NOT THAT YOU ASKED

With all of the weeping and wringing of hands over the defeat of Alabama in the first big time college football playoff, no one is talking about the real feel good story from those games. That would be the defeat of Florida State in the earlier game. For all of the good things Florida State might have going for it, it's football program is a prime example of all that is wrong with college football at its highest level. And of course, at the base of all that is wrong is money, lots of it.

Just look at how Florida State has dealt with its star quarterback Jameis Winston. In the two short years he has been there he has been accused of sexual assault, caught shoplifting from a grocery store, and just this fall he jumped up on a table in the student union and yelled an obscenity that was demeaning to women.

Any regular student with a rap sheet like that would have been thrown out of school in a second, but not Winston. Why? Because Winston has made a lot of money for Florida State. He fills the stadium, sells luxury suites, and season tickets, and FSU merchandise. He also won a national championship.

Broadcasters also had a stake in keeping Winston on the team. As a big time winning program, Florida State games drew big ratings, which meant networks could charge more for advertising during the games. All you need for proof that the networks are more interested in money than the sport itself is to see who will be broadcasting the championship game. It won't be on ABC, NBC, CBS, or Fox, where anyone with a TV could watch it for free. It will be on ESPN, where only pay cable subscribers will be able to see it.

The promise of big money not only influences colleges to keep athletes in school who should be in prison, it also influences The NCAA. A few years ago that "august" body decreed that no college could call itself "Indians" or use tribal names. As a result Arkansas State had to give up the name "Indians" and a school in North Dakota had to give up the name "Fighting Sioux". Guess which school got a waiver from the NCAA to keep its name "Seminoles"? If you guessed Florida State give yourself a gold star.

In truth, big money making schools like Florida State and Alabama could call themselves the "Indian Abortionists" and get away with it. Meanwhile, if PETA ever objects to animal mascots, ASU will be shopping for a new name.

College football is a great part of college life. The game is much better than what the NFL produces. It gives students and alums something to enjoy and take pride in. On the other hand a college's main goals are education and research. It has to maintain its integrity. No school should sacrifice that integrity by allowing someone like Jameis Winston to represent it on the football field.

Jameis Winston won't win a national championship this year. That's a good thing. He also will never play another game for Florida State. That is also a good thing. The best thing of all would have been if Florida State had thrown him off campus two years ago.