Like many powerful empires, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is learning that fighting on multiple fronts cannot only strain an organization, but it can also expose glaring weaknesses within it. Currently the NCAA is involved in multiple legal entanglements that threaten to reshape the face of collegiate amateur athletics in several ways and tear apart the governing body of major college sports.
PROBE OF UM ATHLETIC PROGRAM
The Matters and Litigants: Ever since April 21, 2010, when former University of Miami booster and convicted felon Nevin Shapiro implicated the school in a major scandal involving scores of current and former players and thousands of dollars' worth of improper payments, including those from his ill-gotten gains as a Ponzi-scheme operator, the NCAA has been investigating the UM athletic program. However, during its investigation into the program (based on a felon's statements), several media reports surfaced that Shapiro's lawyer was asked to use her subpoena power (because the NCAA has no such power) to gather evidence against the school through Shapiro's bankruptcy case. Shapiro's attorney, Maria Elena Perez, bills the NCAA thousands of dollars in the process of gathering this evidence. These revelations led to the resignation of the NCAA's lead investigator, among others.
