How would you propose managing it differently to where it could create parity?
And I think the lack of parity increases every year. The NIL, Portal, Conf realignment has made the gap wider in my opinion. The best teams sign the best players. The best players in the portal go to the best programs.
You canāt manage āhistoryā. It simply stands as is. No amount of so-called parity changes the fact that there are only so many established superpowers in CFB. History states most of the national titles have been won by Alabama, Ohio State, OU, and Notre Dame. Period. And no NIL deal, portal transfer, conference realignment, or anything else will change the structure of the heierarchy. You and I are on the same page. Even with all of the change, the blue bloods will be just fine.
I agree with all that. Just to be clear, my discussions havenāt been whether the big boys/bluebloods will be fine. Itās whether the game of college football will be fine. A few posters on here seem to think itās headed towards massive, massive reduction in overall popularity and therefore the game will suffer. I donāt think thatās the case.
If itās moving towards more of an NFL model (which we think it is with NIL and portal equaling player contracts and free agency), then all you have to do is look at the NFLās popularity as an example. College football is no longer the version that we grew up watching as kids, but the basic structure is the same. Question: how many college players would sign if they knew they didnāt have to do the college part and only had to do the sport?
100% BCS computer rating. No tax writeoff for athletics donations. No NIL. State/federal funding to universities reduced by television/radio contract money.
None of this will ever happen.
BCS: I want no part of that. That was a fiasco. I personally think the selection committee is batting close to 1.000. There have been some close calls, but the playoff we currently have is the best option weāve ever had in college football.
NIL: The players deserve something more than a scholarship. Not a popular opinionā¦ā¦but I was one, I raised one, & have trained several more. The athletes deserve a piece of the pie. NIL has a place, but it absolutely needs regulation.
The write offs/funding: Those have further reaching tentacles than just athletic teams.
I know you stated theyād never happen & I agree. Enjoy the convo
IMO for college football to achieve parity it would have to adopt a model similar to the NFL. Having rules that makes the finances and player pool more equitable. Revenues could be shared but I doubt a player draft system would work for college football. I do think rules around NIL and how players are compensated could be used to level the playing field so to speak. I will tell you that the teams who have the advantage in the current system want noting to do with anything that brings parity to college football, they are just fine with the way it is.
What was a fiasco about computer ratings? They were such a low percentage of the final rating that they never made a difference.
They arenāt getting a piece of the pie with NIL. Theyāre getting a completely different set of funds. The schools are still getting the full pie. This is exactly the problem with it. People shift back and forth between the real understanding and acting like itās equitable distribution for playing football. A piece of the pie would be paying players with television revenue. NIL is 4 year starter at OT getting nothing and sexy, highly recruited freshman QB making $1 mil while riding the pine.
What would no tax breaks for athletic donations touch outside of athletics?
The first thing I think of with the BCS was OU losing on Sat night 35-7 to KState, then still getting into the BCS title game the next day. That was 03. Go back to 2000. OU plays FSU, even though FSU had lost to Miami & both had 1-loss records. The BCS was always under scrutiny.
I understand completely that the NIL doesnāt come directly from the schools funds. But NIL deals still go thru compliance within the university. So while the payments arenāt coming from the program, it still has its hand in it.
Ok, the athletic programs income benefits all programs within the university. No tax breaks means far fewer donations. Fewer donations means lesser facilities that attract fans/players. All of that impacts your athletic program, which ultimately effects your university as a whole.
My opinion will disagree with others. I will face scrutiny. Thatās okay. Here it goes: The split second that any entity whatsoever decides to pay a player, that player should have the freedom to go get as much as he or she can, The NCAA or any conference does not have a legal right to put a limit on the amount of money that can be made.
Hereās my example: If a company was created that specialized in tools used to help older adults complete Restorative Therapy, then to increase business they may need advertising. This company decides to shoot a commercial. They want to feature me because they have heard Iām great at Restorative Therapy. This company will pay me 6 figures to shoot the commercial. Butā¦Westhaven, the company I work for full-time in Restorative Therapy, tells me I can take 5 figures max. Oklahoma Board of Nursing, whose jurisdiction Westhaven falls under, agrees that I can only take 5 figures. But Iām worth 6, I know it, and the company shooting the commercial knows it too. Iām taking my 6 figures.
No entity can cap what a person can make. But all entities can cap what they choose to pay you. Everybody is free to leave and seek better opportunities elsewhere. If an athlete doesnāt like a capā¦ā¦.you go to a different organization.
Exactly. This was always a business. Itās always been a business. Which I think fans caught on to and accepted much quicker than the universities, their conferences, and the NCAA.
I think the fans didnāt look at it that way, or just didnāt care. The NCAA/Universities all knew that it was a business. The last ones to realize it as a whole was the players. They slowly started to catch on. Slowly started to realize how much money was being made by everyone else involvedā¦ā¦.while the players made nothing. I understand what the cost of tuition is. I understand the value of an education. If I āworkedā somewhere and my boss made $7 million a year while the employees made $00000ā¦ā¦ā¦thatd be a problem.
Most universities are state-run institutions. Name a state institution where you can get endorsement deals. Imagine if an active Colonel in the Army tried to endorse a product. Heād get court martialed. What if Coca-Cola tried to pay the Parking Authority employees in Chicago to be in a Coke ad? Everyone would be like, āwhoa, what kind of special treatment are their delivery trucks getting in Chicago?ā What if the DNC or RNC paid people to vote? This is not kosher in aaaaaaaaany other public setting. Except, of course, elected officials because they make the laws and create loopholes and dodges for lobbyists to exploit like campaign funding and ānon-profitsā.
The āfree marketā argument is stupid and invalid and I wish people would stop using it because once public funds are involved, itās not a free market. Itās corporatism. We can and do absolutely limit how much money one can make and how it can be made in all environments, but especially public ones. Yes, youāre getting money because of your athletic gifts, gifts that are sharpened, coached, and showcased with public dollars.
If the athletic department is such a moneymaker, then it shouldnāt need private funds to function. No tax writeoffs. Again, it wonāt happen, but not because itās in any way good like youāre saying. Itās because the system is corrupt and morally bankrupt. College athletics is just another special interest industry we have to prop up like green energy.
So what are your thoughts on Title IX & itās impact upon college athletics?
What specifically? In general, I donāt think Title IX should exist, but when you take government money, you deal with the devil.
Letās not forget that this whole discussion on how and how much a college athlete can be paid, at least for now, only really applies to football and I guess basketball even though Iāve not heard anything in that regard. Overall we are talking what? less than 1% of college athletes here? For everybody else the scholarship is the big pay out and given the cost of education itās nothing to sneeze at.
When do you think the players realized it?
I think itās always been a quiet whisper amongst some athletes. I really think the whispers got much, much louder when OāBannon initiated his filing back in 08 or 09.