Well researched but poorly organized, this book serves as a powerful indictment against the NCAA and the universities that are willingly or unwillingly complicit in its mistreatment of athletes. ( )

Major college sports, mainly basketball and football in six conferences, are big business. The television contract for March Madness (the annual college basketball tournament) is in the tens of billions, coaches make millions, profits on basketball and football average about $20 million per school and the schools hawk merchandise emblazoned with sports logos and jerseys of star players (sans name by regulation but easily identified by number). None of this largess goes to the players, many black and from poor backgrounds, who actually fuel this engine. Sure the players get scholarships, but the scholarships do not cover the full cost of going to school and they can be revoked annually. As for the education, the time demands of their sport prevent athletes from taking many courses and they are funneled into courses of dubious or no educational value. Presiding over this landscape is the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association).

Indentured pulls back the curtain from the hypocrisy of the NCAA. This well-researched, well-written book describes the battle to wrest control of major college sports from the NCAA, free players from mind-baffling regulations that purport to preserve amateurism and the concept of the student-athlete, and create a system that is more fair and realistic. The book will be fascinating read for any casual or dedicated fan of college sports. ( )