Gator T.E.

[The Big Cat]

So if we were to start paying athletes, wouldn't it become an arms race and the schools willing to dish out the most dough would get the highest recruits?

 

Now, your logic is that these guys bring revenue to the schools and other students are benefitting from the exposure and cash flow. Well, if suddenly these schools have to be paying their football team, their swim team, their women's volleyball team, your logic for getting them the money in the first place is shot to pieces since that "extra" money is no longer "extra."

 

Colleges and Universities are not athletic institutions.

[Acantha]

Colleges and Universities are not athletic institutions.

Of course they are.

[Acantha]

They do, its called theirtuition payed in full. Its not like they are their at the school because they want an education and have decided to try out and play for a school team in their free time. The reason they are at the school, with a scholarship paying their tuition is because they are a good athlete and are brought in to play. They get paid by being given a free education to play a sport.

I think it was kind of obvious I meant in addition to their tuition. You don't agree...we get it.

[LongLiveRalph]

So if we were to start paying athletes, wouldn't it become an arms race and the schools willing to dish out the most dough would get the highest recruits?

 

Now, your logic is that these guys bring revenue to the schools and other students are benefitting from the exposure and cash flow. Well, if suddenly these schools have to be paying their football team, their swim team, their women's volleyball team, your logic for getting them the money in the first place is shot to pieces since that "extra" money is no longer "extra."

 

Colleges and Universities are not athletic institutions.

 

First of all, is big time college sports NOT an arms race today?

 

It wouldn't be up to the school how much they are allowed to pay. It would be a firmly regulated ceiling. Anything above that would subject to sanctions.

 

Do you have any clue how much money football and basketball bring in? Do some research. You can start with the television contracts. You don't even have to get into the 90,000 seat stadiums, jersey sales, postseason tournaments, bowl games, ADVERTISING on websites and on campus, MILLIONAIRE BOOSTERS, additional application revenue thanks to national recognition, the NCAA Hall of Fame, etc etc....

 

These are 18-to-22 year old world class athletes. 99% of them will turn professional when they are 23, and IT WILL NOT BE IN ATHLETICS. They are going to get jobs, just like you and me. Is it so wrong to give them some cash every month for the FULL TIME JOB they have representing the university??? I will reiterate, nobody thinks these kids should be getting "pro-style" contracts. Just some spending cash for food, rent, family, etc.

 

Hell, tie it to academics. Give athletes $250/month, or $500/month if GPA is above a 3.0, or $750/month if above a 3.7

 

Just as an example, let's take a 4-year class of players at USC. Let's say there's 80 players on the roster, so over 4 years, that's 320 players. They have made a BCS Bowl game each of their 4 years, resulting in $14 million per-game payout each season. That's $56M over 4 years. If you gave each player $500/month for the 9 month school year, that's $360,000 per year. That's $1.4M over 4 years. You think the school can cover it? And we're not even considering ticket revenue, jersey sales, and all the other items mentioned above.

 

Of course there are other athletes, in other sports at the school. Maybe there's a discrepency in who receives what. It doesn't make it fair...The women's field hockey team is just as committed as the men's basketball team. But it just doesn't generate the revenue, and the stipend may have to reflect that. There are plenty of variables to work out, I'm just thinking out loud here.

 

To just accept that the NCAA, the universities, and the presidents are allowed to roll in the dough, while the athletes they churn out like a factory are killing themselves to make this money, I think they should get a SMALL piece of the pie. You won't be able to convince me otherwise.

[The Big Cat]

First of all, is big time college sports NOT an arms race today?

 

It wouldn't be up to the school how much they are allowed to pay. It would be a firmly regulated ceiling. Anything above that would subject to sanctions.

 

Do you have any clue how much money football and basketball bring in? Do some research.

 

Yeah buddy I get it, I played a sport in college, I understand.

 

But honestly, with the CRAP big time colleges get away with now, -buying cars, homes, etc- do you really think this is something that could POSSIBLY be "firmly regulated?"

[LongLiveRalph]

Yeah buddy I get it, I played a sport in college, I understand.

 

But honestly, with the CRAP big time colleges get away with now, -buying cars, homes, etc- do you really think this is something that could POSSIBLY be "firmly regulated?"

 

I played a sport in college too. Hooray for us.

 

You will never completely eliminate the seedy characters in any area where money is in the billions. But it might actually curb some of the illegal "under the table" handoffs and no-show "jobs" that boosters supply now, if athletes are paid a stipend that is regulated and monitored.

[The Big Cat]

I played a sport in college too. Hooray for us.

 

You will never completely eliminate the seedy characters in any area where money is in the billions. But it might actually curb some of the illegal "under the table" handoffs and no-show "jobs" that boosters supply now, if athletes are paid a stipend that is regulated and monitored.

 

I'm not trying to give myself props, I'm just saying I'm not coming from the book worms' perspective that athletes are a burden to the educational process, la la la.

 

Anyways, something else worth considering- these big schools do in fact pump a TON of money into their academic facilities, especially in the math and science departments. Being able to purchase outlandishly priced equipment for research is another ansilary benefity to athletics, and another way these universities stay "competitive" with one another. I just have to believe these sorts of purchases would be limited by players' compensation too.

 

Look, I agree that collegiate sports are a full time job (especially aquatic ones like the one I played, Alaska Darin)- but IMO that's a sacrifice atheletes bring upon themselves, that's what makes college athletics so pure, a true love for the game. Furthermore, it makes them more attractive candidates in the job world because employers know this. Perhaps THAT's their compensation?

[apuszczalowski]

I'm not trying to give myself props, I'm just saying I'm not coming from the book worms' perspective that athletes are a burden to the educational process, la la la.

 

Anyways, something else worth considering- these big schools do in fact pump a TON of money into their academic facilities, especially in the math and science departments. Being able to purchase outlandishly priced equipment for research is another ansilary benefity to athletics, and another way these universities stay "competitive" with one another. I just have to believe these sorts of purchases would be limited by players' compensation too.

 

Look, I agree that collegiate sports are a full time job (especially aquatic ones like the one I played, Alaska Darin)- but IMO that's a sacrifice atheletes bring upon themselves, that's what makes college athletics so pure, a true love for the game. Furthermore, it makes them more attractive candidates in the job world because employers know this. Perhaps THAT's their compensation?

Can that really be considered a fact? Is it a true love for the game or just they see the finishline (The Draft) after college and know that this is the final step in reaching the big time, and the Big bucks?

 

The players get their payoff for the hard work they put in in school playing on those teams when they enter the draft.

[LongLiveRalph]

Can that really be considered a fact? Is it a true love for the game or just they see the finishline (The Draft) after college and know that this is the final step in reaching the big time, and the Big bucks?

 

The players get their payoff for the hard work they put in in school playing on those teams when they enter the draft.

 

You're talking about 1% of the athletes who play a sport that you can make a living in, and are good enough to play professionally.

 

I think Big Cat was talking more about field hockey, swimming, and other "minor" sports that don't garner much national interest or have clear paths to professional leagues.

[The Big Cat]

You're talking about 1% of the athletes who play a sport that you can make a living in, and are good enough to play professionally.

 

I think Big Cat was talking more about field hockey, swimming, and other "minor" sports that don't garner much national interest or have clear paths to professional leagues.

 

I was. But just because you play college hoops and college football doesn't neccesarily mean you're thinking pro contract. There are plenty of D-1 players who know they're done after senior year, and then twice as many D-2 and D-3 players to boot. But these guys work just as hard, believe me!

 

My alma mater won the Espy for best upset (knocking off Kansas in the first round of the 2005 tourney) and I knew a lot of those guys pretty well. They got national attention, but every one of them knew that "pro" ball meant going over seas IF they were lucky. But man did those guys play/work hard!

[IUBillsFan]

A great chemistry student might also get a full ride, but he's not spending 5+ hours a day at practice, and traveling all over the country representing his university. He can use that extra time to get a job and pay for his apartment. A Division I athlete, who logs thousands of hours per year IN ADDITION to their schoolwork, has very little free time outside of school, sports, and sleep.

 

LMAO...RIGHT...If you're a chem student getting a full ride you are probably taking MUCH harder classes than most ball players and would have to keep a GPA above the 2.0(?) that an athlete has to have to stay eligible. As for 5+ hours of practice that time would be spent working on research projects in the lab. Also most colleges that have really good science programs will bring in much more net income to the university than athletics if you look at the grant money they get.

[The Big Cat]

LMAO...RIGHT...If you're a chem student getting a full ride you are probably taking MUCH harder classes than most ball players and would have to keep a GPA above the 2.0(?) that an athlete has to have to stay eligible. As for 5+ hours of practice that time would be spent working on research projects in the lab. Also most colleges that have really good science programs will bring in much more net income to the university than athletics if you look at the grant money they get.

 

I was hoping someone with knowledge in this area would weigh in on this. In my mind, the cost to maintain/upgrade state of the art engineering/physics/chem labs exceeds the sports cost/revenue of a University.

 

Is this accurate?

[IUBillsFan]

I was hoping someone with knowledge in this area would weigh in on this. In my mind, the cost to maintain/upgrade state of the art engineering/physics/chem labs exceeds the sports cost/revenue of a University.

 

Is this accurate?

 

If you take science as a whole yes. I know, for example, Indiana University received over $400,000,000 for their biosciences just this past year. Even after taking out expenses I don't think athletic dept revenues can compete...Now this is just my opinion so if someone has all the facts I'd be interested in reading them.

[The Big Cat]

If you take science as a whole yes. I know, for example, Indiana University received over $400,000,000 for their biosciences just this past year. Even after taking out expenses I don't think athletic dept revenues can compete...Now this is just my opinion so if someone has all the facts I'd be interested in reading them.

 

Well, I think IU stands as a good example for this debate- as it was the Big 10-like schools which initially came into my mind as athletic powerhouses with substantial academic pursuits.

 

Now, not to take away from IU's position in the scientific community, but would one assume that schools like Cal-Tech or MIT (schools that tip the athletic to academic ratio in the "smarts" direction) get even more money than the $400 m you mentioned.

[LongLiveRalph]

Also most colleges that have really good science programs will bring in much more net income to the university than athletics if you look at the grant money they get.

 

Perfect. More money for the athletes.