a legitimate case for being one of the best programs out there and will probably garner a BCS bid, perhaps a BCS championship invite if they finish 12-0.

Other surprises may not be too surprising for some rabid fans, but I found them to be at least somewhat intriguing including:

Big East Weakness — No slight at ECU for slapping West Virginia, but when your highly ranked squad gets dominated at any point in the season, the strength of the league should be questioned. The Mountaineers started the season with great expectations and those expectations have now been dashed.

Pittsburgh has had plenty of problems with Mid-American Conference foes, losing to Bowling Green at home before shaking off Buffalo the following weekend; the Panthers do not have the look of a team that will fight for Big East honors, something that UConn and South Florida will try to uphold.

Fresno State — The Bulldogs traveled to Piscataway, NJ to take on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and after a scoreless first half, FSU romped 24-7. Rutgers definitely misses their all star player, Ray Rice, but the Bulldogs showed that Wisconsin should not take them lightly when the Badgers visit them this Saturday.

ACC — Never will I make the mistake of comparing the Atlantic Coast Conference to the Southeast Conference, but a comparison to the Big East Conference could be in order. Which one of these major conferences is worse this year? Well this weekend you’ll have a chance to figure that out as Rutgers hosts North Carolina tonight while Virginia travels to Storrs, CT to take on UConn. South Florida could be the best team in either league, but after that no team impresses me.

The Biggest of the Weekend Match Ups

The most anticipated game of the season in some eyes is this Saturday’s match up between Ohio State and USC. The early season big tilt has the makings of a national title game, but I expect that the Buckeyes will do what comes natural for them in these contests: lose. Ohio State played flat against Ohio this weekend and I don’t see them putting up much of a fight after the third quarter against the Trojans.

Other predictions:

• South Florida over Kansas in a nail biter.
• East Carolina over Tulane in a cakewalk.
• Oregon over Purdue in a game closer than expected.
• Penn State over Syracuse by at least four touchdowns.
• Georgia over South Carolina in a very close match.
• Auburn over Mississippi by two touchdowns.
• Fresno State over Wisconsin in a squeaker.

Other winners this Saturday should include TCU, UConn, Georgia Tech, Navy, Air Force, Michigan, Utah, Arizona State, and Iowa.

Back in the day when I was in college, professors would distribute end-of-the-semester surveys to allow their students to review the class and the instructor’s teaching methods. We never knew what the results of those surveys were, as that information was shared between the college and the professor only.

Today, many colleges and universities still practice this method of student evaluation, but in Ohio they are taking it one big step further: according to The Columbus Dispatch the state’s 13 public universities and its medical college will begin rating themselves.

In a plan approved last week by Ohio’s education czar, Chancellor Eric D. Fingerhut, the schools will be offering a standardized test to students to see how well they are learning while at school. Though the testing specifics haven’t been finalized yet, the results — when they are released in about four years — will give the public a clearer look at how specific colleges are faring, to provide improved accountability to Ohio residents.

In the meantime, student satisfaction surveys will be released along with hard to find crime statistical information for each school.

Other benefits of the self-grading plan include a college-cost calculator to allow prospective students determine the actual price of an education at each university along with degree offerings, housing options, student demographics, counseling and legal resources, graduation rates, transfer rates, student retention and success rates, post-graduation plans and data about community engagement.

Ohio’s community colleges, which aren’t part of the initial rating plan, are expected to be included later on and will also adapt their program for national accountability.