Category: History and More

Ever heard of a work-study program? The Professional Collegiate League hopes to put a unique spin on the concept when it tips off in 2021.

The basketball upstart plans to pay college-age athletes to play while they also receive classroom instruction. Calling itself “college sports reimagined,” the PCL aims to be something of an NCAA/NBA hybrid.

“Our inaugural season is scheduled to tip off in June 2021 with the playoffs planned for Labor Day weekend in September,” said Ricky Volante, PCL CEO and co-founder of the league. “Depending on several factors, the teams will play between 20-24 regular season games each. Our overall player development program runs from May-April, but the regular season was scheduled to maximize attendance in class during the school year.”

Volante and league officials have certainly done their homework, and their plan of action is impressive. The league website defines several goals, one of which is “shifting the paradigm.”

For example, research shows that 50 percent of college basketball players in Power 5 conferences come from low socioeconomic backgrounds. While colleges provide scholarships, the PCL will offer wages along with academic opportunities.

“Our max salary athletes will earn $150,000 per season, while we’re aiming to have a floor of $50,000 per season – this does not include their scholarship,” Volante said. “Salaries will be determined based on several factors, including talent, marketability, social following, market, etc.”

For every kid who is NBA-ready right out of high school – a rarity – there are thousands more who need to hone their skills but also want to earn a paycheck while going to school. To that end, the PCL will assist players in marketing themselves. And since only a handful of players make it professionally, the PCL is designed to prepare them for life with or without basketball.

A primary league mission is to, “… Assist them in building a personal and professional brand that will extend on and off the court, so that each can ‘build their business’ without waiting for a sport-based payday that may never come.”

When I first heard about the organization last year (it was originally known as the Historical Basketball League) I immediately thought of Pacific Pro Football, which aimed to give college age football players a professional option. Yet while Pac Pro was founded in 2017 but has seemingly gone dormant, the Professional Collegiate League already has an infrastructure.

Volante is one of four members of the executive team, which includes chief operating officer David West, chief development officer Keith Sparks and co-founder and chief innovation officer Andy Schwarz.

There are also two advisory boards, one comprised of former athletes (including NBA Hall of Famer Mitch Richmond and NFL Hall of Famers Champ Bailey and Terrell Owens) and another that features people with experience in business, entertainment and journalism.

Of course fans are more interested in what happens on the court, and the PCL has already identified its eight inaugural teams. Atlanta, Baltimore, Charlotte, Norfolk, Philadelphia, Raleigh, Richmond and Washington D.C. will be part of the circuit’s single entity model and will begin play next summer.

By design, the PCL is concentrating on the East Coast for its first season, with plans to form eight team divisions in other quadrants of the United States over the next five years. Starting out regionally will help hold down costs.

As for the style of play, Volante said it will look familiar.

“We will be playing under NBA rules – mostly,” he said. “There will be some twists and variations that we implement, however, nothing that would be considered “gimmicky.” We feel it’s important to have rules in place that prepare athletes for the professional game, as well as offensive and defensive systems and terminology.”

Players have already been scouted, but will have to decide for themselves if they want to remain eligible to play traditional college ball or go pro via the PCL.

As a fan of alternative sports, I certainly hope the Professional Collegiate League becomes more than just a concept. I think there’s a place for its business model, and done right it could become a game-changer in years to come.

Regardless, there’s always room for more basketball.

For more information on the PCL, go to www.thepcleague.com.

A version of this column first appeared in November, 2018. I’m reposting it today to commemorate the 40^th anniversary of the “Miracle On Ice.”

Like a lot of guys, I have a “fan cave” at my house.

Walk into the tiny converted attic room and you’ll find memorabilia from the World Football League, the World Hockey Association, United States Football League, XFL – to me they are remnants of days gone by as well as good old days.

One of my most prized possessions is a hockey puck commemorating the 1980 United States Olympic Hockey Team’s game against the Birmingham Bulls of the Central Hockey League.

The “Miracle On Ice” took place on February 22, 1980, and if you’re an American hockey fan old enough to remember it, you most certainly do.

I saw that team on Nov. 8, 1979, when they visited Birmingham, Ala., to play the local minor league club in an exhibition at the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center Coliseum.

Birmingham, which was not part of the WHA’s limited merger with the NHL a year earlier, had resurfaced in the CHL, keeping the “Bulls” nickname but seeing its level of play take a dip. But a Triple A-type league offered just the kind of tune-ups the young U.S. squad needed.

Each team in the CHL played the Olympians that season, with the games actually counting in the league standings.

Birmingham lost to Brooks’ charges, 5-2, in Minneapolis on Nov. 4, and four days later they faced off again in the Magic City. The crowd was announced at 3,696, and pucks were handed out to those in attendance as a way to celebrate and commemorate the occasion.

A little over three months later that puck would be like gold to me when the Olympians became sports icons.

You know the story.

When the Winter Games came to Lake Placid, N.Y., little was expected out of the U.S. in hockey, especially since its roster was made up of a bunch of kids. The medals would likely be divided up among powerhouse teams fielded by the Soviet Union, Finland and Canada, and the prospects of the Americans advancing beyond pool play seemed absurd.

Just days before the Games began, the U.S. was hammered by the Russians, 10-3, at Madison Square Garden. Yet when it was medal time in New York State, goalie Jim Craig turned away 36 shots by “The Red Army” to help the hosts shock the greatest hockey team in the world, 4-3.

For many it was a political victory as well as a sporting one because of the Cold War. I was acutely aware of the “more than a game” overtones, but frankly I was just thrilled to see guys my age pull off a feat that seemed impossible.

Phil Verchota scored three times in the Games and added two assists, while Rob McClanahan had five goals and three assists in seven matches. I bring their names up because they were the stars of the United States’ 6-4 victory over the Bulls.

Often lost in the euphoria of the victory over the Soviets is the Gold Medal match against Finland, which took place on Feb. 24, 1980.

Heading into the final period the United States trailed 2-1. But the Americans scored three unanswered goals in the third period in a too-good-to-be-true finish, claiming a 4-2 conquest and putting the final touches on one of the most unlikely sports stories ever written.

I sure am glad I decided to keep that old puck.