Bloom or Bust
Football and skiing have more in common than most people realize. Super Bowl weekend in certain ski towns can spur as much celebration as a four-foot dump. But what happens when you are a professional skier and a college football player? World Cup moguls champion Jeremy Bloom is trying to answer to this question as he battles the NCAA for the ability to play football at the University of Colorado while maintaining his skiing sponsorships and career.
According to NCAA bylaws, an athlete can be a professional in one sport and compete simultaneously as an amateur in another sport at the college level. The NCAA does not prohibit Bloom from skiing and playing ball; he just cannot accept prize money or products from sponsors.
"Dynastar couldn't give him skis," says Bloom's agent Andy Carroll of EGO Sports Management. "You can't find moguls skis in regular ski shops. He couldn't get boots or bindings either."
Earlier this year, Bloom petitioned the NCAA to be allowed to keep his skiing contracts. The NCAA decided against him. On July 25, 2002, Bloom filed a lawsuit against the NCAA. He hopes to be allowed to keep his World Cup title, and all of his sponsorship and modeling contracts while playing football.
The NCAA is obviously ill equipped to handle multi-talented athletes-unless, they are multi-talented in two NCAA sports such as football and track or baseball. Though the NCAA presides over collegiate level skiing, it does not recognize freestyle as sport. If Bloom were a minor league baseball star, he could legally make salaried money. But professional skiers do not have the luxury of a salary-Bloom relies solely on endorsements and prize money.
Bloom, 20, is sponsored by Oakley, Under Armour, and Dynastar. Like every other competitive skier, he relies on these companies for products, compensation, and the ability to compete at the highest level. As a member of the U.S. Ski Team, Bloom placed ninth in moguls at the 2002 Winter Olympics and is the reigning World Cup moguls champion. But the NCAA wants Bloom to ignore these accomplishments by dropping all contracts and endorsements before he can legally accept his full scholarship and play football for CU.
The NCAA has created a no-win situation for Bloom. By not allowing him to accept and honor his ski sponsors' incentives and competition prize money, the NCAA leaves him with nothing more than the money he saves by not paying to attend school. As any competitive skier will attest, that little money will hardly support a winter on the World Cup. Full scholarship freshman are unable to hold paying jobs according to NCAA rules, but walk-ons can make an unlimited income. If Bloom were allowed to maintain his sponsorships, his modeling contract with Tommy Hilfiger, and television ventures, he would be able to afford his own tuition. As a sophomore in 2003, Bloom may have an easier go of it-as the rules currently stand, he would be allowed to make a startling $2000 during the school year.
One could argue that Bloom should choose one sport over another. For instance, if he gets hurt playing football, it would ruin his ski career and vice versa. But what's unique about Bloom is that his full-ride football scholarship coincided with an invitation to train with the U.S. Ski Team for last winter's Olympics. For Bloom, football and skiing complement each other. He has long dreamt of playing for CU, and in order for him defend his World Cup title and reach his goal of medalling in the 2006 Olympics, Bloom will have to actively compete on skis.
"The sport of mogul skiing is evolving very quickly," says Carroll. "To keep up with the sport and the evolving tricks, Jeremy needs to ski or be left behind."
If the judge favors Bloom's current lawsuit, which will be heard July 31, it will inherently reverse the previous decision, and groom the bumped way for other multi-sport athletes in the future. Hopefully a decision will be made in time for Bloom to begin practice with the Buffalos August 8. -Jackie Baker