Column: Time for classroom credibility

Just in case the NCAA needed yet another problem on its plate, Rashad McCants happily obliged.

The former North Carolina basketball star made headlines Friday when he claimed he took a number of bogus classes and rarely attended class during his time as a Tar Heel.

Supposedly Coach Roy Williams was completely aware of what was happening.

When McCants arrived at UNC his freshman year, he claims he took a more common schedule. But he would soon begin enrolling in classes designed to simply pass student–athletes.

Among the more infamous of these are so called “paper classes,” which required no attendance and had only a single term paper.

That’s a single paper McCants claimed a tutor would write.

Williams quickly denied these allegations. And whether there is any truth to the claims is beyond me. I really don’t care on such a small scale.

The point is, an obvious problem with student–athletes balancing time in the classroom and playing field still exists.

If the NCAA wants to ensure credibility in its often-questioned system of allocating scholarships and education to athletes, it’s time for the leaders of collegiate athletics to put an end to any questions surrounding academic credibility.

The leaders of the “Power Five” conferences — the ACC, Big 12, Pac, 12, SEC and Big Ten — need to act as one in teaming up to enforce stricter regulations in the classroom.

The “Power Five” all have enormous deals with TV networks and financial support.

With all the funding, they have say in restoring credibility in education.

If the powerhouse conferences of 65 schools all act in unison to confront academic problems, the rest of the Division I schools will surely follow.

And when the rest of the schools follow, the NCAA as a whole can make a strong statement in ensuring student–athletes are in the classroom getting the education they deserve.

A situation like McCants described — whether it actually happened to him — should never be even a remote possibility.

McCants summed up his opinion when he told ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” about the purpose of college athletes like himself.

“You’re there to make revenue for the college,” he said. “You’re there to put fans in the seats. You’re there to bring prestige to the university by winning games.”

If ensuring academics is really the priority for student–athletes going to college, the UNC case will be investigated.

If the NCAA really wants to restore academic integrity once and for all, the power conferences will act as one and ensure McCants’s story becomes a “blue-chip” of the past.

sbeishui@indiana.edu