Textbook fumble

In fact, it is the third time in five years that a University of Arizona athlete has been arrested for illegal book selling activities.

As UA Police Department Detective Sal Celi said, "Every day we are obtaining more evidence to support the idea that this is not an isolated incident but a fraud scheme."

It seems evident that the athletic department needs to take a closer look at its book distribution procedures for scholarship athletes, but it may find that books are not the real problem.

Beyond the troubles related to book vouchers, perhaps the arrests of Smith and Gayles point to a larger issue plaguing athletic programs across the country. Sports generate millions of dollars of revenue for American universities, but are the athletes com pensated fairly for their contributions? After all, they are the highly visible front-line soldiers, winning the games and attracting attention to their institutions.

When those front-line soldiers become involved in illegal activity, however, that publicity is no longer beneficial to the institution. Thus, it is in the best interest of each institution to ensure that its athletes will not be inclined to break the rule s.

But, in the highly regulated world of college athletics, the rules seem to invite violations.

Last year, each full scholarship athlete at the UA received $6,649 excluding tuition and fees. That breaks down to about $665 a month for rent, food and miscellaneous expenses during the spring and fall semesters.

Certainly most students could live on that amount, but most students have the option of getting a job during the school year. Scholarship athletes do not.

Although the NCAA's rules are already cumbersome, it is about time that they changed the rules. Make the rules simpler - and understandable. Allow athletes to augment their scholarships when needed, because it is obvious that the universities cannot and s hould not pay athletes outright. At the same time, the NCAA needs to make sure that athletes are actually earning their money, and not just collecting a paycheck.

We cannot condone the actions of the players who have taken advantage of their privilege. The reality is, however, that athletes are resorting to petty book scams to make a quick buck. What does the apparent prevalence of this kind of activity say about t he UA and similar athletic programs around the country?

Either we are prone to recruiting athletes of bad character, or the entire system is handicapped by complicated and unrealistic regulations.

Instead of finding a quick fix for its book distribution policy and dismissing the problems as "isolated incidents," the athletic department may want to take a look at the bigger picture.