NCAA needs to clean up after recruiting infractions

College basketball, the phenomenon renowned across the country from November to March, known for captivating fans with electrifying displays of sport, continues to have an escalating problem with scandal.

For years, the NCAA has had run ins with coaching staffs of various teams for unethical recruiting of elite players through bribes such as under the table money. Recently, exposure of this problem has escalated due to the firing of celebrated coach Rick Pitino, known for his tremendous accomplishment of leading three different schools to national titles.

This problem in college athletics has become so significant that FBI has stepped in to investigate. This begs the looming question of what happens to college basketball next.

The FBI has thus far charged 10 people, including the Adidas sports marketing director James Gatto. The documents released pertaining to the investigation detail a scheme in which college coaches accepted bribes to place recruits into certain top programs.

All of this evidence shows the obvious fact that college basketball has a dark underbelly and that recruits are being paid to go to some of top sports programs in the country. Although what has happened thus far seems significant, it may pale in comparison to what is going to happen later on. This scandal has the potential to be one of biggest in sports history.

If the FBI continues to look into what happens and puts a lid on the under-the-table paying of college athletes, college sports teams will be much more balanced and competitive as a result, but for that to happen, a lot of coaches and programs will have to be exposed and punished for their breaking of the NCAA’s explicit rules about paying athletes.

As the 2017-18 season approaches, tensions are rising as to who will get caught in the chaos.