the BigAmateurism monologues

In a Sportico opinion piece this morning, Syracuse professor and faculty athletics representative Rick Burton argued that college sports need a Churchillian savior. Burton concludes that “21st century realities mean an empire of athletic enterprise is under siege, and a visionary hero might come in handy.” Burton’s Churchill shortlist is Ohio State athletics director Gene Smith, Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and a Silicon Valley billionaire. Burton’s quixotic quest for a college sports messiah rests on false NCAA/Power 5 narratives. This episode discussed the ease with which in-system stakeholder-beneficiaries insinuate misleading narratives into the public consciousness to obscure the failure of presidential leadership that has defined the voluntary regulation of college sports for decades.