Although scandals are generally only associated with the commercialism of the modern-day game, the first time greed took precedence of dignity was in the point-shaving scandal of 1951 (Rubenstein 1). One of the most disgraceful crimes a player can commit, point-shaving compromises all the values that college athletes hold dear: competitiveness, dignity, and pride. It is an activity that ultimately stems from greedy gamblers who have both the connections and the audacity necessary to ask a college athlete to shave points: intentionally play poorly so that one’s team does not cover the point spread set by Las Vegas gambling gurus, thus giving gamblers a guarantee as to which team they should bet on in a certain game. This is an act that usually takes place on teams that are expected to win with ease. Rarely do the athletes intentionally lose the game, but they keep it just close enough to appease their fans and coaches, while making thousands of dollars for corrupt businessmen involved in the Vegas gambling scene.

These are just a few of the many startling examples of how the business of NCAA hoops often takes precedence over the love and integrity of the game. While college basketball was once a pure, amateur game in which students played for the pride of representing their universities, the joy of competing, and the passion for the sport, corporate sponsors, NBA agents, and compulsive gamblers have robbed the game of its innocence. While the point shavers in ’51 deflowered the sport, corruption has tainted the game time and time again over the past half-century. Players are now thrust into a world where the money they can make for both their school and the companies that sponsor them is far more important than their performance in the classroom. While many players admittedly attend school only because they want to play basketball, giving no consideration to academics, this cannot be blamed entirely on the athletes. Coaches, fans, businessmen, and even school administrators promote this disregard for grades and premium placed on greed every time they allow this type of behavior to take place. The title student-athlete is one that’s almost obsolete these days, one that has very little relevance in today’s game but is begging to be restored to the world of collegiate basketball.

In a form of scandal that runs far more rampant in today’s game, recruiting violations have brought some of the nation’s elite programs to their knees on several occasions throughout the nineties and the new century. Perhaps the greatest example of how recruiting violations can turn a powerhouse into a laughingstock is in the Michigan Wolverines, and their “Fab Five” recruiting class of 1991. In what was hailed “the greatest recruiting class of all time” the University of Michigan signed five of the nation’s top one hundred players for the 1991-92 season. These players, Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Jalen Rose, Ray Jac

Some topics in this essay:
, Dave Bliss, Las Vegas, Fab Five, University Michigan, Five Webber, Wolverines Final, Arizona University, Adolph Rupp, Wieberg NCAA, college basketball, college hoops, fab five, university michigan, recruiting class, coach dave bliss, chris webber, recruiting violations, today’s game, patrick dennehy, college basketball world, ncaa tournament,