It's a turbulent time for college athletics.
The NCAA is under assault in the Ed O'Bannon trial on student-athlete likeness and amateurism. There are more calls than ever for players to get a cut of the growing revenue they help produce. The association and EA Sports recently announced a $20 million settlement centered on likenesses being used in various video games.
All of which brings us to the University of Utah. The fine folks in Salt Lake City must not have been paying too much attention to all of those issues. As CBSSports.com pointed out on Monday, the school not so subtly made sure fans were able to know which of their favorite players' jerseys to buy in the official team store by straight up posting a list of student-athlete's numbers with their names attached last year.
A tweet that included a picture of the store's sign was deleted on Monday.
It sure is helpful of the staff to let customers know that if they want some Trevor Reilly (now with the New York Jets) or Dres Anderson gear, which number to buy. We're guessing the O'Bannon lawyers also thought the sign was helpful and might even bring it in as an exhibit.
There's a reason why Texas A&M, Northwestern, Arizona and others are making the move to selling jerseys with more generic numbers. It's pretty much agreed that it's a no-no (and possibly an NCAA violation) to use a player's name to sell something like jerseys, and even if it's been hinted at (see all those No. 2 Aggie jerseys in the stands at Kyle Field after Johnny Manziel won the Heisman Trophy) in the past, it's still pretty galling to see it done so blatantly in Utah.
We're guessing the sign is no longer there and probably doesn't get put up again. Don't worry though Utes fans, you can always pull up the roster on your phone in the store prior to making a purchase.
*Follow Bryan Fischer on Twitter **@BryanDFischer.*
