Straight Pimpin'

"It's All About the Benjamins Baby!"

Who's pimpin' who, the NCAA, the Schools or the Athletes? Well... it depends on who's got a strategy for success and working it. We know that the NCAA and the schools have an agenda in place for being successful but I don't think many of the athletes have the same vision. My word to any student-athlete is, "Pimp the school while they're pimpin' you". You'll still come up short by comparison but you won't get taken advantage of completely. Well.. what does that mean?

 Check out the game that's being played during the NCAA Tournament. The 68-team tournament will bring in roughly $771 million for the NCAA this year -- with the vast majority of that coming from broadcast rights payments from CBS. That money basically funds the entire operation of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, and is the financial lifeblood of many smaller schools' athletic departments. Advertisers pay CBS about $100,000 for a 30-second spot in round one and up to $1.2 million in the finals.

Just last year it was announced that the NCAA had reached a new 14-year, $11 billion deal with CBS Sports and Time Warner-owned Turner Sports for the rights to broadcast the NCAA Tournament from 2011–2024. So the NCAA is getting it's money no doubt about it.

The schools are making money on the tournament as well. Each round that a school makes is a huge pay off for the university. The NCAA pays the schools in credits that could be worth more than $1 million dollars if a school makes it to the finals. The schools have to divide that money up with the other schools in the conference. So it's to the conferences advantage to get as many members into the tournament as possible then everyone wins.

What does that mean to the student-athlete? It simply means if you're going to spend 4 or 5 years at the university, there is no reason why you shouldn't walk out of there without a degree. If you're one of the elite athletes that are fortunate enough to play only one or two years and go to the NBA, then you've done your pimpin' and good for you. You've used the exposure that the NCAA has given you to interview for a professional job that will pay 10's of millions of dollars from day one; not to mention the endorsements that could potentially come with it.

A real pimp hat!

Now if you're the kid that's just an average player on the roster, you need to make sure that you get your pimpin' on too. You need to use all of the resources available to you to network with the coaches, faculty and administrators at the university to put yourself in a position to be successful when this is all over. Instead of looking for the hundred dollar handshake after the game, talk up on an internship for the summer and a job after graduation. There is no excuse for singing the sad song, "They used me to make all of that money and I didn't graduate". The key word there is "I".

When the coaches showed up at your house you knew that they and the university could care less if you graduated or not. They wanted you to come play for them so they would win games(which means a larger contract), sale tickets, merchandise and increase student enrollment . Yes, you as an athlete play a significant roll in increasing student enrollment every time you and your teammates win.

If you don't believe me call the admissions department at both Butler and VCU in the morning and see how long you're put on hold. Winning translates into increased interest in the university. Also the alumnus write more checks as a result of  the schools athletic success.

So I'll ask you again Who's Pimpin' Who? The NCAA, the schools or the Athlete? I hope after our conversation all three are actively involved but most importantly, the student-athlete.

Holla At Ya Boy
Jay Graves
Follow me on Twitter: @jaygravesreport