Close to checking out of college sports….

Bingo.

Watch the sport because you enjoy the sport. There were tons of transfers, one and dones, probably NIL this weekend in March Madness and it was a blast to watch. St Peters getting to the sweet 16, the UNC/Baylor game, TCU/Arizona last night. It doesn't deflect any excitement knowing people who put butts in seats get compensated for it.

People have to understand that times change. Kids who practice, train, go to class, help make MILLIONS UPON MILLIONS of dollars for older men who sit in offices and collect checks. The system has changed to compensate those who make the product. And it doesn't dilute the excitement of it.

 

I'd bet anything, if Gator basketball was a contender and challenging for the SEC title, people would complain a lot less about NIL and "apathy" towards college sports.

 

If you believe what Jason Witlock said, it was all about keeping the slow, rich, arrogant and racist white kids from having to compete against faster and more motivated poor black kids. Making sports "noble" allowed them to keep the poor on the outside.

 

i think the cost he is referring to is essentially an additional new cost to fans, the NIL, on top of what fans are already paying and which costs are also always going up.

Fans are used to paying for parking and tickets and merch, and yes those costs keep going up. Fans do understand that. But the money being paid to players is not coming from the massive tv contracts and the like. The players are not getting a piece of the pie that is making the schools and the ncaa money.

fans are now being asked to contribute to the NIL collectives springing up at every school to help pay the players through NIL. That is the additional / increased cost I think Wes was referring to. So, not only do fans pay the ticket prices and booster fees, etc., the FANS have to pay the players as the NCAA is not paying them. With pro sports, my ticket price is all inclusive as to my contribution to paying the coaches and players the staff, etc.

(yes, many huge boosters will pay the bulk of this but regular fans are contributing and being asked to contribute).

Wes, if I got that wrong my apologies for putting words in your mouth.

 

The first two rounds of March Madness have been a blast and this past college football season (aside from the Gators struggles) was pretty good too. I see kids playing hard and competing at a high level, getting emotional when they lose and celebrating hardcore when they win. I see fans going crazy in the stands and screaming at the top of their lungs. It’s what college sports is supposed to be, just an updated 2022 version.

 

Do you know if the Gator collective dollars are used for the basketball program?

 

Supposed to be used for all sports. But certainly football will be the focus

 

Supposedly the qb out of Cali, not Manning...and it's with Tennessee

 

To me, it depends on what the institutions are doing with their millions

 

what are these office jobs?

 

Supposed, ummmmmm?

 

Well....they don't disclose exactly who gets what due to confidentiality. I'm not sure if there has been a breakdown by "sport" at this juncture, but again it would be overwhelmingly football. And I'm sure that's what most of the contributors desire.

 

I have soured too but am waiting to see where it goes from here. I just don’t see the NIL money staying where it’s at. As soon as the “donors” start recognizing that the ROI is going to be really low, I think (hope) you start seeing these ridiculous deals coming down to earth.

 

Imagine for a moment what the NFL or NBA would look like without a draft or a salary cap. What you have is NCAA Football and Mens Basketball. It's the worst of both worlds now and will get worse, stained by the domination of a few select programs and conferences. And I should care about them?

I'm over it and usually watch just a little of the Gator games out of habit and much less of the others. I can always get the low down on what's happening more often than not from my wife.

 

I'm actually kind of surprised we haven't seen many or any TV commercials during the tournament with any players. I guess the $$ for those spots is to high, but I'd assume we would get inundated with NLI stuff during the tourney. Maybe since florida isn't in it, we aren't seeing it -- (my twitter and social media network is gators stuff etc)

 

For the most part I agree with your post, but I don't agree with the following:

"The players are not getting a piece of the pie that is making the schools and the ncaa money."

I think that they have been and now with the under the table shoe contracts now legal, the pie didn't get any smaller but its going to be sliced into more pieces for more than just the schools. Also boosters that were paying big money to the schools may find themselves donating less so they can help fund NIL deals. The only way the calculus results in no net monetary impact to the schools is that if the pie grows equally to the old payments to the schools + the new NIL deals. At least initially, I can't imagine that would happen.

 

This seems to be the type of crowd you are referring to....


Many college games struggle to fill stadiums and then you have this kind of example....


Sure Miami football is a low hanging but soured fruit but in many cases this has become the new updated 2022 version. I'm sure I could find plenty of other examples of low turnout games across the nation and even many bowl games pre-covid. Point is the new modern college football you speak of only drives the attention to the top 25 teams or so and possibly less. Some would even argue the top 10 have sell outs week end and week out. Sure its fun watching March madness and players trying to win a championship in any level. Shoot I even like to see Little Leaguers in my home town trying hard to win a midweek game. Few teams sell out their stadiums and many are downsizing as mentioned on here ad nauseum. Sure the trend is that way for most all sports but no one seems to care and only in it for the money. Sure their are spots of success here and there for fan engagement like Gator Gymnastics but how has other the sports done. Its not always about winning either. I've been to several Gator softball games in the few years and the stadium was not full. Sure they might "sell out" but some people don't even want to show up many nights. That's their prerogative I guess. Problems exist across college sports and no one seems to want to deal with it, only look at the top winners and their success. My point is your statement this is what college sports is supposed to be seems only targeted at the select few and not the whole.

 

Michael Jordan says hello.