End of an era? Not likely

By now, most of you have likely heard of the freep article regarding the University of Michigan's alleged NCAA violations. To quickly sum up, a handful of players (likely 5 or 6) told the Free Press, indepedently and anonymously, that Rich Rodriguez and his staff conducted mandatory practices that extended over the maximum number of hours permitted by the NCAA.

I imagine most people are not surprised by this story. The University of Michigan is the winningest football program in the nation. They obviously consider themselves the "leaders and best." Since 2000, they've lost 3 or more games every season but one. Living in Ann Arbor during this time, I regularly heard the complaints. The fans were not happy. They considered their team to be elite. Finishing out of the AP's top 5, not going to a BCS bowl, and routinely losing to Ohio State was not acceptable. Most fans were tired of Lloyd Carr's antiquated system and gruff-old-man personality. They wanted to compete with the Floridas and LSUs and USCs of the world.

So, in came Rich Rodriguez. I listened to his initial press conference. He was extremely likable. He talked about moving his family, bringing in most of his coaches, implementing the spread. But the dude's tenure at UM has been nothing short of a disaster. First, he had the massive controversy with his ex-employer, West Virginia, suing him for $4million. Then a handful of players transfered, and one player missed the family atmosphere of Lloyd Carr, saying RichRod was "more of a business." Then last season, RichRod kicked one of his players off the team for initiating a coke deal. Now, he has former players citing NCAA violations. And, worst of all (for UM fans), the team finished 3-9, missing a bowl game for the first time in my lifetime.

Yet, Michigan fans wanted change. They wanted a big time program. They got all that and more. Did RichRod break the rules? My guess is that he probably did. Yet, I imagine he's been doing the same thing for his entire coaching career. And he probably learned the system from his mentor, Tommy Bowden. Likely, all the big programs break the rules.

College football has reached a breaking point. So much is required of these players that they're not really students. Balancing football and academics is next-to-impossible for these 18, 19 year old kids. Something's gotta give, and it's almost always the studies. That's evidently not a big deal for most kids. But it was for a handful of UM players.

The University is now conducting an "investigation" into the NCAA violations. If they go public that the football program did in fact break the rules, RichRod will be fired. But the ramifications should go farther than that. College football needs to recede a bit. The teams need to let the student-athletes be students-athletes, not professionals. They need to play less games, less bowls. Unfortunately, there is so much money tied up in college football that change will only go in one direction - more, more, more! The UM scandal may open up some eyes and perhaps cause the Athletic Directors to rethink their priorities. That's my hope at least. But my brain tells me money always wins.