I think the alliance makes sense. I as a fan would rather see Clemson play Utah than say Clemson play some rando G5. Andy Staples mentioned 4 Million viewers. That game would easily get 8 million eyeballs.
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Great points. The U has likewise has had a lot of first generation college students come through athletics. Our population is not terribly diverse, but the kids we’ve brought in over the years have become Utah’s first African American judge (basketball), numerous University faculty & Vice Presidents ('64 Liberty Bowl MVP Ron Coleman), etc. I’ve seen 1st generation Polynesian physicians who came through football.
It’s great to see kids getting even JC educations - some are getting exposed to things they otherwise wouldn’t, based on their backgrounds (which can be insanely tough).
Everyone is pulling up together - great to see.
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of Utah’s 33k student body I would guess there are roughly 500 athletes in our athletic dept. An average of around 2%/10 athletes will make a living professionally playing football, basketball, skiing, etc (if you’re Alabama’s level in football maybe that percentage jumps from 2 to 5% / 25 athletes).
Understandably, athletics is a tremendous source of pride for a university and I understand its importance in overall recognition, financial fund-raising, and community morale, but it sure seems like our over indulgence will eventually kill college athletics.
I like that this alliance is an attempt to take a stand and reign back in some control of college athletics. It may not work, but at least people are aware that the future is problematic.
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I’ve long campaigned for keeping amateurism as part of the model (mainly through my socialism salary caps on coaches and spending caps on facilities). That to me is preferable to the minor league we are approaching.
The Alliance is interesting. I’m not sure they care about amateurism. We’ll see. I think they just want to make sure they get their piece of the pie.
From Wikipedia:
Twenty-two Rhodes Scholars,[21] four Nobel Prize winners,[22][23][24][25] three Turing Award winners,[26][27][28] eight MacArthur Fellows,[29][30] various Pulitzer Prize winners,[31][32][33] two astronauts,[34][35] Gates Cambridge Scholars,[36] and Churchill Scholars have been affiliated with the university as students, researchers, or faculty members in its history.[37][38]
#1
The U is the best in the nation for technology commercialization (Milken Institute rankings)
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Just for the record, I don’t think it matters more.
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No specific metrics at the moment. For now, just overall university reputation and composite ranking(s). I am quite aware of the high rankings of certain programs at the U (e.g. Chemistry, Computer Science, Modern Dance, etc.)
I liked it until I heard the press conference. No formal agreement, no penalty for breaking the alliance. Angelique Chengelis from the Detroit News put it best.
“This was the college football equivalent of Seinfeld, a press conference about nothing”.
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Disappointing. No doubt that was intentional. It will be interesting to see what leaks out about the discussions leading up to the press conference.
Wait… No contract? A verbal commitment?
Also, there are schedules through 2032 already set. Is this thing waiting till 2033? This thing is a mess.
Here’s how the DesNews sees it.
Clearly an aspirational move, at this point. It will be interesting to see how ESPN & the SEC react.
My sense is things may move “deliberately” for awhile, as nobody left in the B12 wants to blow up their money train until 2025, and there’s potentially litigation on the table. I could be wrong, maybe there is a slew of discussions behind the scenes to create the Super SEC, coast to coast.
I hope the interleague schedules get going sooner rather than later.
Put together the headliner matchups, with Florida State, Clemson, Ohio State, Michigan, USC, Oregon… keep the media competition alive. We had some national attention in 2019 - it would interesting to see a matchup with Minnesota, UNC, Miami, etc.
The USS Salt Lake City uniforms may help the Utah brand, if it’s a national game. If the PAC championship is a re-match, even better.
Way, waaaaaaaay too much in the mean time.
meh!
“I certainly like the president at Washington State,” Sankey told The Athletic. “I think he’s forgotten that in 2010 the conference in which he currently resides recruited half of the Big 12 members to join its league.”
Yeah, probably not a great move for a conference commissioner to call out a university president…even if it is Washington State.
Yeah, this was a let down.
Pat Forde’s take:
Sankey’s response to WSU president Schulz is “interesting”, definitely a put down.
Schulz is fairly new in Pullman, came from Kansas State, where he saw firsthand how the B12 suffered from a lack of “internal alignment”.
Here’s what Schulz had to say earlier, prompting Sankey’s remarks: WSU president Kirk Schulz on ‘predatory’ SEC, Pac-12 expansion options and more | The Seattle Times
- PAC needs to close the revenue gap, need to choose schools based on how much they’ll increase the revenue situation.
- “Culture” and “fit” are still important.
- Didn’t reveal specifics, but has 6 options for Kiavkloff to consider.
Should be interesting.
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The general media consensus in what I’ve read is that there is no combination of Big12/G5 teams that would expand revenue for the Pac-12. Everyone seems to believe that Pac-12 expansion is not going to happen.
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Well, WSU President called the SEC Predatory without even realizing the recent history of his own conference.
Friends of mine are faculty at Clemson. Some for some reason believe the SEC will add FSU & Clemson. I have zero belief this will happen or that it’s needed.
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