You won't see Zags following Memphis's lead

Will the NCAA have regained control of college athletics in a year or two?

Or will the NCAA be tossed into the dustbin of history a few years from now?

Believe it or not, those are valid questions these days, as the organization that stumbles — but somehow stays upright — while governing collegiate sports is under serious assault.

We’ll explain some of the issues in a sec, but first, it’s important to point out that Gonzaga never will be a boat-rocker in any of these cases.

When the state of California passed a law, to take effect in 2023, that would allow college athletes to profit from what is now called NIL (name, image, likeness), Coach Mark Few climbed on a soap box for one of the few times in his 21-year tenure atop the Zags basketball program.

Paraphrasing here, Few said he wasn’t particularly against college athletes being paid under certain circumstances, but he thought getting politicians and state legislatures into the thing would cause a mess.

FEW POINTED out that there already was a working group within the NCAA to study how this name, image and likeness matter could be handled.

That is simply the Gonzaga way.

Work inside the system.

Even as California’s “Fair Pay for Play” law has now left the clock ticking (with at least 13 other states preparing to pass something similar), the NCAA found itself faced with another potentially damaging challenge this week.

The University of Memphis, which has signed a spectacular class of freshmen under coach Penny Hardaway, was notified by the NCAA that the best of that group — 7-foot-1 James Wiseman, likely the No. 1 pick in next year’s NBA draft — was “likely ineligible.”

The problem was that Hardaway, although not yet the coach at Memphis, WAS coaching Wiseman in high school and on the summer AAU circuit. In fact, Hardaway paid $11,500 to get Wiseman’s family moved from Nashville to Memphis.

Hardaway also donated a million dollars to the university several years ago, money used to create a classy hall of fame on campus.

Thus…

The NCAA has deemed that Hardaway clearly was a Memphis booster even before he became the coach, making that $11,500 to move the family an illegal inducement.

Memphis not only objects to the NCAA’s version of events, the university promptly got a local judge to issue a temporary restraining order to prevent the NCAA from acting.

So far, Wiseman has played in every Memphis game — and the court case is coming.

On Thursday, Wiseman withdrew his lawsuit, and will sit until the NCAA rules otherwise.

TO RECAP, Memphis was willing to sue the NCAA over an eligibility issue, claiming that the organization’s rules are “arbitrary.”

“You may like the NCAA’s regulations, or not like them, but they’re in place and to defy them — going to court in the process — is a dangerous strategy,” said Jay Bilas, ESPN’s top basketball analyst.

“I mean, this is like the president of the University of Memphis giving a middle finger to the organization that governs college sports.

“A lot of unfortunate or unintended consequences can come from taking that course.”

Making this local again, can you imagine Gonzaga suing the NCAA?

No.

Never.

And here’s why, whether you apply it to the “Fair Pay to Play” law or player eligibility…

Look, some organization has to be in control of intercollegiate athletics. If we have anarchy here because a court rules Wiseman and Memphis can do whatever the hell they want, you’ve basically got no rules at all.

Might as well take it all to the playground.

GONZAGA was disappointed that freshman center Oumar Ballo needed transcript additions from his native Mali, thus must sit out a year — but the Zags hierarchy accepted it.

That’s what you do, because…

Somebody has to make and enforce the rules, and if not the NCAA, then who?

Bilas has disagreed with the NCAA on plenty of issues, but he sees the potential catastrophe in any member school bringing a lawsuit to get its one-and-done phenom on the court.

If various courts just throw the word “arbitrary” around regarding NCAA rules, then they become arbitrary in every case — and basically, it’s everyone for himself.

I shouldn’t have to tell you that ditching the notion of regulation and compliance simply won’t work.

Gonzaga has it right, reasoning that all these difficult issues need to be sorted out within the system.

Otherwise, you have no system at all.

Does that sound wise?

Or does it seem like an invitation to chaos?

Email: scameron@cdapress.com

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns for The Press appear on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Steve also contributes the “Zags Tracker” package on Gonzaga basketball each Tuesday.