Carolina Alumni Review - January/February 2011

LETTERS

‘Trust Fund’ Reform
Advocated for Football

It is time to re-examine how football players should be compensated (“A Flag Is Down,” November/December). Scholarships are given to players in exchange for their services on the football field, so the issue is not whether they are compensated; the issue is how much and under what conditions.

The current system is dysfunctional because it is unrealistic. The influence of pro football touches the game at virtually every level. Colleges recruit the best players to increase their revenues and enhance bowl possibilities. The most successful programs are highly compensated, as are the coaches. High school players choose colleges in part based on how a program can help them make it to the pro ranks. For their part, schools profess to want their players to graduate with a useful degree if they do not make it in the pros.

In addition, we should be candid about what these players provide to the schools. For many programs, football revenues support most if not all of the so-called nonrevenue sports. Football players also provide companies with the venue (TV) to advertise products to vast audiences.

At the same time, some of these players have significant financial burdens that affect them and their families. And despite a lot of bad press, agents can and should provide real service to their clients.

If we want to see graduation rates rise, and if we want to recognize the financial reality of the system and the contribution that these players make, we should reform the system for schools where football supports the other teams. These schools should set up a trust fund for each football player.

While the player is a member of the team,
he should be paid interest from the trust
fund. He should be given five and a half
years to graduate. At graduation, he would
be entitled to the corpus of the trust cre-
ated for him. A player who fails to graduate
within that time would forfeit a percentage
of the corpus for each extra semester or
quarter it takes him to graduate. If a player
does not play all four years, some reduction
would be appropriate.
If a player is drafted by a pro team and
receives a guaranteed salary, signing bonus
or similar payment that is equal to or
greater than the trust fund corpus he oth-
erwise would receive, he would forfeit that
payment, which would remain in the fund.
Some schools can set up such a system
without difficulty. For others, this will not
be easy. However, part of the
cost of the trust fund could
come from the agents who ben-
efit from the current system.
Each school could require them
to register, for a fee, to have
access to the players. Decisions
on how much access and under
what restrictions should be
based on what is reasonable
under the circumstances and is beyond the
scope of this letter.
The days of the amateur football player
are long gone. Regardless of what we end
up with, it is clear that the current system
is not working and needs to be changed.
Gerry Chapman ’ 73
Greensboro
Editor’s note: Chapman was co-captain of
the swim team when he was at Carolina.
TheFootballInvestigation/BurningQuestionsAboutCoal CAROLINA November/December2010 ALUMNI REVIEW

selecting them. As usual, the Review contains many excellent articles and news, but these two deserve praise. Thank you for running them.

Gayle Lloyd ’ 62 Atlanta

In Support of a Student How may I donate a check for Ms.

Isaacson to pay back her ROTC loans? (“Love of Carolina ROTC, and the Decision to Tell,” September/October.)

Surely 8,000 alumni can contribute $10 for to her to move on, stress- and debt-free, to achieve her education and career goals.

Tom Fogleman ’ 79

Raleigh

Two Stories About
Tough Consequences

Congratulations on your choice of two particularly informative and inspiring articles in the September/October issue. Both the Issues article, “Love of Carolina ROTC, and the Decision to Tell,” and “The Client She’ll Never Give Up On” were substantive and thoughtful pieces about important topics. I salute you for

Instilling Pride

Virtually every time I get an issue of the Alumni Review, I feel myself bursting with pride to be associated with a University that publishes such a brave, high-quality magazine with such regularity. To understand what I mean, a person would have only to scan down the list of the featured articles in the November/December issue. Wow! (This from a 1965 graduate who doesn’t come out with a “wow” very often.) I am enormously proud of you, and I hope that you all are proud of yourselves.

Charles L. Thompson ’ 65

Chapel Hill

How to reach us Offices: (919) 962-1208 Fax: (919) 962-0010 E-mail: CAR@unc.edu Web: alumni.unc.edu Mail: P.O. Box 660

Chapel Hill, N.C. 27514

Updates with news about the University and the GAA can be found on the GAA’s website at alumni.unc.edu.

Bridging Distances
With Build a Block

Kudos for putting the spotlight on Megan Jones ’ 10 and the Carolina Build-a-Block campaign for Habitat for Humanity (Campus Profile, July/August).

Having spoken with Megan about this project, I can affirm the enthusiasm and hard work that has been done to ensure success and prosperity for the 10 lucky employees from UNC. It truly is a project that unites all facets of UNC together, except one — alumni not in the Triangle.