the BigAmateurism monologues

The voluntary regulation of college is in an unprecedented power vacuum. The NCAA Division I Board of Director’s Transformation Committee will decide the future of voluntary regulation and likely the future of college sports. Perhaps the most pressing issue for the Transformation Committee is how it sees its regulatory authority on athlete compensation limits, whether through the lens of traditional “amateurism” or the new Constitution’s “Collegiate Student-Athlete Model.” This episode discusses the current state of the NCAA’s/Power 5’s amateurism dilemma. Using Brent Kavanaugh’s concurring opinion in Alston as a template, I analyze what amateurism means in 2022 and the likely pathways forward for both institutional and athlete interests.