Non-playoff bowls now seem like pre pre-season scrimmages. I can’t believe how empty the stadiums are.

^^^
There are 43 bowl games meaning that if only Div 1-A schools play in the bowl games then 86 out of 133 teams (~65%) are in a bowl game. They've had to waive the 6 win threshold and 5-7 teams are playing in bowls. A school could literally win 4 non-conference games against cream puffs, and then win 1 conference game to go to a bowl.

I'm certainly not spending money traveling for a bowl game for a 5-7 or 6-6 team, and it appears other fans are making the same decision.

quote:

Originally posted by Aglifter:
College Football is a meat grinder.

Until fairly recently, if a kid got hurt, he lost his scholarship.

The kids do not owe the school a damn thing.

It’s great that they are finally getting a few scraps of the money everyone else is making off it.

I mostly agree with you. The NCAA is one of the worst organizations going. They could have fixed this before it became the disaster that it has become but instead stayed stuck in the Stone Age. There’s no reason a player should ever be forced to stay with a team that isn’t a good fit after each years commitment is over. I don’t think most people understand the amount of politics and favoritism is involved. If player falls out of favor it’s ridiculous that he has to stay on a team and ride the bench his entire career just because he got a scholarship.

For 90% of the division one football players the scholarship aspect is a formality. The sport is so demanding and the top athletes are so shockingly unprepared for college very few of them are getting a degree and if they do it’s rarely in a serious subject that’s going to propel them in life.

Even though I don’t agree with a lot of what’s going on it’s interesting watching people who are diehard capitalist completely change when it’s college kids.

NIL should pay into a pool and be evenly distrubuted amongst the whole team. Maybe a portion(50%) of the NIL pay out could be collected by the team and divided amongst the other players and the other portion of the pay out going to the QB, and RB in the so called skill positions. It stinks the QB's and RB's are making big dollars and the line guys are doing much of the heavly lifting and not getting what they deserve.

As for the transfer portal, I think the portal shouldnt open until after the bowl games. Its insane that players are leaving their teams for more money with their teams still having games to play. I'm not gonna pay to see a game in person when that team is missing a dozen guys who chased the money. I hope the NFl will notice guys who left for a chance to actually play vs guys who left good teams and just for more money.

quote:

Originally posted by gw3971:
NIL should pay into a pool and be evenly distrubuted amongst the whole team. Maybe a portion(50%) of the NIL pay out could be collected by the team and divided amongst the other players and the other portion of the pay out going to the QB, and RB in the so called skill positions. It stinks the QB's and RB's are making big dollars and the line guys are doing much of the heavly lifting and not getting what they deserve.
.

You mean like what’s going to happen in the NFL.

quote:

Originally posted by gw3971:
As for the transfer portal, I think the portal shouldnt open until after the bowl games. Its insane that players are leaving their teams for more money with their teams still having games to play. I'm not gonna pay to see a game in person when that team is missing a dozen guys who chased the money. I hope the NFl will notice guys who left for a chance to actually play vs guys who left good teams and just for more money.

The NFL couldn’t give two shits about that. They actually have real contracts and will lock up the best player regardless of what they did in college. They sign people all the time that have done actual real crimes.

quote:

Originally posted by 1s1k:
....... The NCAA is one of the worst organizations going.

This, times a thousand. Their core mission statement needs to be revisited, again.

I wonder how many of these athletes are going to end up without a degree due to the transferring.

That is up to them. University makes it easy. Even Namath went back for his degree. {Just recently I might add}.

quote:

Originally posted by radioman:

quote:

Originally posted by 1s1k:
....... The NCAA is one of the worst organizations going.

This, times a thousand. Their core mission statement needs to be revisited, again.

One in my company claims often, "the NCAA is the mob!" And after hearing him out, I don't think I can disagree much.

"The sport is so demanding and the top athletes are so shockingly unprepared for college very few of them are getting a degree and if they do it’s rarely in a serious subject that’s going to propel them in life."

A friend (now deceased) had a football scholarship to Mississippi State (linebacker), this was in the late '80's. He played two years then blew out his knee. They honored the scholarship and he earned a BS in Biology.

He told me in his second year a professor was shocked when the prof learned he was on the football team, stating,"you players never show for classes, we just pass you along."

The elite schools who also have elite football programs have 90 percent graduation rates. These rates are public. The statement from the Professor is an idictment of his ethics. Perhaps he could take Claudine Gay's job.

NCAA has proposed a new subdivision that will be allowed to pay players directly. That makes them professional in my eyes. If so, treat them like pros. Here’s your 4 year non-guaranteed contract. Oh, and I can trade you, or cut you, or sell you to the highest bidder.

quote:

For 90% of the division one football players the scholarship aspect is a formality. The sport is so demanding and the top athletes are so shockingly unprepared for college very few of them are getting a degree and if they do it’s rarely in a serious subject that’s going to propel them in life.

Some schools do better than others.

An estimated 91% of the University of Florida football players that started as freshman in 2016 got a degree in 6 years or less.

An estimated 41% of the University of Georgia football players that were freshman in 2016 did the same.

University of Michigan was 89%, University of Alabama was 93%, University of Washington was 84%, and University of Texas was 75%.

These numbers are from the NCAA found here: Link.

An explanation of the calculation: How are NCAA Graduation Rates Calculated?

On a side note, the #2 ranked team in DII, Colorado School of Mines, has an 86% success rate, the average GPA for the team is 3.21 with these majors:

Undergraduate Majors:

Mechanical Engineering - 30
Computer Science - 7
Civil Engineering - 6
Business Engineering & Management Science - 5
Metallurgical & Materials Engineering - 4
Petroleum Engineering - 4
Electrical Engineering - 3
Chemical Engineering - 2
Economics - 1
Engineering Physics - 1
Geological Engineering - 1
Mining Engineering - 1
Quantitative Biosciences & Engineering - 1

Master's Programs:

Engineering & Technology Management - 19
Computer Science - 3
Chemical Engineering - 2
Additive Manufacturing - 1
Data Science - 1
Environmental Engineering Science - 1
Mechanical Engineering - 1
Quantitative Biosciences & Engineering - 1
Space Resources - 1

I can’t imagine the school of mines having athletic admits…

Similar to what some have said regarding distribution of NIL $$ amongst the whole team, limit the amount of NIL $$ for a given position / player across the board, say $500 per month. JMHO.

My sons played Division III college football, which is one of the purest forms of the sport, because there aren't any athletic scholarships. The kids playing in that Division want to play, and everyone is mostly equal. Sure, you have your talented and not-so-talented players, but it is truly a team. Transfer portal? Not really. In D3 you can move from school to school after an academic year is completed. Case in point, one of my sons' HS teammates played for a rival D3 school his freshman year, and transferred to their D3 school and played for that team his sophomore year.

Sadly, they are now considering NIL for HS football. IMHO, the result will be carnage within the various state HS athletic associations, especially when it comes to residence compliance and preventing undue booster influences. A lot of schools' athletic programs might cease to exist in the long run, due to lack of available and willing players.

quote:

Originally posted by Glynn863:
Similar to what some have said regarding distribution of NIL $$ amongst the whole team, limit the amount of NIL $$ for a given position / player across the board, say $500 per month. JMHO.

Why?

These are 18-22 year old athletes, with skills and abilities that millions of people obviously tune in to watch.

Why any limits at all? Let the market decide. If a QB is paid $3m pero year in NIL, let the market decide what the OL is paid, or the QB can choose to distribute from his NIL.

Or should we artificially limit everyone’s salary on this board to $50k?

There is both good and bad with the NIL and transfer portal.

Many football fans quit watching the NFL because of all of their bullshit, and only watch college football. Right now, the NIL and tranfer portal are the wild west. My desire is to keep the good and minimize the bad so college football continues to be enjoyable and different from the NFL.

The good:

Previously, a school would make a player the face of their media campaign and make tens or hundreds of millions from their football program while that player received the same free tuition as the players not part of the advertising campaign. This aspect of NIL is good.

Previously, there was some underhanded, shady things occurring as far as money and recruiting. NIL makes money above board and this aspect of NIL is good.

A high school kid goes to a poor football program, quickly rises to become a starter, and once he plays a few top-tier teams realizes he's as good or better than their players. Additionally, he'll never have a chance to play for a conference championship or national championship, and likely go lower in the NFL draft. Michael Penix Jr is a good example of this. He started out as IU's QB, quickly became the starter, and was plagued by injuries (some due to lack of talent surrounding him). He transferred to Washington Huskies, didn't have to sit out a year like the old days, and will be the starting QB in next week's national championship. This aspect of the transfer portal is good.

The bad:

NCAA has weak NIL rules, states have individual NIL regulations, and NIL is basically the wild west. Louisiana actually repealed their state legislation as it was making their team noncompetitive in recruiting. In some cases, lawyers need to get involved to decide if a coach and player can be in same room when NIL is being discussed. That's insane as the coach is the one who gets suspended and/or fired if there are compliance issues in the program. This aspect of NIL is bad.

The transfer portal is always open. Coaches are accepting new jobs in November, not finishing their season with existing team, and it's all due to recruiting. For example, two years ago Purdue's headcoach took them to the Big Ten Championship, signed a coaching deal with his alma mater (good for him) a day or two after Big Ten Championship, didn't coach in the bowl game, players opted out of bowl game due to coaching situation, and Purdue wasn't even competitive. This aspect of transfer portal is bad.

As far as capitalism, my approach keeps it alive and well. Fans vote with their clicks/viewing/attendance, and advertisers decide if they want to spend money on that level of clicks/viewing/attendance. All I'm asking is the NCAA to:

close the transfer portal Labor Day until after the National Championship to keep the bowl games fun for fans, keep college football traditions, keep the advertising money flowing for bowl season, and encourage players and coaches to finish what they started.

make NIL a level recruiting playing field regardless of which state the school is in and ensure the head coach has a say in what is happening in his program. More state legislatures likely to follow Louisiana's lead (i.e. repeal state NIL legislation) if the NCAA fixed its NIL issues.

---

Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity

DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer.

Todd, I don’t know if closing the portal from Labor Day until after the National Championship is a viable option, but something needs to be done. Right now it feels like the NCAA is oblivious to the damage being done to CFB, their silence is deafening.

quote:

Originally posted by reloader-1:
Why?

These are 18-22 year old athletes, with skills and abilities that millions of people obviously tune in to watch.

Why any limits at all? Let the market decide. If a QB is paid $3m pero year in NIL, let the market decide what the OL is paid, or the QB can choose to distribute from his NIL.

Let the market decide?

I agree, with one caveat: Get the government out of education completely. No more public schools... at any level.
Let the market decide.

In my State of Missouri:
Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz, who won SEC Coach of the Year honors and guided the Tigers to 11 wins this season, has received a contract extension from the school through 2028.

Robin Wenneker, who will chair Missouri's board of curators in 2024, said in a statement that a contract extension and salary raise for Drinkwitz had been decided before the opening of the transfer portal in early December. Terms of Drinkwitz's new agreement were not immediately disclosed. His previous extension increased his salary to $6 million this season.

"This contract puts Coach Drink where he belongs, in the upper echelon of SEC head coach salaries," Wenneker said in a statement. "To continue in championship style, keeping Coach Drink and his staff together was the number one priority for the Board of Curators and its administration."

By contrast: Governor of Missouri Mike Parson gets paid $137,167

If you want a free market, get the government out of education.

quote:

Originally posted by chellim1:

quote:

Originally posted by reloader-1:
Why?

These are 18-22 year old athletes, with skills and abilities that millions of people obviously tune in to watch.

Why any limits at all? Let the market decide. If a QB is paid $3m pero year in NIL, let the market decide what the OL is paid, or the QB can choose to distribute from his NIL.

Let the market decide?

I agree, with one caveat: Get the government out of education completely. No more public schools... at any level.
Let the market decide.

In my State of Missouri:
Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz, who won SEC Coach of the Year honors and guided the Tigers to 11 wins this season, has received a contract extension from the school through 2028.

I agree with you, the government should be out of education completely. However, athletics departments are revenue contributors, not a cost. Missouri athletics revenue was $141 million in 2022, mainly football. They can afford those coaching salaries, a few irrelevant sports that no one watches, and a few DEI chairs out of that easily.