Controversy has arisen over the Oregon University (OU) Ducks’ new $225 million basketball stadium, dubbed Forest Floor for its quirky fir-tree design.

Some complain that the hoop squad’s low ranking — 82nd according to TeamRankings.com — doesn’t deserve the high profile court, while others grumble over the university’s multi-million dollar connection with Nike through former OU track star and Nike founder and CEO, Phil Knight. 

They complain about the Ducks’ excess of uniform combinations, their luxurious locker rooms, and their expensive stadiums. 

But to those complaining, I ask, “Why is an excess of athletic funds only a problem when it’s in connection with a corporation?”

Why don’t we question the salaries of top college coaches, which are no less than $2 million each for basketball and football, while the average yearly salary for NBA coaches is $4 million? Why don’t we question the more than $50 million top basketball and football programs pull in every year? And why don’t we question the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) football for selling its traditional playoff system to the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) for the Tostito’s Fiesta Bowl, the Fed-Ex Orange Bowl, the Nokia Sugar Bowl and more than I care to list?

We shouldn’t be questioning the Nike-OU connection. Rather, we should be asking why everyone wants to pretend that college sports are still amateur.

There’s nothing amateur about the NCAA. It’s a business. The coaches, schools, advertisers and TV networks all make millions. And yet, the players remain relegated to amateur status.

While Auburn University quarterback Cam Newton is today’s scandal flavor-of-the-day for his alleged academic cheating at the University of Florida, problems with players receiving cars, money and other gifts happen every year and there’s no end in sight. 

 Take the case of Reggie Bush, who recently returned his Heisman Trophy because of money he received from NFL agents while still an “amateur” college athlete. It doesn’t matter that he used the funds to help his struggling parents pay for their home, or that he stayed in school instead of claiming the million-dollar contracts waiting for him in the NFL.

Why are schools, coaches, networks and advertisers allowed to milk the cash cow that is college sports, while the ones keeping that cow alive — the players — have to stay thirsty in the shadows?

Why do we pretend that one of America’s biggest businesses is amateur? The graduation rates of the top athletic programs are embarrassing and these kids are there to make their programs money, not to go to class. But they never get their cut. 

So yes, OU’s Forest Floor may be overly ostentatious, but why not? Nike was born there, so why shouldn’t there be a connection? 

Alumni and booster clubs give millions to American universities, so why should this alumnus be limited?

We’re right to ask questions and demand accountability for the expenses of college athletics. But we’re asking the wrong questions and demanding accountability from the wrong parties. 

I don’t mind that we pump millions of dollars into college sports every year. Instead, I mind that the players never see a cent of the profits they earn with the blood, sweat and tears they leave on the fields and courts every game of every season.