Do academics mean anything anymore at college

[Bogey]

There are legal issues that need to be worked out in the courts but our legal system is not the complete answer. As a lawyer told me once, if you looking for satisfaction, go to a whore house. If you want to get screwed, go to a courthouse.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

I've always felt a sense of pride in GT doing things the right way. Yes, doing things the right way makes it harder, but victory is that much sweeter. Victory minus integrity is not victory.

 

[Ramble1885]

Academics means less, yes. But they still mean something. If you want to transfer into to a school via portal you can't just be a dum dum you have to meet their academic standards.

 

[Root4GT]

I think these comments by Jerry Stackhouse after he was fired at Vandy (Which was justified) show how much things have changed in a very short period of time - 2-3 years.

"When we first started here, we thought that just getting on par with the other schools, having the facilities and things like that, would help. Now that's not enough," Stackhouse said. "Used to be where you could go, you make all the calls, you go show kids as much interest as you can, do all those type things. Now you got to reach out to their agents. You know what I'm saying? That's where it is in order to really get in the door. NIL, that's a big part of it. You have to be a player in that. Quite frankly, we hadn't been a big player in that yet. So those are the things that have to become a part of it."

I see on the message boards alot of talk about how much NIL is it going to take to get a player to come to a college. That is seriously messed up. Most of these young men - even at the factories, are never going to play a minute of professional sports (1.6% of college football players play at the NFL level, for college basketball players it is a little better as roughly 20% play professionally somewhere in the world), yet both they and the colleges are treating academics as an afterthought at best.

Stackhouse is also basically saying that having the facilities, putting in the time and effort to recruit and establish relationships with prospects is no longer enough. Now it is basically a money grab.

There has always been money involved at some places, but the sheer level of money now and how it has impacted the decisions being made are a real negative for the young men and college sports themselves.

I used to live and die by GT sports, that is not the case anymore. How I view college sports has changed radically. I gave up my season tickets. I watch very few games (Even GT's) live. Generally i'll DVR games and if they win I will go back and watch it if I have time. If they lose I don't even bother.

I gave up professional sports a long time ago. I don't watch NBA or MLB. I'll watch NFL playoff games that interest me. College sports is getting close to that point for me. This complete chaos where there are either no rules/regulations or they are not enforced in any way just makes it unenjoyable. There is no reason to watch to follow any players because they may be here today gone tomorrow. You don't get to enjoy seeing players grow and evolve.

The NFL is by far the best sport out there for entertainment. The salary cap makes it very difficult to build dynasties anymore and keeps the league competitive. For instance the NFC East has not had a repeat Champion since 2004. In a 4 team Division that is remarkable. Very unlike college football where you can count on the top conference teams almost every year. There is about a 33% roster turnover for NFL teams every year, mostly guys who have finished their rookie contracts or expensive veterans who can be replaced by cheaper rookies.

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

This article just depresses me and further pushes me away from following college sports.
As every year goes by I am becoming less interested. I watched less college sports this year than I have ever done before. I contribute less than I used to. I probably watched more women's college basketball this year than men's. I certainly watch alot less college football and basketball than I used to.
I don't really follow recruiting that closely anymore because most of the young people are going to be gone in 2 years or less, so why bother getting invested in any of them.

I feel like I am maybe a year or two from just not following college sports anymore. Somewhere along the way we lost the thread. What is the point of following college sports if they really have nothing to do with college? I'd be all for college football being completely removed from colleges at this point. Just go make it a minor league professional sport.

As college football transfer portal becomes more chaotic, focus on educational values continues to dwindle

With the relaxation or elimination of NCAA transfer rules, there will be more chaos than ever as more players jump to new schools

www.cbssports.com

As the enterprise moves away from the educational component of college athletics, the question must be asked: What thread of academics tied to athletics will be left? Are players moving closer to majoring in football? We're not necessarily talking about a degree program -- although, who knows, maybe that's in the cards -- but eroding academic integrity in this transfer climate.

Athletes will continue to play. They will go to classes. But does it even matter anymore if they graduate?

"Quite frankly, they don't care," one Power Four AD said non-specifically. "They care, but [athlete] mobility and money is more important than graduation right now."

It's a long-proven fact that the more a student transfers, the less likely that person is to graduate.

"When we look back five years from now, what will our graduation rates be?" wondered one member of an NCAA committee dealing with the eligibility component.

It has now become much easier to assemble and retain a roster in professional sports than in college athletics. In the pros, there are salary caps and team budgets.

In major college sports, pure chaos continues to reign.

Nope, it does not mean a thing.

 

[stinger78]

I cannot believe I’m about to type this, but anyone who sticks the NCAA as the propagator of this is off base, IMO. The NCAA has many, many issues, but facilitating player pay is not one of them. They have staunchly resisted payola since their beginning as a factor inhibiting competitive balance. They have done so very imperfectly, but they have resisted. They have maintained academic progress requirements, again, imperfectly, but they have done so. They have minimized player movement, albeit imperfectly.
Still, they have stood for payment in kind for services rendered by athletes, academic progress, and player retention. However, the NCAA is now effectively dead.

NIL came about through the courts and antitrust decisions, not the NCAA. Due to the massive commercialization of college athletics, and the money involved, the players finally decided to revolt, and did so successfully, for a piece of the pie. Now it appears that payola, academics, and retention have all been tossed to the wind. As these were granted via legal decision, limits in those must be as well. The NCAA cannot. It will take an entity with both the desire and the financial means to endure a long legal process.

But who will?

Coaches? Their enormous compensation packages have fed the fire. Will they give these up! Would it matter?

Players? Why ever would they do that? Professional players are envious of their freedoms now.

Media? Please….

Fans? The only recourse fans have is not to watch. Not going to happen.

Universities? This may be the only answer. If enough universities see amateur athletics as important enough to save, they may act. I believe GT and many others might reestablish a repurposed NCAA-type organization to oversee a legally approved rebinding of SA’s to a “limited amateur” status under some type of antitrust exemption.

This may be pie in the sky, or it may not. College athletics cannot exist in its current state, IMPO.

 

[Root4GT]

I cannot believe I’m about to type this, but anyone who sticks the NCAA as the propagator of this is off base, IMO. The NCAA has many, many issues, but facilitating player pay is not one of them. They have staunchly resisted payola since their beginning as a factor inhibiting competitive balance. They have done so very imperfectly, but they have resisted. They have maintained academic progress requirements, again, imperfectly, but they have done so. They have minimized player movement, albeit imperfectly.
Still, they have stood for payment in kind for services rendered by athletes, academic progress, and player retention. However, the NCAA is now effectively dead.

NIL came about through the courts and antitrust decisions, not the NCAA. Due to the massive commercialization of college athletics, and the money involved, the players finally decided to revolt, and did so successfully, for a piece of the pie. Now it appears that payola, academics, and retention have all been tossed to the wind. As these were granted via legal decision, limits in those must be as well. The NCAA cannot. It will take an entity with both the desire and the financial means to endure a long legal process.

But who will?

Coaches? Their enormous compensation packages have fed the fire. Will they give these up! Would it matter?

Players? Why ever would they do that? Professional players are envious of their freedoms now.

Media? Please….

Fans? The only recourse fans have is not to watch. Not going to happen.

Universities? This may be the only answer. If enough universities see amateur athletics as important enough to save, they may act. I believe GT and many others might reestablish a repurposed NCAA-type organization to oversee a legally approved rebinding of SA’s to a “limited amateur” status under some type of antitrust exemption.

This may be pie in the sky, or it may not. College athletics cannot exist in its current state, IMPO.

GT is not going to voluntarily get off the College Sports Big Business Train. GT may get left off the train but it will not be by choice.

The NCAA bears far more responsibility than you suggest they do. They made zero effort to make reasonable accommodations for compensating players for their name, image and likeness. It was very clear that they would lose lawsuits on this topic years ago. Rather than workout a reasonable plan they fought tooth and nail to keep things as they always were. Boom they lost and then kept losing in court.

Now college sports are a mess. There appears no quick or easy fix to the mess.

 

[Tjacket]

Unionize the players, have a commissioner, have revenue sharing, make players pay taxes on their income and let's make it NFL light. I ain't long for this NIL/Portal crap myself. Enforce some damn rules once and for all.

Preach brother Preach

 

[leatherneckjacket]

Unionize the players, have a commissioner, have revenue sharing, make players pay taxes on their income and let's make it NFL light. I ain't long for this NIL/Portal crap myself. Enforce some damn rules once and for all.

The day Tech players unionize, I will call up Tech to cancel all my season tickets and donations. That is a deal breaker for me.

 

[MWBATL]

The NFL is by far the best sport out there for entertainment. The salary cap makes it very difficult to build dynasties anymore and keeps the league competitive. For instance the NFC East has not had a repeat Champion since 2004. In a 4 team Division that is remarkable. Very unlike college football where you can count on the top conference teams almost every year. There is about a 33% roster turnover for NFL teams every year, mostly guys who have finished their rookie contracts or expensive veterans who can be replaced by cheaper rookies.

And yet I cannot stand NFL football. Most games just don’t have the full game day experience of a good college football game with the bands, the tailgating, the traditions, etc.

I must be the odd duck.

 

[ChicagobasedJacket]

The day Tech players unionize, I will call up Tech to cancel all my season tickets and donations. That is a deal breaker for me.

Wait, are you saying would blame tech for the unionization?

 

[leatherneckjacket]

Wait, are you saying would blame tech for the unionization?

I am saying I am exiting college sports completely and forever when Georgia Tech student athletes unionize. I do not make annual donations or hold season tickets to any professional sports teams and I am not going to support the unionization of college athletics.

 

[Backstreetbuzz]

I believe the University of Chicago dropped football back in the 1930’s because it had gotten too dirty. Things haven’t really gotten any better.

And 90 years later the University of Chicago still exists. I know because I looked it up, otherwise I would have had no clue.

 

[bucknellbison31]

Some other people touched on this but I just want to reiterate: college football and basketball have not been about academics for as long as there has been significant money involved. If you don't want to watch college athletics because the emphasis on academics has been lost, then that is totally valid; but don't act as though it's a recent development. Academics haven't mattered in P5 football or basketball for years except for just a few schools (Tech, Stanford, Vandy, N'Western, etc.). And guess what: academics still matter at those places! Our athletes at Tech still have to go to class and still have to pass. Do academics matter at, say, Alabama? No, but they never did. So again, if you have issues with the way things are, and that's pushing you away, fine; but it's been that way, and don't pretend otherwise.

 

[forensicbuzz]

I am saying I am exiting college sports completely and forever when Georgia Tech student athletes unionize. I do not make annual donations or hold season tickets to any professional sports teams and I am not going to support the unionization of college athletics.

I understand your point about unions, but I think this is a little different. If a players union is formed, it would be more like the pros, where all the players are in the same union. That would allow for collective bargaining league wide and limitations on things like transferring and $$ could be codified. It should actually end the Wild Wild West we have today.

Personally, I’d rather see a divestiture of the revenue sports from the universities than what we’re going to see. Let those sports form academies like they do internationally. Take the joke of education at some of these schools out of the equation.

 

[yeti92]

I am saying I am exiting college sports completely and forever when Georgia Tech student athletes unionize. I do not make annual donations or hold season tickets to any professional sports teams and I am not going to support the unionization of college athletics.

Just trying to make sure I understand your POV: college athletes getting paid is not an issue, just if they unionize?

 

[tsrich]

And 90 years later the University of Chicago still exists. I know because I looked it up, otherwise I would have had no clue.

It’s one of the best universities in the world.

 

[leatherneckjacket]

I understand your point about unions, but I think this is a little different. If a players union is formed, it would be more like the pros, where all the players are in the same union. That would allow for collective bargaining league wide and limitations on things like transferring and $$ could be codified. It should actually end the Wild Wild West we have today.

Personally, I’d rather see a divestiture of the revenue sports from the universities than what we’re going to see. Let those sports form academies like they do internationally. Take the joke of education at some of these schools out of the equation.

All i am saying is that I have no interest in supporting a professional sports league at Tech with either season ticket purchases or donations. If they unionize, I am out. I will still cheer for them like I do with Yankees and Jets, but they will not get any more money from me.

 

[awbuzz]

It’s one of the best universities in the world.

Academically for sure ... At almost $64K per year for tuition, also one of the most expensive.

As for sports, enjoy the Maroons Division III entertainment.

 

[Jacketman99]

College sports has been trending this way for a while. It is all about money. It's not just the student athletes and NIL, but also look at the moves the conferences and many teams have made the last few years. It is all a big money grab. Make no mistake, the CFP is a money grab. Conference realignment is all about money. Is playing 16 or 17 games as a college football player looking out for the best interest of the student athlete? Is joining a conference where you are regularly making cross country flights in the best interest of the student athlete? I'm not sure we will recognize college athletics in the next 5-7 years.