Counterfeit Amateurs: An Athlete's Journey Through the Sixties to the Age of Academic Capitalism

218 Pages·2008·12.65 MB·English

by  Allen L. Sack

COUNTERFEIT
AMATEURS
An Athlete’s Journey Through the Sixties
to the Age of Academic Capitalism
ALLEN L. SACK
Counterfeit Amateurs
sack.indd 1 1/23/08 11:58:34 AM
sack.indd 2 1/23/08 11:58:34 AM
ALLEN L. SACK
Foreword by Ara Parseghian
COUNTERFEIT AMATEURS
An Athlete’s Journey Through the Sixties
to the Age of Academic Capitalism
The Pennsylvania State University Press
University Park, Pennsylvania
sack.indd 3 1/23/08 11:58:34 AM
Disclaimer:
Some images in the original version of this book are not
available for inclusion in the eBook.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Sack, Allen L.
Counterfeit amateurs : an athlete’s journey through the
sixties to the age of academic capitalism / Allen L. Sack ;
foreword by Ara Parseghian
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-271-03368-6 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. College sports—Economic aspects—United States.
2. College athletes—United States—Economic conditions.
3. National Collegiate Athletic Association.
I. Title.
GV350.S23 2008
796.04’30973—dc22
2007036480
Copyright © 2008 The Pennsylvania State University
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
Published by The Pennsylvania State University Press, University
Park, PA 16802-1003
The Pennsylvania State University Press is a member of the
Association of American University Presses.
It is the policy of The Pennsylvania State University Press to
use acid-free paper. This book is printed on Natures Natural,
containing 50% post-consumer waste, and meets the minimum
requirements of American National Standard for Information
Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Material,
ANSI Z39.48–1992.
Book design/typesetting by Garet Markvoort/zijn digital
sack.indd 4 1/23/08 11:58:34 AM
To Kent Waldrep
For his positive outlook and persistence against the odds
sack.indd 5 1/23/08 11:58:34 AM
sack.indd 6 1/23/08 11:58:34 AM
Contents
Foreword by Ara Parseghian ix
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xv
Part I: College Football in the Sixties
1 Playing Football in Ara’s Era 3
2 Scholastic Sports as a Pipeline to the Pros 19
3 The Game of the Century 37
Part II: Linking Sports and Politics
4 Politics, Protest, and the Athletic Revolution 53
5 Laying the Groundwork for Professional College Sports 67
6 Taking a Stand at Fort Apache 81
Part III: Shouting from the Ivory Tower
7 Building an Industry on Athletes’ Backs 111
8 Fighting for Market Share in the 1990s 127
9 Inside the Billion-Dollar Beast 145
10 College Sports in the Age of Academic Capitalism 161
Notes 181
Suggested Reading 189
Index 193
sack.indd 7 1/23/08 11:58:34 AM
sack.indd 8 1/23/08 11:58:34 AM
Foreword
Of all of the teams that have won national championships at Notre
Dame, the 1966 team provokes the most debate, in large part
because of the national controversy that exploded over my play calling in
the closing minutes of that season’s Michigan State game, which ended in
a 10–10 tie. Instead of immediately putting the ball in the air, I decided—
for reasons I have discussed exhaustively over the years—to stay with our
ground game until we could get better field position.
The downside of that decision has been that I have been criticized over
the years for allegedly settling for a tie. The upside, as I have told play-
ers from that team at various class reunions, is that after all these years,
people still remember the 1966 team and its classic face-off against Michi-
gan State. The game appears quite often on espn Classic, and a surpris-
ing number of people still remember the names of key players on both
squads. This classic matchup and the controversy it inspired have given
the 1966 team a special place in collegiate sports history.
Allen Sack, the author of this book, was a member of that 1966 team.
One of the things I remember about Allen is that he came to Notre Dame
as a much-sought-after high school quarterback and ended up playing
defensive end. It is not unusual for players to switch positions, but a move
like this one required a whole new mindset. By the start of his senior year,
Allen was a serious contender for a starting position on the defensive line.
He ended up starting a couple of games and saw quite a bit of action as
our “go-to guy” behind Alan Page and Tom Rhoads. He was one of eight
players from his class to be drafted by the nfl.
Allen also stands out as one of the few players from that team to pursue
a career as a college professor. This may help to explain why he is very sen-
sack.indd 9 1/23/08 11:58:34 AM