College Free Agency

[tech_wreck47]

You really believe that? It’s just came out that each ACC school is receiving $40MM!!! You mean to tell me allocating $2mil for 350 is undoable?

As @gtwcf stole my thunder. A lot of the money is being “reinvested” and paying ridiculous coaches salaries

Why does the 350 deserve it over the rest of the school though?

 

[TampaGT]

You really believe that? It’s just came out that each ACC school is receiving $40MM!!! You mean to tell me allocating $2mil for 350 is undoable?

As @gtwcf stole my thunder. A lot of the money is being “reinvested” and paying ridiculous coaches salaries

I did a quick search in 2008. Alabama had a revenue of $123,769,841 and expenses of $123,370,004 for a profit of $399,837. If GT had 2.6 just laying around, then why did they have to raise money for the recruiting staff. Everybody hears about the money coming in but most don’t know how much money it takes to run these athletic depts. It has been stated multiple times that schools break even or lose a little money when they go to bowl games (if they don’t go to one the big bowl games)

 

[jwsavhGT]

Devil's advocate here: Student/Athletes, due to the nature of how they spend their time (training, practices, classes, labs, film room, etc) may not have the extra time that is needed to hold part-time jobs for needed monies. Non-S/As have also have classes, labs, etc but may have the extra time for part-time jobs. Why not give the S/A an outlet to earn extra money?
I agree it could be a slippery slope and would have to be carefully monitored. Another option, as opposed to giving money directly to the S/A is to have it go into a trust-type account that they could draw from upon graduation.

 

[gtwcf]

I did a quick search in 2008. Alabama had a revenue of $123,769,841 and expenses of $123,370,004 for a profit of $399,837. If GT had 2.6 just laying around, then why did they have to raise money for the recruiting staff. Everybody hears about the money coming in but most don’t know how much money it takes to run these athletic depts. It has been stated multiple times that schools break even or lose a little money when they go to bowl games (if they don’t go to one the big bowl games)

Look at the salaries of the top guys at Alabama https://www.al.com/alabamafootball/index.ssf/2017/06/the_top_30_alabama_crimson_tid.html

I do think assistant coaches in general are underpaid (a lot of hours worked, on the road quite a bit, have to connect with teenagers to get them to come to their school), but the Bama group is overpaid in my opinion based on the backshop operations to reduce the workload on that group.

And the AD is probably overcompensated for the amount of revenue in comparison to private business. There is probably additional headaches/press requirements that aren't usually there for a similarly sized company.

And the game is balancing the budget and not trying to turn a profit. Because you want/need more donations next year....and stockpiling cash (other than in endowments) isn't a good way to do that.

 

[tech_wreck47]

Devil's advocate here: Student/Athletes, due to the nature of how they spend their time (training, practices, classes, labs, film room, etc) may not have the extra time that is needed to hold part-time jobs for needed monies. Non-S/As have also have classes, labs, etc but may have the extra time for part-time jobs. Why not give the S/A an outlet to earn extra money?
I agree it could be a slippery slope and would have to be carefully monitored. Another option, as opposed to giving money directly to the S/A is to have it go into a trust-type account that they could draw from upon graduation.

A lot of the non student athletes also have to pay for stuff student athletes don’t have to pay for.

 

[4shotB]

A lot of the non student athletes also have to pay for stuff student athletes don’t have to pay for.

Exactly. I had a part time job while at Tech the duration.Even dropped out for awhile to work full time to save $. What was I doing with the money?....rent, tuition, books, food, bills, etc. Stuff that comes with a full scholly. Even with the part-time jobs, I still left with student loans. And didn't have the support staff (tutors, medical, etc.) that the athletes have. I respect the athletes but others at Tech are grinding too.

 

[knoxjacket]

When your being paid, your being taxed. How about we keep College sports college sports. You get paid when you go pro or get a job. Does anyone really think the IRS won't get involved when you take College sports into the professional stage. If your being paid to play your a professional. kids getting a free education, free healthcare , free tutors, free food, plus some spending cash... Is not a bad deal.

Agreed. Let’s start by requiring athletes go through the same admissions process as the regular students.

Let’s also drop all the tutoring/babysitting they get so they have to have a real college experience.

They can also eat in the regular cafeterias and have to pay for a meal plan like the other students.

 

[GTJake]

Don't forget the biggest problem in all this ... the NCAA infractions committee.
IMO, that's the first place to start cleaning up college athletics.
If you have one of the high profile institutions get off with a slap on the wrist after a major violation (UNC) what message does that send to the other cheaters.
And remember, we had our ACC Championship vacated over $300 in clothing with the tags still on them !!

 

[dressedcheeseside]

They sign a deal that says they get a tuition free education, room, board, books, tutoring, preferred scheduling and many other perks at a top shelf school they wouldn't likely get into otherwise. They get all this in exchange for playing football which includes practices, meetings, workouts and performing in front of live and televised audiences. True, the school is making money off of them, but sharing that money wasn't part of the deal.

I started GT on a NROTC scholarship. The deal I signed up for basically gave me a tuition free education as long as I maintained certain parameters in exchange for 4 years of military service in the Navy as a commissioned officer post graduation. (Unlike football players, I had to get into school on my own credentials in competition with other regular students.) True, the school wasn't making money off of me, there were no tv contracts so that people could watch me marching in formation wearing my uniform. However, I would not have turned down the scholly if they were and I wouldn't be demanding money after I signed a deal that did not include such provisions.

If these guys have a beef with the current system, easy, don't enter it. Imo, it's more than fair the way it is.

 

[MWBATL]

(1) I have zero sympathy for the colleges and athletic depts who are making a fortune off of these kids.
(2) I absolutely despise the idea that colleges/universities should pay athletes (or any other students) beyond their scholarships to participate in extracurricular activities. Go start a minor league if that is what you want.
(3) I do not disrespect those athletes who see the current path as the only means to a professional payday in sports. The way things are today, they are right. I do disrespect those universities who decide to sell out their academic principles.

So, I oppose paying college athletes. I do not oppose starting a minor league system. The SEC has already done all the ground work for you in that regard.

(PS- I do also recognize that there are plenty of grey areas where some guys want the best of both worlds, a good education and a possible path to pro sports. If they are willing to do the work academically, they should get the scholarships for college athletics. But there are honestly tons of guys who have no interest in the academics and just are focused on the sports training. There should be programs set up for those guys....)

 

[dressedcheeseside]

One thing I've often wondered is why colleges and Universities don't offer a performance sports degree. Many, if not most, offer performance music degrees. What is the difference in terms of legitimacy?

From the Ugag website:
Bachelor of Music - Performance
"The program of study leading to the Bachelor of Music with a major in performance is comprehensively designed to prepare for a career as a professional musician, a studio teacher, or a college professor."

So why not a degree to prepare for a career as a professional athlete? Just throwin' it out there?

 

[Lavoisier]

The finances are always blurry because unless you have the breakdown of costs and have the time to go over all the ledgers, it is hard to know what is included in the expenses. Is upkeep of facilities separated out for athletics or is it all bundled together with the school? Health insurance? The school gives 85 scholarships worth $50,000 each (out of state) away to the football team alone. Is that included? Athletics outside of the major schools doesn't really make any money. People have to realize we also pay for water polo and other sports that don't make any revenue but still have costs. The majority of coaching salaries are paid by boosters, and in GT's case so are the facility upgrades. To pay players that money has to come from the boosters and donors.

 

[MWBATL]

One thing I've often wondered is why colleges and Universities don't offer a performance sports degree. Many, if not most, offer performance music degrees. What is the difference in terms of legitimacy?

From the Ugag website:
Bachelor of Music - Performance
"The program of study leading to the Bachelor of Music with a major in performance is comprehensively designed to prepare for a career as a professional musician, a studio teacher, or a college professor."

So why not a degree to prepare for a career as a professional athlete? Just throwin' it out there?

I actually would not disagree with this approach either. It would also tend to level the playing field, as entrance requirements and academic curriculum between places like SEC and GT would suddenly become a lot more level.

I do wonder if the academic wonks would oppose it because it might lower things like average SAT scores of incoming freshmen and lower the university's overall ranking vis-a-vis other universities like MIT etc....

 

[stech81]

I kept my mouth shut for awhile which is pretty good for me. ( at least longer than my wife could have kept hers shut which is going off as I type ,guess I need nod my head like I'm listening to her ) . I would hate to see colleges pay money to athletes and have them be able to move from one team to another. That is to much like pro ball which I lost interest in awhile back . Sign a contract and 2 years later want more money. You signed to bad please don't do this to college sports . what made college sports great was most the time players played for the love of the game.
Just my opinion and most will not agree.

 

[knoxjacket]

One thing I've often wondered is why colleges and Universities don't offer a performance sports degree. Many, if not most, offer performance music degrees. What is the difference in terms of legitimacy?

From the Ugag website:
Bachelor of Music - Performance
"The program of study leading to the Bachelor of Music with a major in performance is comprehensively designed to prepare for a career as a professional musician, a studio teacher, or a college professor."

So why not a degree to prepare for a career as a professional athlete? Just throwin' it out there?

What percentage of those graduates end up as professional musicians or instructors? Probably substantially more than college football players end up pro players or coaches.

 

[knoxjacket]

(1) I have zero sympathy for the colleges and athletic depts who are making a fortune off of these kids.
(2) I absolutely despise the idea that colleges/universities should pay athletes (or any other students) beyond their scholarships to participate in extracurricular activities. Go start a minor league if that is what you want.
(3) I do not disrespect those athletes who see the current path as the only means to a professional payday in sports. The way things are today, they are right. I do disrespect those universities who decide to sell out their academic principles.

So, I oppose paying college athletes. I do not oppose starting a minor league system. The SEC has already done all the ground work for you in that regard.

(PS- I do also recognize that there are plenty of grey areas where some guys want the best of both worlds, a good education and a possible path to pro sports. If they are willing to do the work academically, they should get the scholarships for college athletics. But there are honestly tons of guys who have no interest in the academics and just are focused on the sports training. There should be programs set up for those guys....)

So every school that gives out athletic scholarships (and some that don’t)?

 

[CuseJacket]

I am all for scaling back time requirements for athletes. Yea, it might deteriorate the quality of the game. I don't care, let the S-A's be students. That's what college is about. 2 hours of practice/weight-training/film per day should be enough. I think that's approx. what everyone does in HS - at least in my day.

Then, let them get jobs. I don't know how to regulate that with name + likeness concerns, but I really don't care if some make more than others. But at least this isn't the school or NCAA's obligation.

Keep in mind, 90%+ of the NCAA's revenue comes from the men's NCAAT. In other words, in a discussion about paying football players, it doesn't make sense for the NCAA to be responsible for paying them.

At the school level, where revenues are primarily driven by football, I think there is some excess in coaching salaries and the facilities race nonsense. Rather than paying S-A's, pump that excess into things better the school i.e., academics. Or, if the school decides there's value in non-revenue sports, let them make that decision.

Personally, and I say this without trying to totally trivialize the contributions of S-A's, but I think some S-A's are misguided about their value. I don't go to GT games to see specific players. I go to support GT. It doesn't make a difference whether TaQuon/JT/Nesbitt/Okogie/etc is on our team or if they went somewhere else. I'm certainly going to support the players and the team as a fan, but it doesn't change my personal revenue contribution to GT/ESPN/NCAA etc.

I'm also all for S-A's having to meet general student acceptance guidelines, however I think it's fair to note that extraordinary skills are often a consideration in general acceptance where a student does not meet the general academic admission criteria. So, I don't know how one would define that line as it relates to athletes, but I do want to acknowledge that there is a case to be made that they do not need to meet a general SAT or GPA minimum, or however admissions defines the criteria. Realistically, this could conceivably cripple GT from a competitive perspective, but again the whole set-up should be about school, not my personal interest nor athletics.

There are many reasons why all of the above is unlikely to happen. And I recognize my ideas are way oversimplifying, but the general point is to get back to the spirit of students being in school. And that way, the school can act like a school and not need to venture into this world of "employing" S-A's.