The Upcoming College Football Season

[Disneybuckeye]

Are your seats really good? Those are some steep donation fees! Am
I reading that right? They charged you over $1 million just for the opportunity to buy tickets?

It was a voluntary donatio that started with an initial $1million donation of stock. We also gave another $300k to help build the new chem eng building. We also donate at least $10k a year to be able to buy our parking pass. We have 4 tickets on the 45 yard line on the visitors side. Couldn’t afford home side or a box. We are at the top of the lower section so we are under cover.

Our hoops and hockey tickets were $16 donation up front and $2k donation a year with a $10k balloon every 10th year. Much more reasonable.

Of course depending on how this season goes for conferences who are playing we may find new places to donate.

 

[MillauFr]

It was a voluntary donatio that started with an initial $1million donation of stock. We also gave another $300k to help build the new chem eng building. We also donate at least $10k a year to be able to buy our parking pass. We have 4 tickets on the 45 yard line on the visitors side. Couldn’t afford home side or a box. We are at the top of the lower section so we are under cover.

Our hoops and hockey tickets were $16 donation up front and $2k donation a year with a $10k balloon every 10th year. Much more reasonable.

Of course depending on how this season goes for conferences who are playing we may find new places to donate.

This is going to become more common as the Colleges will be forced to pay players. The PAC 12 is opening the flood gates as California and Washington are going to start paying players. UW, Oregon, and the big California schools will be able pay players big salaries because they have plenty of billionaire alumni to tap into. After the State of Washington told UW they weren't going to pay for stadium renovations the athletic director made a few calls to the billionaires and had the $300m funding she needed in short order. This direction is going to destroy college football when success will be almost perfectly correlated to the net worth of the alumni.

 

[leebee]

nvm

 

[JaxDad]

This is going to become more common as the Colleges will be forced to pay players. The PAC 12 is opening the flood gates as California and Washington are going to start paying players. UW, Oregon, and the big California schools will be able pay players big salaries because they have plenty of billionaire alumni to tap into. After the State of Washington told UW they weren't going to pay for stadium renovations the athletic director made a few calls to the billionaires and had the $300m funding she needed in short order. This direction is going to destroy college football when success will be almost perfectly correlated to the net worth of the alumni.

In my very unpopular opinion, more should be done to decouple college and professional sports. The NFL should have it's own minor league(s), like the MLB and to some degree the NBA "G" League. High school students with pro-level talent and no college aspirations should have a valid "tradesperson" career path. A NFL Triple-A equivalent league would be great football and would likely draw people and TV coverage, and the players should be paid accordingly. Scholarships should be for students who truly expect to complete their education, and they should be more than willing to commit at least three years to the school. These legit student-athletes would still have the option to play sports and perhaps develop into professional recruits. The overall talent level of college football and basketball would diminish, but still be competitive.

 

[_19disnA]

^^ I agree, the notion that paying college athletes is somehow good for the sport (or the athlete) doesn't make sense to me. You should go to college to get an education/degree. I know at some colleges athletes are treated more as a money-making franchise then a college student. Paying them a salary will only make the problem worse. Only a small percent of them go on to make their living playing pro sports. If you 'graduate' with no degree and sports doesn't pan out, then what?

 

[MillauFr]

^^ I agree, the notion that paying college athletes is somehow good for the sport (or the athlete) doesn't make sense to me. You should go to college to get an education/degree.

Paying students will accelerate the collapse of the system that is a complete joke at the big football schools. Calling the football players "students" is an insult to the real students there to learn. My graduate student advisor at the University of Washington was on a committee to disband all of the sham classes the football players were taking in order to maintain eligibility. They were glorified junior high classes. None of the football players were in real majors like engineering, pre-med, business, computer science. Most of them were taking "Sports Communications" Even if the players wanted to take a serious major there is no way the football coaches would let them enroll in classes that got in the way of football.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

^^ I agree, the notion that paying college athletes is somehow good for the sport (or the athlete) doesn't make sense to me. You should go to college to get an education/degree.

At the very least every student on the team should be on a full scholarship. If your school is making oodles of dollars on your students playing football, and you are then charging those kids to attend that school, that's some grade-A nonsense.

 

[jdb in AZ]

Paying students will accelerate the collapse of the system that is a complete joke at the big football schools. Calling the football players "students" is an insult to the real students there to learn. My graduate student advisor at the University of Washington was on a committee to disband all of the sham classes the football players were taking in order to maintain eligibility. They were glorified junior high classes. None of the football players were in real majors like engineering, pre-med, business, computer science. Most of them were taking "Sports Communications" Even if the players wanted to take a serious major there is no way the football coaches would let them enroll in classes that got in the way of football.

A player in a prestigious college sports conference needed to testify as a witness in court and his coach wanted to make sure the "student" wouldn't have to read anything. Um, shouldn't college students know how to read?

 

[tcufrog]

Paying students will accelerate the collapse of the system that is a complete joke at the big football schools. Calling the football players "students" is an insult to the real students there to learn. My graduate student advisor at the University of Washington was on a committee to disband all of the sham classes the football players were taking in order to maintain eligibility. They were glorified junior high classes. None of the football players were in real majors like engineering, pre-med, business, computer science. Most of them were taking "Sports Communications" Even if the players wanted to take a serious major there is no way the football coaches would let them enroll in classes that got in the way of football.

My DH attended a D1 school back in the 90s and majored in engineering. One of his classmates was a football player. At his university, engineering was one of the top weed out programs and this football player graduated with a degree in engineering. I wonder if that's still possible.

 

[MillauFr]

My DH attended a D1 school back in the 90s and majored in engineering. One of his classmates was a football player. At his university, engineering was one of the top weed out programs and this football player graduated with a degree in engineering. I wonder if that's still possible.

It can happen but it is rare. They should at least allow the football players to not take classes during Fall semester if they want and then pay tuition for an extra two years after their football playing days are over. At least then they would have a chance to take real classes.

 

[Praying Colonel]

A student on a music scholarship can go out and play in a bar on weekends (or get a recording contract with a music label) and that's OK.

A photography student on scholarship can start their own photography business or work for a company and that's OK.

A student on an academic scholarship can get a job as a model, or make money as an IG influencer, or start their own YouTube channel and monetize that, and that's OK.

The only students who aren't permitted to make money off their Name/Image/Likeness, from their talent (or from playing in another sport) is a scholarship athlete. It's just an artificial, arbitrary barrier to entry to keep players down on the farm. It's bogus.

 

[_19disnA]

^^ Not sure I follow your logic. All of your examples are of things students are doing OUTSIDE of college. By that logic, you couldn't work a part-time job to help pay your college expenses? Paying an athlete and then having them attend sham classes sets them up for failure once they leave college. If an athlete is 'too busy' practicing/participating in their sport, then something is wrong with our educational priorities.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

A student on a music scholarship can go out and play in a bar on weekends (or get a recording contract with a music label) and that's OK.

A photography student on scholarship can start their own photography business or work for a company and that's OK.

A student on an academic scholarship can get a job as a model, or make money as an IG influencer, or start their own YouTube channel and monetize that, and that's OK.

The only students who aren't permitted to make money off their Name/Image/Likeness, from their talent (or from playing in another sport) is a scholarship athlete. It's just an artificial, arbitrary barrier to entry to keep players down on the farm. It's bogus.

It's not arbitrary at all nor bogus. Star football and basketball players were given sham jobs they didn't even show up for in essence getting paid to play cheating the rules. Music, photography, and academic students are not given sham jobs and actually work at the real jobs they get.

My DH attended a D1 school back in the 90s and majored in engineering. One of his classmates was a football player. At his university, engineering was one of the top weed out programs and this football player graduated with a degree in engineering. I wonder if that's still possible.

It is possible and there are several d1 schools where it happens. But those schools usually aren't competing for national titles. At a football factory, the chances are remote (though not zero)

 

[Praying Colonel]

It's not arbitrary at all nor bogus. Star football and basketball players were given sham jobs they didn't even show up for in essence getting paid to play cheating the rules. Music, photography, and academic students are not given sham jobs and actually work at the real jobs they get.

So because some players may have got sham jobs in the past, no player can ever make bona fide income off their NIL? Nope, not arbitary at all.

This is why states are passing laws (and Congress is proposing laws) correcting this.

 

[sonnyjane]

Just a former Division I athlete at a major university that had many football players (and basketball players, and baseball players) in her non-sham classes enjoying the analysis from “experts”...

Carry on.

 

[Lumpy1106]

I'm going to step away from the scholarship fray if that's OK and ask a different question. I think there is little question that the method of determining the NCAA football championship needs some serious work. The 4-team playoff is a good start, but how about something more like the Premier League in England; Take the top 16 teams from the previous season and have them only play each other for the season in a "championship division", best record takes the title. Do whatever you want for the bowl games - they don't count for the national title. The bottom 4 teams are relegated from contention for the championship the next year, replaced by the 4 most highly-rated teams that were NOT in the "championship division". Repeat.

OK, I will jump into the scholarship fray a little because I did have an idea there too; How about instead of paying players or giving scholarships, give them a "loan". Make it generous - why not? If you play out your eligibility, fail to make the team, can't play because of injury, choose to quit the team to focus on academics, etc. you don't have to pay it back, but if you head to the pros early, or get kicked off the team for discipline reasons you do. Basically that way if you end up with a degree it ends up being a scholarship, while if you are just using the school to get to the pros the school is not out anything. That seems fair.

 

[GreatLakes]

It can happen but it is rare. They should at least allow the football players to not take classes during Fall semester if they want and then pay tuition for an extra two years after their football playing days are over. At least then they would have a chance to take real classes.

There is zero reason why an adult, and these are adults, can't take classes while playing their sport. Colleges are full of people that have to balance multiple commitments. Some have children or full time jobs. Others are the caretaker for a sick parent or have to raise a sibling. Having to balance a sport and academics is not some impossible feat that deserves our admiration or changes to rules.

Kids on scholarship to school for sports are being paid. It isn't cash, it is a free education worth $100,000 plus and if they squander that by blowing off studies or majoring in some nonsense major that they can't turn into a career if a pro sports contract doesn't pan out that is their own stupidity, laziness, or both. The smart ones that actually take the opportunity to get a free degree in something useful are walking away well paid. Most 18 - 22 year olds are not earning the equivalent of a D1 education. I know I wasn't at that age.

I always thought any kid in college that expects to go pro that isn't majoring in finance or economics is wasting a big opportunity. If you reasonably suspect you will have millions of dollars handed to you the day you graduate it would make sense to learn in advance how to handle it.

 

[sam_gordon]

Kids on scholarship to school for sports are being paid. It isn't cash, it is a free education worth $100,000 plus and if they squander that by blowing off studies or majoring in some nonsense major that they can't turn into a career if a pro sports contract doesn't pan out that is their own stupidity, laziness, or both. The smart ones that actually take the opportunity to get a free degree in something useful are walking away well paid. Most 18 - 22 year olds are not earning the equivalent of a D1 education.

THIS! "Athletes need to make money". Let's be honest. The only athletes that would get paid at a school are going to be the top FB & BB players. Do you think the softball players will get paid? The soccer players? Water polo? XC runners? No. And the FB & BB players are the ones getting full rides. PLUS the clothing they get issued. Paying players is going to benefit the larger schools with big pockets and you're going to have a wider gap between the haves and have nots (referring to the schools).

And yes, athletes should be allowed to get jobs. But, there should be checks and balances to make sure they didn't get the job BECAUSE they're an athlete, and that they're showing up and doing the work.

 

[MillauFr]

And yes, athletes should be allowed to get jobs. But, there should be checks and balances to make sure they didn't get the job BECAUSE they're an athlete, and that they're showing up and doing the work.

Why should the schools profit and not the players? The schools get billions of dollars from those TV contracts. Why shouldn't the players get a cut?

 

[MillauFr]

There is zero reason why an adult, and these are adults, can't take classes while playing their sport.

They are there to play football. Not to learn. No way the football coach is going to let classes get in they way of practices.