Do you mean like the Forbes Billionaire list? Your fear of players making money and choosing where they go to school is understandable if you fear your team can’t compete but that isn’t the case anymore with Utah. If people really hate college sports being a “business” drop to Division III. Having college sports is not really needed for a full college experience.
The fear Ute fans have is college football turning into the MLB where a handful of teams can spend 10 times what the teams at the bottom spend, versus the NFL or NBA with salary caps and shared revenue which creates a more even playing field.
2 Likes
No offense but in the status quo we have had the past decade and a half parity didn’t exist. Since 2006 it’s been 6 Titles for Bama, 2 for UF, 2 for Clemson, 2 for LSU, 1 for Georgia, 1 for Auburn, 1 for Florida State and 1 for Ohio. So, 6 states hold the titles and one conference has won 12 of the last 16.
The Transfers and NIL only help even the playing field to schools in the Sunbelt who have dominated the narrative. I like your idea of profit sharing.
If these trends continue, schools will be forced to take a long hard look at where sports fit into the mission of the institution, particularly at schools supported by taxpayer dollars. Sure sports have a role in building the brand of a school, but at what point does “brand building” overshadow the educational mission of the school? At many schools that is already the case.
The highest paid individuals at many schools are involved in the athletics programs…not noted scholars or skilled administrators or researchers. And what other enterprise of these schools goes to these extents to support the enrichment of a student? There are enough parents, students, faculty, and administrators that don’t care about athletics that sooner or later will say enough is enough. I love college athletics, and I think athletes have been excluded from the fortunes that schools have generated for too long, but I also see a case for big time college sports being separated from their affiliation with a school and run as an independent self-supporting enterprise.
2 Likes
Maybe Utah is different but hasn’t this been the case at most major programs since the 1980s? I honestly think they need the marketing because of college costs that have sky rocketed in recent two decades have really made college not a net positive in return. The system is broken but it’s also broken from a non sports reason as well. There seems to be a big education bubble where we have a price being charged that just isn’t justifiable.
A lot of the change since the 80’s has been the lack of public funding to keep things affordable. In the 1980’s, the University budget was about 40 percent state funded. Today it is less then 8 percent. Most funding today is almost exclusively from private sources and tuition.
Really the question is should Athletics be required to operate as an independent enterprise account instead of and enterprise-university general fund account. If it is transitioned to independent enterprise, it means no more subsidies from the University to cover budgeted costs. They would still be able to bond using the the State’s bond rates, and the bonds would be revenue bonds (which they already are now). The twist is it means they would have to 100 percent monetize their costs of operations into ticket prices for events. Yes, if they go down this path, season tickets just got a lot more expensive to cover the non-revenue sports. The alternative would be increasing the advertising costs and selling naming rights to just about everything attached to the programs - like professional sports do it.
It’s a new Wild West world we are in, and it’s still too early to tell where this ship is heading. One thing we know for sure is football is going to remain competitive for now. The way it is “sold” to recruits and prospects is very different than any other University in the country. Where many top-tier programs just went through bedlam with the portal, Utah was fairly quiet. Hopefully the “family” culture continues to drive the program.
2 Likes
Hopefully everyone will adjust when things settle down somewhat (change, however, is a constant thing now). The NIL loss isn’t as bad as it could have been for the NCAA, and seems like it’s something ultimately everyone will learn to play to their advantage to the extent possible. The crazy talk about colleges paying players is put to rest for now.
The thing is, how many players out of all the ones we’d be happy recruiting are near term NBA prospects? The NBA is realistic for such a small percentage anyway. Likewise, ultimately, how many will make piles of money on NIL. Are we really going to pick a plumber because some snot nosed college kid on the side of a bus recommends it?
You ask a couple of good questions. Your first about recruits… hell if I know. The program seems so topsy turvy now that I can’t really tell what to expect. As for the NIL question, I don’t see myself picking a plumber or any other service or product because some snot nosed kid at UNC, Duke, or NCSU, let alone our beloved U says to do so.
1 Like
That misses the point: The college kid is getting paid to have his mug on the side of a bus. And so far the most egregious uses of NIL don’t involve advertising, but outright gifts.
1 Like
You missed my point.
Nah. You missed mine. In fact, you missed the entire point of the NIL discussion.
3 Likes
No I didn’t, you dumb ■■■.
I’m grateful that you didn’t call me a horse’s patootie. Being a [donkey] is is much better than being a horse or any part of one. This is scientifically acknowledged.
https://neeness.com/are-donkeys-smarter-than-horses/
And more: Are Donkeys Smart? (All You Need To Know) - HayFarmGuy
3 Likes
Never in my wildest dreams did i ever think I’d hear you say you’ rather be a donkey. Are you trying to prove Churchill wrong?
Hey, if someone’s going to engage in name-calling we might as well look for the silver lining.
2 Likes
Democrats everywhere are rejoicing and welcoming you to the party!
4 Likes
This thread has devolved into meaningless drivel.
The drivel has been moved from the recruiting thread where it didn’t belong, to this thread, where name-calling doesn’t belong either, but at least the posts are on-topic.
So, anyway, back to the point of this discussion.
1 Like