signing day hundreds of high school athletes make commitments to the institut ions of their choosing seemingly unaware that signing a national letter of intent binds them to the term and conditions of the program (Burke & Grube, 2011) . The National Letter of Intent (NOLI), issued by the Collegiate Commissioners Association (CAA) and subscribing NCAA - member institutions, is an instrument used to establish the commitment of a prospective college athlete to attend a particular institution (Burke & Grube, 2011 ; Fried & Hille r, 1997). Should a college athlete wish to back out of their com mitment and change schools, the athlete is required to participate in at least one practice in their sport or attend at least one course at the institution …show more content…
What started as an effort to curtail commercialization and promote the protection and welfare of college athletes, has warped into multi - billion dollar a year industry that prides itself on the next big media rights deal or bowl game spectacle. In the N CAA’s mission statement is a reference to serving college athletes and promoting an environment where young athletes Texas Tech University, Christopher Powell, August 2014 22 can thrive, and somehow , through the years, concept of serving the college athlete and doing what is in their best interests has become gro ssly distorted. The protection of the athletes the NCAA reports to serve has gone from first and foremost to being worked in around the business model, and as a result college athletes have been placed disadvantaged. Critiquing the Institution Critiques of the current state of college athletics echoes many common themes. One of which is the level of control that the NCAA and its member institutions exercise over the athle tes they are supposed to serve. Eitzen (2011) liken ed big time college athletics to the institution of slavery. The article discusses how college sports parallels