The arrest last week of 10 individuals in connection with an ongoing FBI investigation into corruption and bribery in big-time college basketball underscores the need for long overdue changes in the sport.

Those charged include shoe company executives, an NBA agent, a financial adviser and assistant coaches at Auburn, Arizona, USC and Oklahoma State. The assistant coaches are charged with accepting bribes to steer players to specific agents and financial advisers. James Gatto, the director of global sports marketing for Adidas, is accused of funneling six-figure payments to players to get them to commit to schools with Adidas contracts. One of the schools that Gatto is alleged to have paid players to attend is Louisville, which put head coach Rick Pitino on unpaid leave and athletic director Tom Jurich on paid leave in response.

Adidas’ biggest contract is with KU — a 14-year deal that will pay the school $191 million. University officials have said the school has not been contacted in relation to the investigation.

Kansas Coach Bill Self, while expressing dismay at the events that have unfolded, suggested that ultimately good could come out of the FBI investigation.

“It’s been a dark week, there’s no question, but I’m not sure that it (won’t) trigger things that will make this better,” Self said. “It’s not going to be in the immediate future, but there’s been some things that have obviously transpired that will create talks that allow our sport to become better in the future. I just hope the future’s soon as opposed to down the line.”

Self is right. One can only hope that the mounting scandal ultimately will be a catalyst for change in college basketball.

Steps that should be considered:

• The NBA and its players union have to again allow players to go to the NBA directly out of high school. The current “one and done” system in which top NBA prospects attend college for a year before turning pro, makes a mockery of college athletics and creates intense pressure to rent the services of the best players for a year.

• The NCAA should make every scholarship count for a minimum of three years, no matter how long a player actually stays, with an exception for players who transfer. Such a move would force schools to be judicious in recruiting student athletes and in turn, prompt those interested solely in an NBA career to consider appropriate alternatives to college such as the NBA Development League or playing overseas.

• Implement stricter regulations on apparel deals. This latest investigation is a direct result of the outsized influence shoe companies wield. The NCAA has to find a way to take the game back from Adidas, Nike and Under Armour. Placing reasonable limits on the funding and equipment that shoe companies can provide teams and limiting the length of contracts could help.

College basketball is big business, driven first and foremost by money. That creates an environment ripe for corruption, as the past week’s news demonstrates. But the NCAA can take steps — has to take steps — to address these issues. After all, if a corruption scandal stretching from coast to coast can’t motivate change, then what will?