[Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union
If you’re fan of college sports who feels like they have turned into the wild, wild west in recent years, you’ll be happy to know that you’re not alone.
In fact, not only do other fans agree with, so do college coaches across the country. Several big name coaches across college football and basketball have spoken out about the lawlessness of the college sports landscape in recent years.
But things won’t be changing anytime soon. At least, not according to Missouri Tigers football coach Eli Drinkwitz, who made it abundantly clear that both he and other coaches across the country will continue to skirt the rules moving forward for one major reason: nobody can actually enforce them.
Eli Drinkwitz Points Out Flaws In NCAA Enforcement At SEC Spring Meetings
Drinkwitz joined his fellow coaches at the annual SEC Spring Meetings, which began Tuesday in Miramar Beach, Florida.
At the event, ESPN’s David Hale asked Drinkwitz a simple quesiton: Can anyone create rules that coaches and programs would actually follow?
I asked Missouri’s Eli Drinkwitz if anyone — NCAA, CSC, SEC — could create rules that people would follow.
His answer was succinct: “No. Not unless someone can enforce them and there’s not a local judge who’ll overturn it.”
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Drinkwitz’s answer was telling.
“No. Not unless someone can enforce them and there’s not a local judge who’ll overturn it,” he said.
Honestly, his answer is equal parts refreshing as it is startling.
The reality is that if one program can break the rules to gain an advantage and get away with it, every program is going to immediately follow suit. If you don’t, you have no chance of actually competing.
But it’s still a bit crazy to hear someone so prominent admit to the current reality. The NCAA has little to no power to actually enforce rules, and even when it can, friendly state courts often step in and nullify the punishment.
To make matters even worse, nobody seems to have an answer for how to fix this problem. And until one turns up, NCAA sports will continue to be a muddled mess that leave nobody happy in the end.