Chaos in the Carolinas and Florida

As most know by now, the NCAA is investigating both the University of North Carolina and South Carolina football programs to determine if any rules violations occurred. UNC Defensive Back Marvin Austin is the subject of the investigation as to whether or not Austin received monetary benefits from agents. Also involved is University of South Carolina Tight End Wesley Saunders, a friend of Austin's.



The NCAA is investigating what benefits the two players received while they were in Miami this past Spring: who paid for their hotel rooms, food, rent, etc. This happens all to often in big time college sports. Great college players are loured by sports agents into receiving payments before their college career is over, thus subjecting the programs they play for to stiff and costly penalties meted out by the NCAA.



Unfortunately, there is no way every coach can stop this entirely. They cant hold the hands of their players 24/7. For a great college player from a poor family background, as many of these kids do come from, the temptation of thousands of $ offered from an agent is tough to overcome.
Perhaps if a player is found to have accepted cash from an agent before he leaves school, that player, upon if and when he is drafted, should be required to pay back his scholarship money and extra compensation to the university. The extra compensation would be to recoup losses caused by NCAA sanctions (no TV appearances, no bowl games, etc.). That could add up to as much as $2 million, which would be the equivalent of or more than an NFL rookie's signing bonus.

If a student-athlete knows he may have to pay back much more than he took from the agent, he might think again before taking the money. This has also allegedly happened at Florida, where Marquis Pouncey, a member of the Gator Football Team, supposedly took $100,000.00 from an agent some time between the SEC Championship Game and the Gators' Sugar Bowl win over Cincinnati. If Pouncey did take the money during this time, the Gators may have to forfeit their Sugar Bowl win being they used an ineligible player. There should also be a law in place forbidding agents from contacting college athletes while they are still enrolled in school, a law carrying a 5 year jail term if broken.