You know the NCAA system is broken when even the NCAA president sees something wrong with it. The NCAA rakes in billions in revenue with lucrative television rights, video game rights, ticket sales and merchandise. The fact that it's a nonprofit is a bit of an oxymoron. And yet the players participating in March Madness don't see a dime of the millions they produce for their schools and the NCAA.

Emmert recently told USA Today he thinks it's time the players received a bigger piece of the pie. I smell a PR move to distract from all of the recent negative press. The NCAA has been under attack for quite some time. The BCS nets the organization $125 million a year and now we are learning that John Junker, the man who stages the Fiesta Bowl, misused bowl money on a birthday party at Pebble Beach and in strip clubs (among many other misappropriations). On Tuesday, the PBS series Frontline did a piece about the hypocrisy of the NCAA and last night on HBO's Real Sports, ex-Auburn players said they received thousands of dollars while being recruited and received payments while playing at Auburn. Add to all this the violations by coaches like Bruce Pearl, Jim Calhoun and Jim Tressel and it's clear the NCAA doesn't exactly have the cleanest image.

So what is the answer? How can the system be fixed and players be adequately compensated? I've heard so many ideas to fix the system: Have the sports simply be minor leagues for the pros where players get paid; allow players to sign endorsement deals, create a fund that players receive upon graduating. It's an unbelievably complicated issue and I'm not going to begin to attempt to decipher what would be the fair and just thing to do. But the balance of what these students produce and what they get back is clearly out of whack.

In addition to talking to president Emmert, USA Today attempted to determine how much a basketball scholarship on a major college program is worth. An analyst concluded it was worth $120,000 a year. Not bad for a college student but don't think these players are making out like bandits. The number includes all sorts of things that are essential to these athletes playing. Who exactly is benefitting from the shoes, medical insurance and strength training these players receive? It's all essential to them playing the game and in turn making money for their school. "They have access to the best educational opportunities that we find in the United States." Emmert said on Frontline. They do get free tuition and tutors to boot but what kind of education can they really be getting when they have to spend at least 40 hours a week practicing, training and traveling while many are pushed into easy majors that will do them no good if they graduate. But even if they are receiving $120K in benefits, the article concludes that that ends up being a bargain for the majority of D-I schools.

With any problem that's as big in scope and unwieldy as this one, the answer is baby steps. Emmert mentions increasing scholarships to include travel, laundry and other expenses. How about money for computers (Cam Newton would've liked that), travel for family to major events like the Final Four, stipends for clothing, and maybe even a little pocket change as well.

Even small steps like these will be extremely difficult to put into effect. Does this only apply to football and basketball players? Is it only for revenue-producing sports? What about the few hockey or lacrosse teams bring in money? Obviously Title IX becomes a big issue as well. These revenue-producing sports subsidize all of those that fail to rake in the dough. If the NCAA began to pay the football and basketball players it could jeopardize many other student-athletes.

I'm in favor of players that generate a huge amount of revenue receiving some compensation, but how much? If players were paid fair-market value than the disparity between the top teams and the bottom would grow tremendously. What recruit wouldn't go to a bigger school in order to maximize his earnings?

And if these players received a small amount in order for them to be able to catch a movie or go out to dinner than that would hardly solve the corruption. There's a big difference between receiving $50 for a night out and being offered thousands from a booster. But it's still probably a step in the right direction. Maybe a gesture like that would at least help relieve some of the resentment felt from the athletes.

These athletes are being used and they know it. Many of them might not be learning much in the classroom, but they are certainly learning a lesson on exploitation and while they will never receive adequate compensation for their performance, steps must be taken to shift the balance if ever so slightly.