An interesting opinion piece appeared in the Washington Post yesterday (what curious timing!).

http://wapo.st/1MXeUM3


Here's my thoughts on the subject:

(1) - The amount of money being generated by college football (particularly the "football factory" schools) is creating an unsustainable situation. In my mind the question is now not "should they be paid some stipend of 30K or 50K?" But rather, should players be paid hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars per year, which is proportional to the revenue they are generating. This is of course only true for the Alabama's and the OSU's of the world as the injustice becomes increasingly less obscene as you move down to Lower_P5->G5->FCS->D2->D3 etc...

(2) - Race plays an issue here (I can already hear the groans from the Fox News contingent). The reason is obvious: top CFB teams are between 50-60% african american, about 5x more than the proportion nationally. **The optics of a crowd of (mostly) white fans watching teams of (mostly) young african american males play an (increasingly) dangerous game for the financial benefit of (mostly) whites is unsustainable.** I watched the Iron Bowl this year, and I almost never watch P5 CFB, and the racial dynamics of the whole thing just shocked me.

(2a) - The sad part of this is that some african american men - some from very modest backgrounds- that aren't outstanding students get to attend a good university under this system and (in some cases) have good outcomes. In a country where african american youth unemployment is at 51%, this is something to consider.

(3) - That said, the actual education provided is somewhat dubious. With such crazy demands on your time, the educational experience is very different than what many of us got to experience. For example, my degree was in computer science and the academic demands on my time were extraordinary. I'd get two shots of espresso from Donkey and buy a Red Bull and spend the whole night writing code in Russ (sorry for the aside). This type of very lucrative major is closed off to football players, as they simply wouldn't have the time to be successful with it.

(3a) - Thats at the high end of it. At the low end, players take crummy vocational majors that allow them the time they need to be successful on the football field. Tutors are provided to make sure they get this very low-level work done. In the worst case, professors and/or tutors collude to keep players on the field.

(4) - And finally the nail in the coffin is the violence of the game and the long term effects being uncovered. While its less of an issue than at the professional level, it begs the question: What business does a University have in being involved in such a game? This is the Malcolm Gladwell position.

(5) - On a personal note, I'm reaching a place where I'm finding it increasingly difficult to continue to watch the game for all of the reasons stated above (and in the WaPo piece as well as Gladwell's work). Frankly, it just collides with my own personal ethics and there may be a time in the future where I'll just have to move on to something else. Which is sad, because I love to talk Bobcats with my dad and I enjoy coming to BA.

I'm not trying to start an argument or challenge the ethics of others...but I do think that the situation now is unlikely to continue for much longer.

The race thing is an interesting dynamic in all of sports, not just college football. I don't have the figures in front of me, but one can pretty easily come to the theoretical conclusion that sports in the U.S. are largely a group of rich white males controlling a group of minorities on a playing field. I was interested in writing my Master's thesis on the subject, but there wasn't enough material out there to go off of.

When you put it in those terms it's kind of like the Romans and the gladiators or the Romans and the Christians. I once happened into a sports bar on a golf trip to Florida when MMA was just getting started. Every face in the place was fixated on a TV and it didn't take much to see blood coming out of their mouths as they anticipated the kill. It was so disgusting we ordered one beer and left.

I think most of us favor that. And there is certainly an obligation for a student-athlete to make the most of his/her scholarship and get a degree -- regardless of race. However, that is not the reality for way too many student-athletes. These numbers cited in the article show that.

I can see the argument that says, "hey, we gave them a full college education, it's up to them to stay in school and/or make a living with it."

I can also see the other argument that says, "you know full well that bringing in many of these athletes will result in 1-2 years of on-field success and they'll graduate with a meaningless degree or drop out."


From the article: "Yes, the scholarships received by football and basketball players provide an economic benefit. However, they come with onerous restrictions and no promise of an education. The 2013 Penn study found that black male student athletes graduated at lower rates than other black men at 72 percent of institutions with big-time football and basketball programs — and lower than other undergraduates overall at 97 percent of them."

Re "very lucrative majors" being "closed off to football players." Hmmm...How about football players majoring in engineering, finance, human resource management and other lucrative majors? Some do and excel in classroom as well as on field.

I've stated my opinion here many times: if there is a problem it is restraint of trade, not racism and exploitation of any audience of potential participants.

However, the professional football and basketball leagues have been complicit in a complex method of collusion with colleges to prevent legitimate low level professional leagues from existing as an alternative training grounds for athletes that wish to provide their services for profit to a willing, paying audience.

I would be 100% fine with seeing the system dismantled for all sports to provide a hockey type system to exist for all sports.

NEVER...GONNA...HAPPEN...

Unfortunately I have to agree with you as far as the P5. I don't have the feeling that Ohio is in that boat, however. I feel like one of Solich's strengths is that he really cares that the students do well in school. I think it's a credit to the University that the cornerstone project for the Athletic Department is a new Academic Center to help student athletes.

Jason Arkley Retweeted Darren Rovell

Aka Party Right Through May (PRTM)

Jason Arkley added,
Darren Rovell @darrenrovell
Most popular major on the Clemson football team? Parks, Recreation & Tourism Management (21 players).

Army, Air Force and Navy also have great student/athletes.

Pfff, you say that as if molecular genetics is hard

You can see all the majors of football players by school here...

http://bit.ly/1OoVNN8

One interesting thing w.r.t Stanford. Computer Science is the #1 major at Stanford right now...and with Google and FB right down the street and paying 6 figure signing bonuses right out of undergrad that should not be much of a surprise. And yet no FB player is enrolled in that major.

I think that backs up rpbobcat's point about football players - even at Stanford - being directed away from certain majors.

Of course, the point is not that these players are going to starve after they graduate. Just that the "payment" solely of free tuition comes with some caveats.

Saben now at 7M himself.

http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2013/12/14/52098...

OhioStunter, back in the day I had discussions with an "academic advisor" who tried to steer me toward some easier classes during the season. I told them I was my own advisor and I needed to take certain classes to pursue my business degree. I had a goal of graduating in 4 years. I struggled and got decent grades, nothing to brag about, but accomplished my goal. I'm far better off for navigating the system and not allowing myself to be led down a path that was not for me. They have the responsibility to themselves to try and succeed.