Can we stay competitive in the NIL era?

[Northeast Stinger]

Sports Illustrated has a story (sorry can’t link with my phone) about a coach at uga retiring unexpectedly. In the article he claims lots of other 40 year old coaches want to do the same. The NIL pressures have made coaching an 18 hour a day year round job and a lot of coaches are missing watching their kids grow up. They also feel players on the team are being neglected and the quality of coaching is going down due to the relentless pressure to put together deals for recruits and hand on to them.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

Also, NIL is causing lots of coaches to quietly seek out pro jobs where there is less pressure.

 

[slugboy]

Maybe this fits here:

Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick believes a breakup of D-I is ‘Inevitable.' Is he right?

Is D-I going to break up in a decade over NIL and TV money? One very connected AD seems to think so.

www.extrapointsmb.com

 

[AlabamaBuzz]

The whole thing is really depressing - I think Swarbrick's idea about schools splitting off that want to have programs not directly associated with the university's academics (in name only) is probably a good idea. It is already happening to some extent, for some portion of the athletes, anyway.

I think schools that want to continue to provide an education to athletes that want it should have a place at the table as well, but it will have to be a separate table at some point in the future.

I think about the verse in the Bible that does NOT say that money is the root of all evil, but it does say the "love of money" is the root of all evil. Money is necessary, and I understand kids wanting to be a part of the tremendous revenues being generated. I don't have to enjoy it though.

 

[JacketFan137]

The whole thing is really depressing - I think Swarbrick's idea about schools splitting off that want to have programs not directly associated with the university's academics (in name only) is probably a good idea. It is already happening to some extent, for some portion of the athletes, anyway.

I think schools that want to continue to provide an education to athletes that want it should have a place at the table as well, but it will have to be a separate table at some point in the future.

I think about the verse in the Bible that does NOT say that money is the root of all evil, but it does say the "love of money" is the root of all evil. Money is necessary, and I understand kids wanting to be a part of the tremendous revenues being generated. I don't have to enjoy it though.

on one hand it’s kinda crazy college football makes billions and the players see a marginal fraction of that whilst putting their health on the line. as a regular student any of us could have started a youtube channel or become a famous singer etc and made millions and it would be our money. i think if a player wants a shoe deal or something while in school that’s kinda similar.

that being said it slants the already awful parity of the sport in such a strong direction to the bama, uga, clemson’s etc that the idea of tech, virginia, colorado, and teams in that realm can never compete. i have no idea what the right answer is at this point

 

[g0lftime]

Maybe this fits here:

Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick believes a breakup of D-I is ‘Inevitable.' Is he right?

Is D-I going to break up in a decade over NIL and TV money? One very connected AD seems to think so.

www.extrapointsmb.com

I read that yesterday. Lots on this board believe some sort of reorg will happen. The conference tv contracts seem to be what will drive the reshuffle. ND is in an interesting dilemma. They want to play SEC level football but not change how they are now operating. NIL may have been blown up by then. Some think schools will operate a team that is more or less owned by the school but separate from the academic part. Some will argue that is already the way a lot are operating now!!! Something has to give the way it is playing out.

 

[Randy Carson]

Expand the Ivy League with a Southern division - the Kudzu League. Play one less game. Get invited to be the other League's homecoming opponent. Win one of those games occasionally. Play COLLEGE football...not NFL G League football. Do it for fun, for resume fodder, and to give alumni something to do on Saturday afternoons. Go back to class on Monday.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

Expand the Ivy League with a Southern division - the Kudzu League. Play one less game. Get invited to be the other League's homecoming opponent. Win one of those games occasionally. Play COLLEGE football...not NFL G League football. Do it for fun, for resume fodder, and to give alumni something to do on Saturday afternoons. Go back to class on Monday.

Sad we may have to go to something like that but with time we would get used to it.

Two of the best games I ever saw in my life were Army vs Navy and Yale at Harvard. Great fan atmosphere and every play was exciting. No illusions that we were watching college kids rather than a pro league.

 

[GoldZ]

on one hand it’s kinda crazy college football makes billions and the players see a marginal fraction of that whilst putting their health on the line. as a regular student any of us could have started a youtube channel or become a famous singer etc and made millions and it would be our money. i think if a player wants a shoe deal or something while in school that’s kinda similar.

that being said it slants the already awful parity of the sport in such a strong direction to the bama, uga, clemson’s etc that the idea of tech, virginia, colorado, and teams in that realm can never compete. i have no idea what the right answer is at this point

NCAA study finds all but 20 FBS schools lose money on athletics

Study also finds that athletic revenues fail to meet expenses at every Division II and Division III school.

www.al.com

 

[Randy Carson]

I met Johnny Unitas once back in the 80's. He was working for a company in Baltimore, and I was there to present some equipment to other managers. We said "hello" briefly in passing. Honestly, I wouldn't have known who he was if someone hadn't told me his name.

This is what the NFL used to be. This is why college players USED to care about getting a degree from Georgia Tech. This is why the Golden Tornado was dominant back in the day.

Football was a game...not a career path.

That's over. Let's focus on what we're good at and have fun with the rest.

 

[RonJohn]

....

Football was a game...not a career path.

.....

Football still is not a career path for most student athletes. It is even not a career path for a large portion of highly recruited athletes. A small portion of college football players ever play in the NFL. Of those, only a very small portion make large enough contracts to have generation changing effects. I think the push by friends, family, and even college coaches to view college only as an opportunity to "hit the lottery" in the NFL has been very bad for young athletes. Having big dreams of success is great. Having no backup plan in the works is not.

 

[Pointer]

Football still is not a career path for most student athletes. It is even not a career path for a large portion of highly recruited athletes. A small portion of college football players ever play in the NFL. Of those, only a very small portion make large enough contracts to have generation changing effects. I think the push by friends, family, and even college coaches to view college only as an opportunity to "hit the lottery" in the NFL has been very bad for young athletes. Having big dreams of success is great. Having no backup plan in the works is not.

It's hard to convince 18 year olds to think that far into the future, so it's a damn shame when adults in their lives push them down that path knowing full well what the chances of making it are. Not to say you shouldn't go for it, but at least have a reasonable back up plan.

It's like the old ball coach used to say, if you're good enough, the NFL will find you. Why not get a degree worth a damn in the meantime?

 

[Northeast Stinger]

It's hard to convince 18 year olds to think that far into the future, so it's a damn shame when adults in their lives push them down that path knowing full well what the chances of making it are. Not to say you shouldn't go for it, but at least have a reasonable back up plan.

It's like the old ball coach used to say, if you're good enough, the NFL will find you. Why not get a degree worth a damn in the meantime?

I think the stats used to be (from memory a few years ago) 4% of college players make it in the pros and of these more than 50% end up bankrupt.

 

[RonJohn]

I think the stats used to be (from memory a few years ago) 4% of college players make it in the pros and of these more than 50% end up bankrupt.

It is even worse than that:

Statistics suggest that up to 78% of NFL players go bankrupt or fall into severe financial stress within just two years of retirement. For basketball players, the figures are only slightly better at 60% of financial ruin within five years of retirement.

How NFL Draftees Can Avoid Going Broke

It’s an all-too-common fate for many — but it’s avoidable with a little planning, according to a financial planner specializing in helping professional athletes who has seen it all.

www.kiplinger.com

 

[Richard7125]

I read that yesterday. Lots on this board believe some sort of reorg will happen. The conference tv contracts seem to be what will drive the reshuffle. ND is in an interesting dilemma. They want to play SEC level football but not change how they are now operating. NIL may have been blown up by then. Some think schools will operate a team that is more or less owned by the school but separate from the academic part. Some will argue that is already the way a lot are operating now!!! Something has to give the way it is playing out.

If you divorced football (and basketball) from academics, would you even allow someone on that team to go to school? Think about it. Why would the school (or the coach) deal with any of the hassles of the "student" part any longer - no more tutors, no more study halls. You wouldn't be limited to 20hrs/week for practice. No haggling with professors to provide leeway for teams travelling or having to do lab work. Their #1 focus would be the business of football.

 

[ChicagobasedJacket]

If you divorced football (and basketball) from academics, would you even allow someone on that team to go to school? Think about it. Why would the school (or the coach) deal with any of the hassles of the "student" part any longer - no more tutors, no more study halls. You wouldn't be limited to 20hrs/week for practice. No haggling with professors to provide leeway for teams travelling or having to do lab work. Their #1 focus would be the business of football.

The business of football is the focus at a lot of schools and has been for awhile. Honestly, divorcing the football team from the school likely won’t result in a major change in terms of the teams at the top of CFB. Those schools have long ago divorced athletics from academics. If you don’t believe me, check graduation rates.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

The business of football is the focus at a lot of schools and has been for awhile. Honestly, divorcing the football team from the school likely won’t result in a major change in terms of the teams at the top of CFB. Those schools have long ago divorced athletics from academics. If you don’t believe me, check graduation rates.

I haven’t checked graduation rates in the last few years but a while back it seemed like the academic progress requirements had improved these rates. Of course now with NIL, the transfer portal and players making themselves available for the draft I would imagine academic progress only has to be shown for a smaller group of players long term. The rest are gone long before graduation.

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

The business of football is the focus at a lot of schools and has been for awhile. Honestly, divorcing the football team from the school likely won’t result in a major change in terms of the teams at the top of CFB. Those schools have long ago divorced athletics from academics. If you don’t believe me, check graduation rates.

uga footballs graduation rate is at 87%, which is 3% less than our 90%. ND graduated 91% and Bama graduated 88% of their players.

 

[forensicbuzz]

uga footballs graduation rate is at 87%, which is 3% less than our 90%. ND graduated 91% and Bama graduated 88% of their players.

And GT's regular student body graduation rate went from 35% to 97% with the USN&WR rankings race. Our students are smarter than we were, but they're also not abused like we were. Maybe because we weren't so smart, we needed to be abused to make us better.

 

[RonJohn]

uga footballs graduation rate is at 87%, which is 3% less than our 90%. ND graduated 91% and Bama graduated 88% of their players.

There are issues with the way those are calculated. (about to get techincal) The basic formula is graduates/students. The NCAA doesn't use the Federal Graduation Rate because of issues with it. The FGR counts all students who enter the school as students even if they transfer out, but they don't count as graduates even if they graduate elsewhere. It does not include transfer-ins a students. Therefore you have to count transfer-outs as non graduates and transfer-ins don't help. The Graduation Success Rate that the NCAA uses doesn't count transfer-outs as students if they were academically eligible whether or not they graduate elsewhere. (Left-Eligible) It does count transfer-ins as students and graduates. The effect is that transfer students "move" to the new school. However, a student who leaves a school while eligible but never enrolls elsewhere isn't counted against a school's graduation rate. The numbers appear to be extremely high, but that is how the NCAA wants the numbers to look so the calculation is set up to ensure that the stated graduation rates are high.

That doesn't negate your argument. The schools do try to keep the publicly stated numbers up. They do push kids to go to class and get tutoring. (Though some do push easy majors, fake classes, and pressure profs to "correct" grades.)

I actually think a separation would be good for college athletics. You could have a minor league system "sponsored" by colleges, and then an association of colleges that compete against each other. If football does become a professional system at some schools, why would there be any academic requirements whatsoever? The teams could bring in players and cut them as they see fit. You could keep a player ten years or cut them after Summer camp. There would be a lot of argument over separations of conferences and money, but I think football would be the easy part of the split. I also don't see a professional minor-league system supporting lower tier sports. Where would the lower tier sports teams play? Would the ACC still let FSU play softball and volleyball as ACC teams if the football team is part of a professional organization? Forming the professional organization would be easy compared to cleaning up the mess it would make of college athletics in general.