In a country where ESPN airs NFL Live and College GameDay 12 months of the year, leading football programs across the country are making headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Southern Cal is currently cleaning house, firing its athletic director and sending Reggie Bush’s Heisman Trophy back to the Heisman Trust without even being asked. USC is still dealing with the repercussions of O.J. Mayo and Bush, both of whom are now in the pros and both of whom have been under investigation by the NCAA for their time at USC.

But it’s not only USC.

This week, Alabama defensive tackle Marcell Dareus came under investigation when the NCAA and Alabama caught wind of the defensive end being in attendance at an NFL agent’s house party in Miami. Alabama’s SEC foe, Florida, also has one of its former players—center Maurkice Pouncey—now of the St. Louis Rams—under investigation for allegedly receiving a gift of $100,000 while attending Florida.

With so many of the nation’s top programs in the news for player’s relationships with NFL agents and receiving gifts, is the NCAA cracking down or is this a new phenomenon in the ever-changing landscape of college sports? I think the answer is obvious.

In an age of social networking, live news and camera phones, nothing is safe and secrets are becoming harder and harder to keep. Athletic directors and coaches can’t be expected to baby sit teams full of players during every waking moment. Although it is the responsibility of both the institutions and the players themselves, it is about time the NFL takes its fair share of the blame.

Although the players are yet to be employed by the NFL, it’s the NFL’s agents and policies that drive these players to violate NCAA regulations. Although the NFL is quick to institute rules to benefit itself, such as putting a mandatory rule that players have to be out of high school for two years, the league consistently turns its head when its current players are under investigation for college violations.

This week, Nick Saban called for the NFL to better police its agents and punish them if they wrongly contact college players. And although I hate Saban as much as the next Ute fan, I agree with him on this.

Although none of this has anything to do with Utah, Utah is now on the move to Pac-10 and with these troubles following the biggest and most successful programs in the country, Utah, like the rest of the country, needs to keep an eye not only on its players, but future agents as well.