Education Policy, Business and Technology

Corruption charges are 'huge moment' for college basketball

Inside Higher Ed: Ten people, including four coaches who work for some of college basketball's most prominent programs, face federal fraud and corruption charges for an alleged scheme to direct athletes to certain institutions and agents in exchange for thousands of dollars’ worth of bribes.

College sports experts and ethicists say the Federal Bureau of Investigation inquiry marks a historic moment in the landscape of men’s basketball and is the latest in a series of outside pressures -- a push for athlete unionization and pay, antitrust lawsuits -- that could threaten the reputation of big-time college sports and further undermine support for its amateur status.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association, which according to prosecutors was unaware of the inquiry, lacks the manpower and the will to radically alter the current system, which is lucrative for colleges, television networks and many other parties, experts say.

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