The Hundred Yard Lie: The Corruption of College Football and What We Can Do to Stop It [Paperback]

Rick Telander (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1996

The lead college football writer for Sports Illustrated examines the myths that surround college football and obscure the reality of the game.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"Bad things are happening" to college football, according to former Sports Illustrated writer Telander ( Heaven Is a Playground ), and he explains here why the sport has reached such a lamentable pass. The crux of the problem, he argues, is hypocrisy--on the part of colleges, which claim they are producing "student athletes," when they are cheating players academically; coaches, who assert they are building character when, instead, they care only about winning; boosters, who help colleges "buy" the best talent; and the NCAA, which produces little but sanctimonious platitudes in defense of a corrupt system. Telander's plans to remedy matters include establishing professional teams of 18-to-22-year-old non-students, headquartered at colleges, with no undergraduates allowed on the teams. His righteous indignation is infectious and potent.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press (September 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0252065239
• ISBN-13: 978-0252065231
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,355,719 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great read for those that seek, and can accept, the truth, February 14, 2000

By 

wayne hoobler - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Hundred Yard Lie: The Corruption of College Football and What We Can Do to Stop It (Paperback)

Read this 10 years ago, and have never viewed bigtime college athletics the same way since. In a just world, this book would be very well known. In reality, this is the type of thing that the NCAA, big 3 networks, sports magazines, and sports announcers don't want you to know about. Too many cushy, do-nothing jobs ride on the exploitation of superstar college athletes that really have no business being in college at all. Telander's writing is clear, simple, passionate, and grabbing. His arguments are lucid and well constructed. Unfortunately, they fell on deaf ears.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great tips on how to right a ship going wrong, August 25, 2000

By 

R. Spell "raspell" (Memphis, TN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Hundred Yard Lie: The Corruption of College Football and What We Can Do to Stop It (Paperback)

A good book with some slow parts in the middle where the author goes to subjects that could be shortened. Telander is a former player in college and is watching the game he played be ruined. But he honestly discloses more than once that what is being said now has been said since the 1930s.

Maybe Telander should stop tilting at windmills and just give up to fight another fight and that may be my feelings also. But then you read his well-thought suggestions for changing the game and you see they could solve the problem. Let big colleges run professional sports team for entertainment and segment other colleges. The players would be paid and would not be required to attend college. The suggestions are fascinating and seem to address most of the points of weakness in the problem. All it will take is backbone from the college presidents and a few other powerful players. Oh, well. There goes this problem as no one associated has backbone. Witness the Oklahoma president presiding in the late 80s who years later tries to downplay the problems he faced. Witness Walter Byers who presided over the NCAA and now has his own book stating that there is a problem and it should be solved. Where were you years ago Mr. Byers?

If you love college football, you should read this book. Maybe it won't change your mind but it should at least let you see there is a problem. And Mr. Telander still doesn't cover football. Nice boycott.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Passionate appeal for reform, January 8, 2001

By 

K.A.Goldberg (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Hundred Yard Lie: The Corruption of College Football and What We Can Do to Stop It (Paperback)

Telander exposes rampant cheating, exploitation, and NCAA hypocrisy in this searing look at the sordid underside of college football. The author attacks amateurism as fraudulent and unworkable, and shows that scandals have recurred almost since the game's founding (by rebellious students) in the late 1800's. We also learn that athletic programs rarely turn profits or boost fund-raising for their host schools. Despite these criticisms, this author (and ex-player at Northwestern) remains as attached to the game as us fans. Telander concludes his concise and highly readable book with a sensible proposal for reform. "The Hundred Yard Lie" fell on predictably deaf ears when first published in 1989. Still, it's an eye opener for those who dare question football's relationship to education.