The Slow-Motion Suicide of College Football
When Jerry Jones purchased the Dallas Cowboys in 1989, his investment bankers told him he was making a big mistake. Luxury boxes at Texas Stadium were empty in many instances, so were seats. Jones was
Where we are headed?
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The Slow-Motion Suicide of College Football
When Jerry Jones purchased the Dallas Cowboys in 1989, his investment bankers told him he was making a big mistake. Luxury boxes at Texas Stadium were empty in many instances, so were seats. Jones waswww.realclearmarkets.com
where are we heading? Well, we’re on the road to nowhere
Was talking along these lines with my son yesterday. His take is that when the dust finally settles college football will look like the NFL except that the two conferences might be slightly larger. There will be playoffs for the conference champions and then those teams meet for the overall championship.
Sure, other schools may still play football, but it will devolve into what it looked like 100 years ago, which may not be a bad thing.
Sure, other schools may still play football, but it will devolve into what it looked like 100 years ago, which may not be a bad thing.
Ten or so years from now college football will be the NFL's minor league, much like baseball's minor leagues or the NBA's D league. The best teams (Alabama, Ohio State, Georgia, etc.) will be the AAA minor league teams. Teams like Akron, Western Kentucky, pitt, Wake Forest, etc. will be the single A teams. Attendance will be down significantly and TV money will be drastically cut. There will be no recruiting. The NFL will dictate where high school kids are placed. Players will continually be shuffled between teams. Each college team will be brand new every year. There will be no post season bowl games. Since the teams will continually have different players there will be no ratings or champions. College football teams will exist to serve the NFL and to provide exercise for the players who don't make the NFL. The college teams will be supported with NFL money.
The NFL will further expand their schedule to fill the void. College football as we have enjoyed it for decades will be a distant memory.
The NFL will further expand their schedule to fill the void. College football as we have enjoyed it for decades will be a distant memory.
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College football needed a shake up. Once you get past the initial shock of it, you will get used to it.
With regard to this concept of “tradition” - as an alum of a University whose football program was shut out of national championships in the past due to this adherence to “tradition” - I am ok with that part of it being gone forever. If this means the beginning of the end of the “CFB committee“ than I am for It even more.
With regard to this concept of “tradition” - as an alum of a University whose football program was shut out of national championships in the past due to this adherence to “tradition” - I am ok with that part of it being gone forever. If this means the beginning of the end of the “CFB committee“ than I am for It even more.
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Change can always be for the better or for the worse. I don't see the current direction as being for the better.
It’s a weird sitchiation for sure. The whole value of high level, non-NFL football is based on having brands, which are currently university labels. While it sounds reasonable to posit a non-college minor league system, that structure would struggle to have value because there’s no clear path to a new set of brands.
Time will only tell. It’s too early to make a confirmed judgment on it.
jumping to conclusions is what we do best around here
One thing for sure, #LawOfUnintendedConsequences will be trending pretty much constantly.
Statistics show that less than 2% of college football players make it to the pros. Therefore the talk of college football being a minor league to the NFL doesn’t make sense for the large majority of players nor does the money stream which will only go to a select few. I’d be interested to know what percentage of rostered college players benefit from NIL?
It’s sad that college presidents, ADs, and the NCAA didn’t have more foresight to set up a better arrangement - they’re ultimately hurting college athletes particularly the majority that can’t go pro…
It’s sad that college presidents, ADs, and the NCAA didn’t have more foresight to set up a better arrangement - they’re ultimately hurting college athletes particularly the majority that can’t go pro…
Where are we headed? I don’t know about the rest of you but 4 beers into a 4th of July weekend Sunday, I’m headed to the bathroom….. again.
My prediction ... any football player that has the chance to go pro will only play in one of the two "super conferences" ... the B1G or SEC. They wouldn't have any interest playing in a league that doesn't have the huge exposure, facilities, etc. On the flip side, teams in those two conferences won't have any interest in players who aren't up to that caliber when you have your pick of the litter.
As a result, second-tier schools will be left with true "student-athletes" who may be on scholarship, but are not extended NIL deals. NIL would extend only to those super conferences that act as quasi minor leagues for the NFL.
Those second-tier schools would then create regional conferences, play in bowl games, get back to traditional rivalries and compete for a separate trophy... Which, if it comes true, seems like a structure more to my liking anyway.
The big takeaway is that a true student-athlete in the second-tier could still benefit by having your education paid for.
The semi-pro athletes wouldn't even need to attend classes at that point. Just show up and play football and pursue your dreams of the NFL.
Maybe. But knowing the priests and faculty at ND, I'd expect them to try to get into the Ivy League if college football ever becomes the minor league of the NFL. I know other ND fans over on the ND boards may disagree with me ... but I've been around ND faculty (my daughter and son-in-law were past professors there) for too long.
Until NIL rules change, I think that is still a major factor for a lot of elite players.
To the moon Alice!The Slow-Motion Suicide of College Football
When Jerry Jones purchased the Dallas Cowboys in 1989, his investment bankers told him he was making a big mistake. Luxury boxes at Texas Stadium were empty in many instances, so were seats. Jones was
I’m sure that faculty at most universities would say the same. My PhD advisor had tenure at Michigan before moving to Maryland. “Why’d you leave?” “I couldn’t take the way athletics was emphasized at Michigan.” It’s up to the President and the Board, and I can’t think of a second Robert Maynard Hutchins.
The Slow-Motion Suicide of College Football
When Jerry Jones purchased the Dallas Cowboys in 1989, his investment bankers told him he was making a big mistake. Luxury boxes at Texas Stadium were empty in many instances, so were seats. Jones was
I’ve always said that the CSCs would prefer to de-emphasize, or drop football all together, if they could. They don’t need it anymore, IMHO.