Following the NCAA’s granting of some autonomy to the biggest five athletic conferences in August,  and as the result of a U. S. District court ruling in the Ed O’Bannon case, which opened the door for colleges to compensate football and basketball players for use of their names, likenesses and images, it was just a matter of time until some school with wealthy donors opened the spigot for athlete compensation.

Thought that a full college scholarship, worth north of $100,000 at most schools was a fair exchange for athletic efforts, but I guess not anymore.   But should we be surprised  in light of the recent revelation of the U. of North Carolina’s  cheating scandal involving several thousand “student athletes” over 20 years.  I suppose UNC made the decision a long time ago that it wasn’t about the education.   What a disservice to those individuals involved, particularly the ones never enjoying a professional paycheck from their respective sports.  Now there might be a just and fair use for several of those filthy rotten tort lawyers !

Back to Texas (UT) though.   I’m a big Longhorn football fan, and have been since Darrell Royal’s invention of the wishbone offense.  Vince Young (2005) is still one of my sports heroes.  I’m so sad that UT is now the first major college to announce annual $10,000 payments to all its athletes, with no  distinguishment between its QB and the center back on the womens’ soccer team.    With arguably the largest athletic department budget (ND may be close), bolstered by its special TV football deal,  Longhorn recruiters in all sports can now essentially buy the best athletes out of high school by dangling some dollars in front of them.   Real college sports, with actual student athletes,  like they have in the Ivy League and hundreds of smaller schools like Stetson and Lehigh and Davidson will soon go the way of the rotary phone and manual transmission.                     WHAT THE HECK !