Houston, Texas (Ktrk) – The Olympic gold medalist for nine times, Carl Lewis, is busy preparing his athletics team from the University of Houston for the biggest games of the outdoor season. He also works to save the sport that transformed him into an Olympic legend.
“Olympic sports will have to be in one category. Let’s find out how we do this,” said Lewis. “Football and basketball are in another category. This is where I think the future is, or there will be no Olympic sports.”
Lewis has become a passionate defender of the traditional NCAA sports model that we have all known for generations, where academic athletes have been paid little or no money beyond the stock market they use to obtain a university degree.
The UH athletics coach thinks that the big money that has paid university football and basketball through Nile threatens other sports such as athletics, swimming and diving, and many others.
Lewis said the current system is “not sustainable”. It is also categorical not to blame anyone in football or basketball for having made money available.
“I’m absolutely for that,” he said.
In relation: ‘We are all in’: uh ready to spend as the judge decides on the future of university sports
As a judge is expected to open the way to schools to start paying the players directly, Houston University says it is ready to spend the maximum.
UH’s sports director Eddie Nuñez recently reaffirmed that UH will join schools directly paying for their athletes a maximum authorized by NCAA, $ 20.5 million per year, from July 1.
In many schools, the majority of this money will be paid to football and basketball players, leaving other athletes away. Lewis believes that the system threatens the survival of sports as athletics.
“If someone thinks it can continue to go in this direction, they are wrong,” he said.
Lewis is now promoting a split that would allow university football and basketball to have their own director. This would allow the rest of the sports to continue alone.
“The number one objective of these university athletes is to obtain here to obtain a diploma to obtain a job,” said Lewis.
Lewis underlines his current list in the UH track team as an example. He said that out of more than 100 athletes from the UH team, three could be able to earn a living as a tracking professionals.
The others deserve the opportunity to compete in university so that they can get a diploma.
Lewis is convinced that the current system, which is still emerging under new rules, will let the country’s schools fly “Peter to pay Paul and everyone will be broke”.
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