Putting Student Before Athlete

Many Americans believe major colleges athletics lack integrity. There is an easy solution.

Make the number of new scholarships available for next year equal to the number of players graduating this year. If four basketball players graduate, four scholarships can be awarded. If none graduate, the college better pray for some highly talented walk-ons, real “student-athletes.”

Of course, John Thompson’s program at Georgetown won’t skip a beat. He graduates (almost) all of his players.

But some programs could be wiped out overnight. Fair enough. Those schools that benefited from recruiting and other NCAA rules violations would then pay for their transgressions.

Finally, maybe a few major college coaches, besides Thompson, would be concerned about the education of their athletes after their athletic eligibility ends.

TOM LALLAS

Los Angeles