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Originally Posted by AllenGregoryIV
There is far more money involved in NCAA sports. Especially in terms of schools getting more money if they practice longer hours. They will do better on the field and potentially get into championship games that have large pay outs from advertisers. FRC teams don't get money when they win a World Title (directly). So we are not exactly comparing apples to apples. The money puts far more pressure on coaches and teams in NCAA athletics. If FRC ever gets that commercial (charging admission to the public for events) than maybe it would be a better comparison. Also the last A (association) in NCAA is very important in why they are able to regulate schools.
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Don't underestimate the power of simply wanting to win. Men's football and basketball (the only revenue-generating NCAA sports) aren't the only NCAA sports: There are plenty of moneypit sports (swimming, rowing, track, triathlon) that athletes will sacrifice their marks and life for, simply to win. And I say that as a former 12-hour-per-week varsity swimmer. Also keep in mind that even in NCAA football/basketball, the athlete himself doesn't directly see a cent (well... except for seeing the officials and coaches around him spending piles of money).
FIRST is no different, and I think time limits would be a reasonable thing. After all, what's the point of inspiring a student to be an engineer, if he/she fails their math and physics courses because they were working on the robot for 4 months?