How can college football be saved?

I think you’re reaching. I think it has more to do with us being UF and trying to be above board than it is because we are being blackballed.

 

I’m only 55 and your right, that ideal of student athletes started to die 40+ years ago . To me, sports and school are two comply separate entities. I don’t give a rats ass what Tim Tebow’s educational prowess was. He may be the smartest or dumbest guy in chemistry class but why would I care. He’s a football player, not a scientist. Now if he wants to give Einstein a run for his money now that his sports career is over, he might generate an entirely different fanbase and host a show on the science channel. I was a fan of the football team back when normal students could get in and still am while intelligent Florida kids are being turned away for more intelligent kids from other states and countries. Blue chip kids that couldn’t get into community colleges play football for premier educational universities. Tge education part is a complete farce for many student athletes. Many schools invent curriculum to keep them playing and some don’t even attend class. It’s a complete joke at this point. I don’t watch pro sports much anymore either and am turned off by the Rashada type situations also. I’m losing interest but still traveled to see three games last year. Money being more important than teammates and the name on the front of the jersey is the problem for m

 

Nice guys finish last.

 

It already is and has been for decades. It’s just the most pathetic excuse for a fair equitable system in all of sports in the history of the planet.

 

Thing is what you’re thinking about died a long time ago. You’ve just been watch an illusion that you believed in,

 

They do hate our guys and like the money at the same time.

 

That would create some parity and maybe even rules that teams must abide by. Maybe even shift the paychecks on the entity collecting the billions in revenue. I’m suppose to pay 300 for a ticket and then pay the players too? It’s almost unbelievable.

 

Two things can be true at the same time. I hope you're right & I'm wrong, but when you have a great kid like Easley getting suspended for a bake sale while your conference competition has kids slathered in cars & money after committing something doesn't add up.

 

No they don’t.

 

So the ACC is influencing SEC refs now?

 

Do you think refs are beyond being influenced?

 

I don't, but it kind of flies in the face of the narrative of the SEC protecting its own against outside organizations.

 

To be fair, if you believe refs can be influenced then conference allegiance doesn't matter. I don't think it's rampant but it'd be easy to believe there was motivation for the refs in the swindle to fix the game. In that case it was ACC refs but if there were millions on the line for a birth in a higher bowl game then what does a rogue SEC ref care about conference allegiance if their palms get greased by non SEC benefactors?

 

They wouldn't, but the theory proposed was the SEC might play favorites within the league (duh!), but protect members against outside leagues. Our games with SEC refs involved with some outside teams would appear to counter this argument. I would hope that the SEC would take great exception to the appearance of SEC refs going rogue and assisting outside conference teams in their goals.

 

Some in your post we agree about (education for football players being more farce than real), but I have to address the above as it is false. First, Alabama is only 42% in state students, versus 58% from out of state (international too). Seems they are doing all right in their football culture. UGA 2022 is 25% out of state.

UF has 16% out of state students. https://collegeaftermath.com/students/what-percentage-of-students-are-out-of-state-at-uf/, lower than both UGA and Alabama. The data suggests that maybe UF should accept more out of state students if football prowess is the goal. Kidding- these issues are not causal.

The reality is that Florida's population has exploded making getting into UF much more difficult because the admission total has not risen with the population. I know alums whose kids did not get in and they were devastated, but don't blame "foreigners" or preferences for out of state students for Florida kids not getting accepted at UF as that is just a lie. Similarly, blaming academics for UF's crappy decade of football excuses the crappy coaches we have hired and apparent disfunction in the UFAA, while the national title winning universities accept far more out of state students.

To fix a problem we have to accurately identify the causes of the problem. Academics is not the cause of our football problems, but some fans will beat that drum no matter that it is factually incorrect. Likewise, out of state students are not why "Florida kids didn't get accepted to UF" - smarter Florida kids are.

 

I wasn’t really implying the out of state as much as admissions being much higher standards to than even when my little brother went. ( zook)

 

SEC refs definitely helped us vs USF.

 

I still liked it when $$$$ was hidden and underground.

One more thing, before the NFL even came into existence colleges often paid older men to play college football. So, this sort of thing $$$ was hidden even back then.

 

How to save college football?