Throughout the Jim Harrick-Tony Cole debacle, insight and opinions have been plentiful. And when Georgia elected not to participate in the SEC and NCAA tournaments, I wasn't surprised that so many people jumped to defend the players who were denied the opportunity to participate in the post season -- particularly the seniors. While my heart goes out to those paying the price for the indiscretions of others, there is a larger issue that's been continually understated: namely, the severity of the charges.

	Harrick resigned from University of Georgia on Thursday.

Personally, I could give a hoot whether a coach pays a player's phone bill or if a booster gives a kid some spending money. But academic fraud is a different matter -- one that should be prioritized well above the other (alleged) NCAA infractions. Academic fraud cuts to the heart of a university's mission. After all, academia is the foundation on which a university is grounded, not athletics.

Sure, it's unfair to punish the players never registered in Jim Harrick, Jr.'s class. But just how innocent were they? With so many players and coaches involved in the silly phys ed scam, regardless of whether they were actual participants, it's difficult to believe they weren't clued in to what was going on. Teammates are supposed to look out for each other, and be responsible for the team, even when they're off the court. Someone should have stepped up and said, "this isn't cool" or "what if we get caught?"

Now, many of the voices speaking out on the subject are former coaches and/or players who'll typically side with the players regardless of the situation -- and they make a strong, valid case. But that's only one side. And problems arise because that point of view comes across as part of the coaching mantra; the "insiders only" view that lacks a broader perspective. Which in turn, ignores concerns regarding the proper role of athletics on a university campus by those outside the inner circle of the game (i.e., presidents, professors, ordinary students, etc.).

Deterrence and shame should also matter. An institution ridiculed for academic fraud should not go unscathed. The university should have some accountability; they shouldn't want to participate in the post season. And, extreme measures should be taken to ensure it doesn't happen again.

After all, assuming they'll still receive their share of the SEC's tournament funds, it's unlikely Georgia will suffer any significant financial penalties. And Jim Harrick wasn't the only adult administrator who failed the university in it's central mission. The athletic director and president also failed and should have suffered the same fate as Harrick.

Due to the numerous occurrences of academic and non-academic violations on college campuses, it's clear that the current system is flawed. The bargain between the student athlete and the university is totally out of whack and can't be fixed without radical ideas and measures. Initially, the deal was that in return for a free education, the university would enhance their teams and campus community and make a little money to run an athletic program. Clearly, that's no longer plausible.

While the cash flowing to the universities grows astronomically, graduation rates are dropping. The NCAA recently released basketball player graduation rates, which proved to be embarrassing for many of this season's Sweet 16 and Elite Eight teams. For example, Syracuse graduated a whopping nine percent while Oklahoma's graduated a paltry zero percent. How can you run a program that doesn't graduate anyone? (For Sooners, that's apparently a rhetorical question.)

The deal between the student athlete and university needs to be altered significantly. Either student athletes need to be treated as professionals -- pay them, relieve those of the academic burden who don't want it -- and/or universities need to be held accountable for educating their athletes. The latter means that they better make sure they are admitting young people who can and want to do their own work, and make sure they graduate.

We can not let the cash cow that is major collegiate athletics obscure the fact that a university is worthless if its mission to educate students is ignored. Our student athletes need to play by the rules -- on and off the court.

Rod Gilmore is an ESPN college football analyst.