The Collusions of the NBA and NCAA

By:  Dan Barto, Director of Player Development The IMG Basketball Academy and The PTC

Henry Abbott of ESPN.com's Truehoop recently released an article call "NBA Player's Need College? Prove it."

www.myespn.go.com/nba/truehoop

This article begs bigger questions about the future of the business of basketball. 

How in bed are the NCAA and the NBA? 

Though they are two separate revenue producing entities, they have interest in each other's business at every level.  Each company's decisions on eligibility affect the other's expenses, profits, and outside vertical.

By the NBA forcing the Roses, Beasleys, Loves, Mayo, and Jordans to college for one year, we now have a year dominated by freshman.  Memphis, Kansas State, UCLA and USC as all win both on and off the court. Because application rate rises and the amount of free marketing assigned to those universities both in the US and internationally is boarder line absurd.  When I attended Miami University of Ohio we advanced to the sweet sixteen.  This helped account for a 32% rise in application rates from 98-99 to 99-00. That example is small but I also ask these questions about the money involved.

Will the men's game become more top end dominant like the women's game?

What lengths will universities go to ensure these players arrive on campus?

Will future players be steered from NBA Academies to certain universities?

(This is a current plan of Myles Brand and David Stern)

What role will the D-League play?

Considering the D-League only pays a max contract of $30,000 there is little choice between college and the D-league?  The nice part about this is no shoe representatives make a dime until the player develops fully (in theory).  However who wins financially?  The NCAA uses mostly alumni endowed scholarships to bring kids in to raise revenue, bring notoriety and increase the basketball brand.

Can the D-league become a true regional feeder system? 

Can the D-league become a revenue producing entity which capitalizes on players we hear so much about in college but are not quite ready to compete?

Can the D-league develop stars and household names?

What role does sports center play in the rise of the D-League?

In creating a NBA Academies and increasing the D-League brand, will tension grow with the NCAA in-between?

How does the NBA gain from these ideas? 

First and foremost one year of college is basically character filtration.  In order to qualify DI a student must have 16 core classes approved by the NCAA as well as a SAT/ACT score to match on a sliding scale based on cumulative GPA.  For years high level players have been able to use prep school and a learning disability loophole in the NCAA guidelines to avoid the stigma of junior college.  They must also survive at least 9 credits of class of their first semester of their freshman year and show up enough second semester to keep the administration off their back. 

Unlike baseball which requires a high school declaration or a post-junior year entrance (juco players anytime), players can not jump out of high school and get large signing bonuses only to fizzle out.  Players coming directly from DII or junior college constantly have a stigma even though it may have been the result of poor public school administration or faulty advice and a plethora of transfers.

Instead of teams having to do background searches and drive into the depths of the deep south to scout, they can turn on Direct TV and read the internet.  Now I am not discounting NBA scouts ability, however I do see it as an extreme cost cutting measure.  The NCAA is doing the work.  Brilliant

Here are some interesting questions,

Would major league baseball change if NCAA baseball became a serious revenue producer?

Both sports allow international players out of an unstructured, uncontrolled, and some times shady European club system which may or may not involved the government.  So an international kid can drop out of high school at age 14 train, train, and train with professionals but American born players must meet criteria that is quite challenging when participating 12 months a year in high level athletics.

The NCAA and sports media take the branding control of the future athletes.  

The moguls of the shoe industry are no longer in position to use shoe company money to take care of those close to elite athletes.  Nor can they demand 2-3% of the agent’s cuts to deliver these players.  Though the NCAA will not personally control the players the reality is there will be no early pay days without the player producing on the front end. 

What will agents and runners do to get players?

Will college coaches now have more control of which agents players go with?

Will shoe companies extend much more lucrative contracts to college coaches who can deliver these players?

Will shoe company reps/agents take players overseas to make money and an easier route?

I do not know the answers to the questions above nor do I have the details of what the NBA and NCAA have planned.  From a business standpoint I do not know what the ramifications of their plans or so called collusions.

The exciting part is that players at every age are getting a more controlled and structured system to develop through.  In a capitalistic society money comes first and will always be at the front of the decision-making.  Creating a culture where eventually fans, parents, players, and coaches all understand the system and the system can not be as easily manipulated will eventually increase brand/team loyalty hopefully to the levels of Major League Baseball and the 300 pound gorilla called the NFL.  If that continues to happen here in the US then the revenue for both the NCAA and the NBA will be endless internationally