FEATURE

LAS VEGAS, Nevada: As a child sex abuse scandal rocks Penn State and universities chase multi-million-dollar television deals, the role of American college football as a cultural force is being put to the test.
In university towns across the United States, gridiron rivalries arouse pride and passions often greater than what National Football League (NFL) teams produce in bigger cities or paid football clubs might in other nations.

From American football hotbeds like Texas, Florida and the Midwest to Ivy League campuses and even sunny Southern California, a college gridiron squad becomes a symbol for regions and people who never went to any university.

For players, college teams are a proving ground for NFL dreams and develop new talent that keeps America’s most-watched sports league evergreen. Players are unpaid even as colleges rake in millions in endorsements and TV money.

For colleges, having a team beloved by an entire region entices students seeking a rich campus lifestyle while pursuing academics. It brings television deals, national recruiting and booster contributions.

For these reasons, the scandal engulfing Penn State University has resonated in America as alumni, parents and sports fans can all relate to young children idolizing heroes – and are shocked by claims that children were victimized.

Jerry Sandusky, a former assistant to legendary Penn State coach Joe Paterno, faces charges of allegedly sexually assaulting several young boys. Sandusky has said through his lawyer that he is innocent.

A 23-page grand jury report indicated there was greater concern by people in authority positions about protecting institutions and images than children. Those people are now seen as enablers whose failure to act allowed years of alleged molestations.

Two university administrators have been charged with perjury. Paterno and the university president were fired on Wednesday, the coach at age 84 and after 46 years as head coach in an area nicknamed “Happy Valley”.

The fact that Paterno, a model of integrity who pushed “Success With Honor”, did the bare legal minimum of informing a superior when alerted to suspicions of Sandusky raping a boy in a shower will likely tarnish a legacy that includes two national championships and a major-college record 409 coaching triumphs.

Penn State assistant coach Mike McQueary—who in 2002 walked into a locker room and saw Sandusky attacking a boy in the shower and told Paterno about it, according to the grand jury report—has been placed on administrative leave after multiple threats against him.

But the lack of oversight and institutional control in a gridiron Camelot is far from the first case of exploitation of power in US college football.

Amateurism rules prevent players from receiving money or benefits beyond a scholarship while schools make millions from their efforts as unpaid workers risking serious injury. Only a few find NFL riches after college.

It’s a system susceptible to corruption.

Earlier this year, Ohio State University coach Jim Tressel resigned after failing to act when some players traded jerseys and championship rings for tattoos.

The University of Southern California was banned from lucrative post-season “bowl” games for two years after allowing Reggie Bush, now an NFL standout, to accept improper benefits.

Colleges routinely accept payouts from uniform makers to advertise their brand on school teams while wealthy contributors can help push out coaches of losing teams, tenures like that of Paterno being the exception.

Boosters at some colleges have been investigated regarding improper payoffs to top high school players to entice them to attend certain universities, helping the school’s prestige, its team and ultimately its bottom line.

Much of the TV revenue goes into building top-level collegiate training facilities and stadiums, some of them with 100,000 seats, larger than any NFL venue. Funds for academic pursuits like libraries or laboratories could be lost to such projects without watchdogs.

This year, colleges across the nation have cut ties with long-time rivals in order to unite with other schools in a bid to maximize television revenues.

Creation of the ESPN-backed Longhorn Network for University of Texas sports without shared revenue for opposing schools helped push Texas A&M and Missouri to the rival Southeastern Conference, which last year eclipsed $1 billion in total athletic income. That domino set off switches by several other schools.

The University of Notre Dame has such a devoted following that its gridiron team operates outside any conference affiliation, drawing enough TV viewers to rate its own contract. 

AFP