ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the situation that involved Jim Tressel and Ohio State University's (OSU) football program in-depth. It aims to situate the Tressel scandal within a larger sociocultural and political economic context. By explaining what the former head coach's and the student-athletes' actions convey regarding the commercialization of intercollegiate football, power, and wrongful benefice. The chapter provides an alternative ending to the OSU scandal – a counter-narrative. A major policy dilemma surrounding the Tressel scandal is the NCAA's amateurism policy, which, among other things, prohibits student-athletes from receiving compensation for their involvement in college athletics. The term student-athlete endorses the wholesome virtue of amateurism in college sports as well as the idealistic notion of academics over athletics. In late 2011, after being rocked by a bevy of scandals, the NCAA convened with conference representatives, member institution officials, and a variety of sports personalities who had demonstrated an acute interest in the compensation of college athletes to amend their amateurism rules.
