Gruen's Big Ten Glance: Rutgers, Kyle Flood Insult Us All

By Seth Gruen--

(CBS) There's a theory amongst amateur purists that a college scholarship stands as fair value for the revenue that a top college football player generates for his university.

One could argue the use of a college scholarship and its long-term value, but there's reason to continually question whether players around the country actually get to use it. Each year we're reminded that programs around the country value football first, with little consideration for academics. Athletes are encouraged to pursue cupcake majors and schedule classes that don't interfere with the rigorous demands of the college football schedule. In fact, nearly all programs practice throughout most of the afternoon while the rest of the student body sits in class.

On Wednesday, Rutgers suspended football coach Kyle Flood for three games and fined him $50,000 after he attempted to contact a professor about the academic standing of former cornerback Nadir Barnwell. Flood emailed the professor from his personal account, was told by the academic advising staff not to contact professors, then went ahead and met with Barnwell's professor in person anyway. Both Barnwell and Flood then admitted that Flood made minor changes to a paper that Barnwell resubmitted.

In a statement Flood said, "We hold our student-athletes to high academic standards befitting a great university." Really? Who knew?

Forget that the punishment feels light. Really, any institution that valued academic integrity — whether it pertains to athletes or regular students — would have fired Flood, whose actions attempted to circumvent the most vital aspect of education: You can't cheat. Flood, obviously, helped facilitate cheating.

But the idea that he would use this incident as a platform for his own academic integrity is laughable. It's insulting, actually.

"I care deeply about my student-athlete's academic performance," Flood said. "As the head coach, when I recruit players, my responsibility to them and their families is to do all I can to make sure they leave Rutgers with a degree and are prepared for a successful life off the football field."

That's like a butcher announcing he's joining PETA.

College football has little room for idealists who actually harbor the ridiculous notion that student-athletes attend the university. Class just seems to get in the way of winning for too many coaches.

Let's not point fingers in any one direction, but assume that Flood isn't the first coach to mettle in the academics of his players. He just got caught. But in only suspending him, Rutgers isn't even feigning the idea that it cares about its athletes' academic pursuits.

As long as a place like Rutgers continues to employ Flood, players should accept that an athletic scholarship is merely a contract to facilitate putting a player on a football field, not in a classroom.

Big Ten power rankings

1. Ohio State -- If you disagree, go bang your head against a wall.

2. Michigan State-- Is this an exercise in typing?

3. Wisconsin -- Come one, the Badgers lost to Alabama.

4. Nebraska -- If it weren't for a Hail Mary, the Cornhuskers would have leapfrogged the Badgers.

5. Northwestern -- Anxious to see what the Wildcats can do on the road again an improved Duke program.

6. Minnesota -- If the Gophers get it together, they might contend in the West division.

7. Illinois -- It's time to go out and beat a real opponent this week at North Carolina

8. Michigan -- Will be pretty middling all year.

9. Indiana -- Seems like a make-or-break year for coach Kevin Wilson. I bet he breaks.

10. Iowa -- Don't let the Iowa State win impress you. The Cyclones were 2-10 last season.

11. Penn State -- Sorry, a win over Buffalo doesn't absolve you of  Week 1 loss to Temple.

12. Maryland -- Looked bad against Bowling Green.

13. Purdue -- Hey, looks like the Boilermakers program is movin' on up!

14. Rutgers -- Work on your integrity and see what it does for the program.

Seth Gruen is columnist for CBSChicago.com, focusing on college sports. You can follow him on Twitter @SethGruen.