Allegations of improper payments to players have rocked the world of college basketball, raising questions about the fairness of the NCAA's amateur sports model and the influence of agents, sneaker companies and other commercial interests on the game.

Most surprising to some insiders is that the U.S. Department of Justice, in the form of the FBI and federal prosecutors, have taken the lead leaving the NCAA to watch from the sidelines.

Federal prosecutors worked the case for more than two years, equipping a confidential informant with a wire. Nine people, including an executive and a consultant for Portland-based Adidas executive, now face federal charges.

Q: Why are the feds involved?

A: Government prosecutors believe a whole host of white-collar crimes were committed – wire fraud, conspiracy to commit bribery and money laundering. Jim Gatto, longtime sports marketing executive for Adidas, is accused of conspiring with coaches and others to pay high school athletes to play for colleges sponsored by Adidas. The victims here, the government claims, are the colleges that offered scholarships to players who'd been rendered ineligible when they accepted money.

Defense lawyers argue that while the payments may violate NCAA rules, they do not constitute federal crimes. "After expending enormous resources, the Government has strained to find any legal theory—ultimately resorting to one that was directly rejected by a Federal Court of Appeals—in order to transform NCAA rule violations into a conspiracy to commit federal wire fraud," defense lawyers argued in their motion to dismiss the case.

Q: What about NCAA rules?

A: The NCAA prohibits college athletes from being paid to play. The same rule applies to prospective competitors who have not yet enrolled. If you're in college or high school and you get caught being paid for your athletic prowess, chances are you'll be ruled ineligible and your college could be subject to sanctions as well. But will you get caught? With a relatively small compliance staff and no subpoena power, the NCAA's ability to enforce its own rules is limited. There's no evidence NCAA officials had any clue about the alleged six-figure payments to athletes at the heart of the federal criminal cases until the charges were unveiled last September.

Q: What about Nike, Adidas, Under Armour and other sneaker companies?

A: The Big Three are among the most active sports marketers in the world, each of them dispensing tens of millions, even hundreds of millions of dollars annually to put their logos on the shoes and shirts of athletes. Each of them sponsors multiple college and pre-collegiate grassroots teams. None of the companies have been implicated directly in the scandal. The defendants include Gatto, the Portland-based executive at Adidas, and Merl Code, a former consultant for the company. Other defendants include four former assistant college coaches and a sports agent-in-training. The sneaker companies have said they believe in fair play and have distanced themselves from scandal. Adidas put Gatto on administrative leave and terminated Code's consulting contract.

-- Jeff Manning