The NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley was at the request of his Alma Mater Auburn’s men’s basketball match on Wednesday against Ole Miss, and he did not chop words about the State of University Education.
He specifically treated costs.
Almost unprovoked, Barkley began sharing his opinion on the name, image and the equality system (zero) in college sports and said he doesn’t think it’s sustainable.
CLICK HERE for more sports cover at Foxnews.com
Charles Barkley smiles after match 3 in the 2024 NBA final between Boston Celtics and Dallas Maverick’s June 12, 2024 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. (Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)
“I think we should talk about college basketball,” he said. “I don’t think the model of zero is sustainable. Listen, I want all these kids to get what they can get. But asking colleges to come with $ 20, $ 30 million a year, especially some of the smaller schools, I don’t think it’s a sustainable model.”
Nil has been a controversial topic, and critics of the system say it creates inequality because larger schools can leave less during the recruitment of top prospects that Barkley referred to.
And while Barkley wants the student athletes to be paid, he believes that the price of schooling in schools around the country is too expensive.
Charles Barkley ‘annoyed’ with Victor Wembanyama who gets ‘Face of the League’ title
“I love these kids. I want them to do well. But you have to understand, I’m trying to tell people, most of these kids need to get a free education, which is by far the most important thing,” Barkley said. “Because one of the big journeys in this country is what we charge for children to go to college. We have to find a way to make sure the smaller schools can compete.”
Former Phoenix Suns player Charles Barkley at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Ariz., January 21, 2023. (Mark J. Revilas/USA Today Sports)
The initiative for educational data found that inflation in university education has an average of 3.63% annually from the 2010-11 to 2022-23 school year. And the cost of teaching at a public, four -year -old school or university has increased 36.7% from 2010 to 2023.
College Basketball analyst Charles Barkley on the air before a NCAA Final Four match. (Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
Previously, college -athletics gave a chance for a free education, mainly at division in -schools and universities with scholarships. But student athletes who make money through Nil have been a decades of long conversation, especially considering that the institutions of the surplus submit certain programs that have national appeal.
