I have written this idea to Swimming World and USA Swimmer and now I want to share it with my Forum Friends to see if I can garner any support. I just read the report in the ASCA magazine on how the implementation of Title IX has hurt men's swimming. As a supporter of womens sports I think Title IX has done much more good than harm. As a fan of college swimming I think the NCAA has done more harm than good. I was searching for a solution that would get swimming out of being at the mercy of the NCAA.The solution seems to be to start a scholarship fund for swimmers to be administered by USA Swimming. Criteria would be set up,both athletic and academic,for deserving swimmers to earn college scholarships to the college of their choice. The swimmer would be free to swim for the college if they had a team if desired or for the appropriate club if they don't. If they earn a swimming scholarship from the college the extra funds could be recycled back into the program.In the interest of fairness the scholarships would go to an equal number of men and women. This program would not be a way to get around Title IX but to get around the NCAA. Yes,it would take a massive fund raising effort,but I think most swimmers,parents,Masters,and corporate sponsors would be interested in donating(I would.) It would give swimming great publicity and would be a great recruiting tool. What do Y'all think?
For the record, unless you are a Notre Dame, Florida or one of about 6 or 7 schools that have huge stadiums that fill up and who consistenly make bowl games, the only way a program makes money is to make it to a BCS bowl you do not make money. Last year the Rutgers football team lost more money BECAUSE they made it to the bowl game. The same probably happened this year. The fact that one can take in money doesn't mean anything if you loose overall.
There was a DII school down south that dropped their football team a few years back and I heard a story about it on NPR this fall. They added a bunch of other sports with the money they saved and donations to the school are now considerably higher than they were with football. So how about giving that a try for a few years.
As I said before, the Amateur Sports Act gave the NCAA an exemption from being governed by the various NGBs because they were doing a good job of developing Olympic athletes. Now that they have turned in the NFL's minor league, this needs revisiting.
Leo
For the record, unless you are a Notre Dame, Florida or one of about 6 or 7 schools that have huge stadiums that fill up and who consistenly make bowl games, the only way a program makes money is to make it to a BCS bowl you do not make money. Last year the Rutgers football team lost more money BECAUSE they made it to the bowl game. The same probably happened this year. The fact that one can take in money doesn't mean anything if you loose overall.
There was a DII school down south that dropped their football team a few years back and I heard a story about it on NPR this fall. They added a bunch of other sports with the money they saved and donations to the school are now considerably higher than they were with football. So how about giving that a try for a few years.
As I said before, the Amateur Sports Act gave the NCAA an exemption from being governed by the various NGBs because they were doing a good job of developing Olympic athletes. Now that they have turned in the NFL's minor league, this needs revisiting.
Leo
