NCAA Basketball – Shouldn’t Sports Books Handle UFA Cases?

UNFAIR TO YOU? A recent article I wrote about National Collegiate Athletic Association rules and the NCAA tournament got me thinking about how the major sports books were treating athletes. I went through an entire month without placing a bet on a basketball game, even though it was my biggest draw card. Why was this?

I believe that the major sports book realized that the popularity of the games that they were participating in was dwindling as people became less willing to pay. In fact, over the past few years, fewer people have bet on the games they used to bet on. In addition, ticket sales have declined. Many sports fans are becoming more aware of how much money their favorite teams are actually spending on players and things like that. The sports books saw this and took notice, not realizing that they were hurting the sport in the process.

What do you think? Is the NCAA eliminating UFA violation cases from the sportbooks because of a perceived loss in revenue? Or is this a case of greed running amok? Do you think the sports books have the right to decide who gets to participate in sports and who doesn’t? Are the sportbooks being unfair to the players? These are all questions that deserve answers, and hopefully they will soon.

Will the NCAA be able to police its own actions? Sure. They’ve been doing it for years with the EAC. Meaning, it is in the power of the NCAA to police themselves, as well as the conferences they represent. It makes sense that the powers that be want to maintain control over the sportbooks, the people that bring in the extra revenue for the schools.

But, the real question is what is the big deal with the UFA violations and why are the sportbooks being accused of being unfair? If someone wants to throw a boomerang at a perfectly good tennis ball, would you think that they are being unfair to that ball? Likewise, if someone wants to throw a soccer ball at your head and you don’t want to take a dive to save the ball, would you think that is unfair?

You can look at the UFA issue from a different perspective. Why should college players have the right to earn a scholarship and compete against men and women that are better? Why shouldn’t the best players have the best pay and be able to get the best deals in the industry? It’s unfair for the players and the sport’s books. That’s the only opinion I have on this issue. Let me know what you think in the comments section and share your thoughts.