Jan. 4: No. 1 Oklahoma vs. No. 2 USC. These two squads are the top two teams in college football at this juncture and if they both win out, it would be a shock if they did not battle for the National Championship in the Sugar Bowl.
However, in years to come, it might not be the Bowl Championship Series that stops the two best teams in college football from playing each other, but rather legislation in the state of California that is known as the \Student Athletes Bill of Rights.""
Led by state Senators Kevin Murray and John Burton of California, the bill would force California schools out of the NCAA ""by allowing athletes to make money and hire agents,"" according to the Associated Press.
Now you may be thinking student-athletes deserve to get paid. After all, they bring in an unbelievable amount of money for the academic institution that they attend.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves. The measures Murray and Burton hope to take in California are ridiculous, not because they want to put some money in the hands of student-athletes, but because they will dissolve the NCAA involvement of colleges and universities in the state of California. Because the bill would allow athletes the ability to make money, as well as hire agents, the schools would not be allowed to participate in the NCAA or any NCAA-sanctioned Tournament.
I have a few words for Mr. Murray and Mr. Burton: You will completely destroy college athletics if this bill does pass. If that is your goal, so be it. I am merely a sports fan that doesn't want to see our greatest venue-college athletics-disintegrate.
A move toward paying student-athletes is something that many people agree with, but to forcefully dissolve California schools from the NCAA cannot be viewed in any way as forward progress.
This is why I thank the President of the NCAA, Myles Brand, for taking a stand to keep this from becoming reality. After all, the bill has already been approved by the California Senate.
""We have seen the type of drift toward the professional model that in the long run will diminish the value of the program to the university,"" Brand said Tuesday, according to the AP.
And right he is. What will college athletics become if students are paid to play? How will college basketball be any different from the sorry excuse for a league that is the NBDL? Students will have no need to get an education. Their entire focus will be on attending the school that will pay more money, not the school that is the best fit.
Furthermore, think about the state of college athletics in general. After California passes the bill, what will happen to those schools? Maybe they will attract all the premiere players in the country because their will be an opportunity to play college football and receive money. But who the hell will you play?
Does a Santa Clara-St. Mary's California match-up get anyone excited about college football? I mean, do these schools even HAVE football programs?
Point being, if the NCAA at some point decides to allow student-athletes to be paid, so be it, but let's not ruin everything that is college athletics.
Because if this bill passes, it would certainly be a travesty if the ""C"" in NCAA stood for California instead of collegiate.
Cary Dohman is a junior majoring in journalism. His column runs every Wednesday. He can be reached for comment at ccdohman@wisc.edu.
