In early 2006, the book, College Athletes for Hire: The Evolution and Legacy of the NCAA’s Amateur Myth, by Allen Sack and Ellen Staurowsky, was recommended to House Committee on Ways & Means staffers. Why? Because it provided a good sense of the magnitude and the ubiquitous nature of the NCAA cartel’s powerful legal and lobbying forces that Rep. Bill Thomas (R-CA, Ret.), the 109th Congress’ House Ways & Means Committee Chairman, would confront in his end-of-term effort to have the NCAA provide justification for its tax-exempt status.
