Close to checking out of college sports….

Not a fan of the direction college sports are heading but as long as the Florida Gators take the field I'll be watching

 

The legitimizing of paying players was inevitable. I wonder if an incorporated pay structure will one day be inevitable as well. It's a bit of a charade to have external entities fund players, but "not pay for play." The wild west approach to NIL doesn't seem sustainable, but it's still early. At a minimum, it will be interesting to follow how the business aspect of it will work.

Go GATORS!
,WESGATORS

 

Hi Brent,
My implosion already occurred, but I can't "walk" on my Gators just yet. As I get older, many things I value in life seem to be slipping away. Amateur Athletics in particular.

I have continually ranted about how devastating I considered the
"New World Order" of College Athletics has become and what it will lead to.

Well, the fish are not being "bought off" yet brother so there is always that.

I am suffering from the loss of Hall, it's effecting me deeply.

I would like to express my appreciation for all you have brought to the board and UF basketball, I have enjoyed your contributions immensely over the years. Thank You.

 

The problem will be that for the business you ultimately need customers. If college fans check out then you are left with a minor league that will last about as long as the NBA and NFL have need for a minor league.

 

I checked out of college football and basketball a year ago. I'd rather focus my interests in the other college sports where athletes still play the game because of the competition and comradery, not the money. That's why I spend so much time on baseball. Sure there's money to be had in most every sport but you don't hear about them signing deals for close to a million or more in college baseball, volleyball, softball, track, or swimming. Unfortunately its only a matter of time before we start crossing a few more sports off the list. For me its much more appealing to root for athletes that do it for the love of the game and not the love of money.

 

Yeah, I get it in spades. As long as they are/were a bunch of young and passionate players it is fun to live vicariously through their journeys. Once they become mercenaries for the university, the thrill will be gone. I will be monitoring how UF proceeds and if it crosses my line, it is over for the revenue sports.

 

I'm just going with the flow to try to see where I can still find enjoyment from college sports. However, it's getting more difficult.

 

I strongly suspect that this recruit is none other than Arch Manning. He is the only 2023 recruit that has national name recognition at this juncture. When he signs if will let you know who ponied up this kind of change for a yet unproven HS kid.

 

They used to say sports are soap operas for men. Now they are more like the Real Housewives franchise.

Sports, politics, religion, employment, education, etc. etc. - it's all just crazy social experiments run amok. The end of the world as we know it and I feel fine.

 

As a fan would you be more apt to boo a poor performance by a college athlete now knowing they are making millions and are not playing to the level of pay?

 

I think that's completely fair but I guess I'd throw in that the kids you're cheering for really aren't picking the love of the game instead of the love of money. Most of them don't really have that choice to begin with. I'm not saying that makes them less than or anything. I'm glad you like those other sports. I just hear, sometimes from some people (probably not you) a 'holier than thou' tone when comparing revenue sport athletes with other athletes.

 

From where I sit the end game with the nil and the transfer portal will be either conference by conference or a full Nation agreement of a player's Union and they will be hiring negotiators to deal with the nil payments their ability to move around it will be very much like pro sports already are

 

I guess my thinking that any high school baseball prospects who aren't interested in college and want to start their career will go in the draft if given the chance. Most other sports, other than football, basketball and maybe soccer, don't even have that chance and if athletes want they can go to college for the education and the opportunity to keep playing. They sure aren't doing it for the money. Please know I'm all about giving people opportunity and I think baseball does a good job of that compared to others. Yes baseball has issues (ex. Vanderbilt) and has some unfair advantages built in state by state but at least we aren't talking multi-million dollar agreements under the guise of college athletics. And yes NIL is about opportunity for college athletes as well but why even pretend they are college athletes when many of them are set up taking classes on line and using tutors to get them through it. That's not college. That's using the system that wasn't intended for in the first place, all while administrators look the other way. Go start a feeder semi-pro league or something if you want opportunity and let the colleges help the kids that want the education, not take advantage of it.

 

I agree with you on this. Just seems that things go downhill when fortunes worth of money become involved in things. Its ruined/damaged industries like healthcare and education. College sports seems to have changed proportionately with how much money it has seemed capable of generating.

 

It's been headed that way for a long, long time. The average fan that used to go to games in the 80's and 90's can't afford to any longer. Tickets were $12, then $25 and now are over $100. The product has improved but not for that value. TV money has also helped drive up coaches salaries and money that schools are making, thus causing the players to want to get their taste. ESPN, for all they do for college football, has a hand in ruining it too IMO.

 

The focus here seems to be on the athletes compensation, but to me it started awhile back with multi million dollar coaches salaries. You cant pay coaches $5-10M and expect the players to be happy with only scholarship money. Seems similar to when free agency hit pro sports.

 

The structure used in college baseball does seem to work pretty well.

 

I concur, it has to be Manning. The Manning name alone will have the Major networks fawning over the program for three straight seasons, even if he is a bust. Either Texas or TAMU ponied up an oil well to lock him up. Bama or Georgia can only dream about that kind of loot. Sullivan’s Gators might be my fallback in all this NIL stink. Used to follow Gator baseball pretty heavy back in the ‘70’s and early ‘80’s.