Many of the scenarios put forth in this thread, if they were to occur will have entities of various political agendas, academic constituencies and axe grinders lined up down the hall to sit in front of Congress to tell them why the non profit status of BCS level schools should be revoked.
Not to detract from the individual player discussion, but this is why I think the big conference commish's are only going to fire shots across the bow of the NCAA. Because at the end of the day, they know, and the Pres's know that if there was a break away of BCS level schools from the NCAA. There would be an uprising for non profit revocation and/or a zealot like monitoring by women's groups of Title IX compliance by the break aways which in all probability would lead to a litany of lawsuits. Of course from a break away you'd see a movement towards playing players etc. etc. Thus, when you toss it all in a bowl in mix, the end of college athletics as we know it.
Despite how much I like college athletics, it really has become absurd on many levels, and there's been a trickle down to even smaller schools. Greedy athletic departments paying greedy coaches. Colleges and Universities jacking up tuition and fees at rates that far outpace inflation causing greedy athletic departments to have to pay money hungry schools millions upon millions in tuition and fees for their athletes. Which in turns drive greedy athletic departments to have to shake every last dollar out of their constituencies. Not to mention the facilities arms race which despite my interest in them has gotten absurd. This segues right into the division of the major conference school athletes from the regular student body. Oregon (for example) athletes/football players get to cocoon themselves in a facility that rivals in amenities the poshest corporate headquarter settings of the world's most succesful companies. Then leads into athletes on that level arguing that they deserve the leather bound coaches, 80 inch flat screen players lounges, juice bars, new dorms which are clearly athletic dorms disguised as high end student dorms et. al. because of all the time they put into it and the money they make the school. Which in turn leads us right back to the main point of this thread, rinse and repeat.
I didn't even mention the absurdity of the non-profit oversight body that makes billions of dollars, pays its senior staff fat salaries, operates a fleet of corporate jets and generally lives a corporate lifestyle rivaling senior management at many Fortune 150 companies.
No need to scratch your head about why there's academic entities that want to blow the whole thing up.
