In The System, investigative journalists Jeff Benedict and Armen Keteyian have written an explosive book about America's most popular sport. In 2012, Johnny Manziel ("Johnny Football") was on his way to a Heisman (his star now tarnished by an autographs-for-money mini-scandal; the NCAA tarnished by benching him for a mere half game); the child abuse sex scandal at Penn State University blew up; Ohio State was "bruising" its way to an undefeated season while barred from competing in a bowl game; dozens of schools were on probation for academic cheating and money shenanigans. Major conference realignments meant a bigger share of TV revenue but eroded the trust and friendships college presidents and athletic directors had fostered for decades. And "student-athletes" are still essentially slaves, working an 11-month-a-year job with the benefits of season-ending injuries and long-term brain damage.
Benedict and Keteyian write with depth, insight and graceful prose ("long, languid Louisiana athleticism"). They leaven the scandalous (and merely eyebrow-raising) with the glory they allude to in their subtitle--the coaches who care about their guys, who actually want them to graduate and thrive; the players for whom football may be the only thing to save them; the college presidents who make difficult decisions, knowing that football revenue benefits more than football. In Ricky Seals-Jones, we meet an upstanding, outstanding honor student, a new touchstone for recruiting madness: $600,000 offered (and refused) under the table. And Ezekial Ansah from Ghana, who asked for a walk-on at BYU, having never played football or lifted weights. Two years later, he got a scholarship and is now a pro player.
This book is definitive and, even better, as addictive as the sport it covers. --Marilyn Dahl, editor, Shelf Awareness for Readers