College Squash Needs to End the Charade and Convert to a Club Sport
by Ted Gross December 6, 2018
College squash is a mess.
In my opinion we have professionals participating in (and in many cases dominating) an amateur sport.
We may have back-door financial aid packages being implemented that take the place of scholarships.
We have three sets of rules: Ivy League, NCAA Division 1 and NCAA Division 3.
And apparently with a few CSA rules in the mix as well, to spice things up.
We have a national collegiate championship where a 27-year-old can play an 18-year-old.
We may have Ivy League coaches upset that D-3 schools can recruit players they can't touch academically.
Now we may also have D-3 coaches upset that the new independent D-1
programs can recruit players that they can't touch academically.
So . . . Slick maneuvering to take full advantage of loopholes,
behind-the-scenes recruiting strategies, slap-on-the-wrist punishments
for infractions, and who-knows-what's going on with financial aid . . .
The blueprint for SEC Football!
Really? This is what it's come down to?
I vote to end the charade and convert college squash to a standardized club sport.
I'm comfortable with the wise assessment of the National Collegiate
Wrestling Association executive director Jim Giunta, as quoted in the
New York Times.
“It (club sports) is a return to pure amateurism and a lot closer to the original model for college athletics.
“Nobody competes for the money or the fame because there are no
scholarships and not a lot of attention. The kids have to do all the
work to make their club function. They do it because they love their
sport, and I’ll tell you what, we don’t have the prima donnas you see
at the higher levels of college athletics.”
