An FBI probe reignited the debate over whether collegiate basketball players should be compensated. But Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman has one suggestion that could fix the issue: let top athletes go to the NBA straight out of high school.
“I think that if these top players can start earning those big dollars more quickly, that would be an instant correction,” she said Wednesday. “And that would help, as well, in the kinds of issues that were surfaced in this criminal investigation.”
Her argument echoes the sentiment of ACC Commissioner John Swofford, who on Tuesday told Cheddar there should not be a pay-for-play system in college sports.
The statements come as the federal government investigates recruiting agents and more than 20 Division I schools for giving players under-the-table bonuses or other perks, violating NCAA rules.
Some say that the NCAA, which generated more than $1 billion in revenue in the year ending in [August 31, 2017](http://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/2016-17NCAAFin_FinancialStatement_20180129.pdf), should pay student athletes. But Ackerman told Cheddar that players get other kinds of compensation.
“I was a student athlete at the University of Virginia. I got my education paid for, we didn’t make any money,” she said. “There’s a quid pro quo that I don’t think gets talked about enough.”
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/the-big-east-tournament-returns-to-madison-square-garden).
Outgoing Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder was fined $60 million for a range of allegations of workplace misconduct.
Outgoing Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder agreed to pay a $60 million fine after a range of allegations of workplace misconduct.
Belgian Ace Wout Van Aert Leaves Tour de France Ahead of Second Child Birth
While major college sports programs have become multimillion-dollar, high-stakes businesses run more like professional teams, ritualistic hazing remains a problematic tradition within them.
The opening day of the Women's World Cup in New Zealand was marred by a deadly shooting in host city Auckland that left two people dead.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino could make no guarantee Wednesday that the member federations will distribute the $30,000 payments promised to every player at the Women's World Cup.
A former Northwestern football player filed the first lawsuit against Pat Fitzgerald and members of the school's leadership, seeking damages stemming from a hazing scandal that cost the former football coach his job.
Sunday's Wimbledon men's final saw No. 1 seed Carlos Alcaraz defeat seven-time champion Novak Djokovic.
Carlos Alcaraz has ended Novak Djokovic’s 34-match winning streak at Wimbledon by beating him 1-6, 7-6 (6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 in an engaging, back-and-forth final to win his first championship at the All England Club.
Marketa Vondrousova has become the first unseeded woman to win Wimbledon. She defeated 2022 runner-up Ons Jabeur 6-4, 6-4 in the final.
