black markets and the NCAA

OPEC controls supply in order to manipulate price of oil.  OPEC profits off the resources of set of countries. The US created ExxonMobil and Chevron in order to compete globally.

BCS (NCAA) controls supply to manipulate and profit off of student athletes. NCAA profits off the resources of educational institutions and operates as a cartel.  

The 'BCS' conferences are equivalent to the government bureaucrats who profit from their countries resources.  The rest of the population (conferences) represent the bourgeoisie or the havenots.  The government redistributes the profits within the system to select aristocrats. 

Black Markets are created when there is a misalignment between goods and services. They are frequently derived from government intervention or in this case a poorly run monopoly.   Because of the demand for services from athletes a black market is created to fill the void left in the market by the NCAA. The NCAA has determined that it is 'illegal' to pay athletes for their services, the same way a drug such as marijuana or cocaine is determined to be illegal.  The black market exists because of demand within the system, in this case for the talents of high school football players. 

The problem now is that there is so much demand for college football, the talent has spread so deeply and evenly within the system to division 1-AA and division II.

The BCS has turned college football into an ice skating competition in 3 out of every 4 years, because of the inability to play games that are demanded by the public.

I will argue that the BCS leaves billions of dollars on the table ever year (until they receive a new contract with a playoff system where people actually care about multiple games).  I would also argue that because they are so satisfied with the current revenues, that when they do realize there are billions of dollars lying on the table, they should be donated to scholarships and families of athletes in need.

The BCS is probably the most inefficient monopoly on the planet. Can you imagine how many additional viewers would be tuned in to games in a playoff system? I am an avid fan, but once the regular season is done, there is no more than two games worth watching.  Nobody wants to see a dust bowl match up between Oklahoma and Connecticut.

Keywords:

Economic Incentives

Money

Houses

Cars

Jersey Sales

Ticket Sales

Advertising Sales

Naming Rights

These are the reasons why college athletes would take money.