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There are few college football brands bigger than that of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
But even Notre Dame, in all its pomp and circumstance, appears to be struggling to keep up. Especially in the era of NIL.
Which is why university president John Jenkins and athletic director Jack Swabrick are calling for changes. And major ones at that.
Notre Dame Administrators Call For Major Changes To NFL, NBA Rules
Jenkins and Swarbrick co-authored a New York times opinion piece stating that college sports were in “crisis” and calling for drastic structural changes.
Among those changes included the creation of a minor league by the NFL. With the aim of offering an alternative to football players who did not want to attend college. The pair also called for the dissolution of the NBA’s “one-and-done” rule.
Professional athletics must play a role, too. Though baseball and hockey allow players to go pro right after high school, the N.B.A. age requirement for draft eligibility forces most of the highly talented players to attend one year of college. The N.F.L. offers no alternative to intercollegiate football until a player has been out of high school for at least three years. Both policies push talented young players to enroll in college regardless of whether they have any interest in the educational experience it offers.
To ensure that players arrive at college only after making an informed choice — and a real commitment to learning — we urge the N.F.L. to establish a minor league alternative for young players. Similarly, we hope that the N.B.A. and its Players’ Union, in accord with the 2018 Commission on College Basketball, use the upcoming contract negotiations to eliminate the “one and done” rule and allow 18-year-olds to proceed directly to the league. – via The New York Times
Notre Dame has reportedly struggled to raise name, image and likeness funds. So it’s new surprise to see the university attempting to minimize its role in college athletics. But Jenkins and Swarbrick appear to have a solid point, as well.
Athletes are more prepared than ever to enter the pros out of high school. And the current systems in the NFL and NBA do not allow that to happen.
It’s going to take a cooperative effort between pro leagues and colleges to make such a change happen. Whether the pro leagues actually want that to happen is yet to be seen.