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ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to determine if improper agent interactions with student athletes have been reduced through laws and policies from the viewpoint of athletic department compliance officers. This study adopted a closed-ended question through the online questionnaire and used a descriptive statistic to analyze. This study found that there is a significant problem with sports agents in college athletics. One way to reduce this problem is to bring more public awareness to the situation and have fans, students and alumni demand a change in how agents are handled at the collegiate level.
INTRODUCTION
Sports agents and their influence in college athletics have been a hot topic in recent years, especially when talking about college football (Shropshire & Davis, 2003). Josh Luchs, a former National Football League (NFL) agent, recently admitted in Sports Illustrated (Luchs & Dohrmann, 2010) that he paid college players in hopes of getting the players to sign with his agency when preparing to enter the NFL. There are numerous opinions regarding what should be done to control agents and make sure they do not harm universities or their athletes through fines, penalties or loss of eligibility. In the article by Sander (2010), former Big XII Commissioner, Dan Beebe, stated that student athletes should be allowed to retain an agent as long as there is a contractual agreement protecting the athlete and university. Beebe states that he believes the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) should embrace agents, monitor and contract them to protect everyone involved.
To give an example of the impact of agents, there are two cases that have brought this subject to the spotlight. Reggie Bush from the University of Southern California and Cam Newton from Auburn University, have been the focal point of scandals over the past five years for the topic of agents or people that act on the player's behalf (Hinton, 2010). The NCAA has rules regarding agents to keep all athletes on the same playing field and make sure no one is receiving extra benefits for their athletic abilities such as the two aforementioned athletes. Violations from these athletes can impact the universities eligibility for sanctioned events in addition to preventing teammates and future athletes from participation in those events. Moreover, the...