If ANYONE believes that there is No Honor Amongst Thieves that exists in the world of BigBoy Collegiate Athletics than you are just simply extremely naive or stupid. When you have colleges themselves poaching other colleges away from long-established conferences, coaching "contracts" and especially the contract "extensions" meant to lock-up the prized coach to his current institution NOT being worth the paper they were written on, what do you expect.
All this is being either supported, initiated and or directed by many of those "esteemed" Presidents with Board of Trustee approval. of said exalted Institutions of Higher Learning and all being in the "best interest" of the "student"/athlete. What a crock of BS!
As evidenced by the complete upheaval of the recent conference "realignments", a fully under contract Pitt Head Football Coach Todd Graham leaving for Az.State under the darkness of night and informing his players AND AD by text message SEE YA, only points out the sleaze that exists in what has become Big Business in D1 collegiate athletics.
That an Ethan Jacobs may have been somewhat "unceremoniously" shown the door ranks way, way, way, way down the "lack of ethics/morals chain" that is BigBoy collegiate athletics. Not saying that it's right or there isn't a stench attacked to it. Just saying it's not the least bit surprising and it's really "small potatoes" in the overall scheme of what goes on the "real" world of BigTime College Athletics.
To think that our beloved OHIO is above reproach in such matters is folly. Christian wasn't hired to build the Glee Club.
Collegiate athletics is very similar to politics. It ain't for the feint of heart and it ain't bean-bag.
A fair and accurate post indeed. True on many levels and stlll does not even probe the depth of what intercollegiate activiites have become.
Could discuss ths all day and in no way was I implying whether it was right or wrong. It just is and the facts available should see that light of day.
The only wrong I see is a system wide problem with the inequity of a kid signing a letter of intent and coming here to play ball for four years intending to finish a degree at the institution he started as a scholar. While many fans decry the system and the kids who are just here to play ball not really caring about grades there is no acclaim for the athlete who is here with the intent of pursuing his education in return for being a part of the system. While fans around the country chastise and critique a system that includes the one and done farce that puts talent and hoops above the scholar athlete model it deserts the borderline talented athlete who keeps his grades exemplary and is in the middle of a coaching change which leaves him with no recourse but to find a new place to finish up.. He has to leave his teh university he committed to and has come to love as much as everyone here who has the word OHIO on their degree to find a place and finish with a different name on his diploma.
NO one is asking for sympathy as that is the system we have and the current state of the game. It is of interest to some here to have the wider view and all the facts that are available and accurate. Ethan was a Bobcat by choice. IMHO he will always be one of ours even though he is *not by choice* being forced to find another place that will not be OHIO
Thankfully thses coaching changes do not happen that often but the point being made on several boards I participate on is the same. Coaches pretty much move and have authority over a program to renew athlets or not while the athlete has seemingly, no recourse of even control of their destiny....youcan be an exemplary student or a great athlete and if you are not the incoming coach's recruit you may not be eating at the table. In fact, just the opposite , if you are in the change and have less than a 2.6 you may be retained in order not to hurt the APR.
Good post and thought provoking. Ohio going to the next level means that you sometimes have to make hard decisions that have not been neccessary inthe past at this institution. As always, there are crossroads and different paths to take. We all know the difference between programs and those we would consider exemplary and those that are a bit slimy. The questions fans do and should have is which way things are going and how do we philosophically support those changes. As you state so eloquently the problem is system wide and I believe moreso in hoops than most sports. What we need to keep in mind is the individuals involved, their personal stories and how it affects families who may not have the means to get their kids an education or have done the research and chose a University over others because of a certain program.... and not just....."it's big boy ball suckit up because it aint gonna change"....when we do that it cheapens us just a bit given that there are places where they set the standard by doing it differently and with great interest into the welfare of their scholar athletes than others.