58th Edition
When I was a young kid my uncle took me to watch my cousin play in a college football game. He was the starting tight end for Hobart, a Division III college in Geneva, NY and their opponent that day was Union College. Late in the game, my cousin caught a touchdown pass that put the game away for Hobart. When the referee signaled touchdown, my uncle jumped to his feet and exclaimed, “That’s My Boy!” What a happy and proud moment it was for family and friends, and the 500 or so Hobart fans in attendance. One does not have to be at the Rose Bowl to experience the jubilation of college athletics, or the lifelong memories they often create.
In the mainstream, college sports have changed dramatically in recent years. In many ways it’s a real mess. NIL money, transfer portal, non-revenue sports in peril, conference shake-ups. The University of Southern California in the Big Ten?! Please.
The problem in all this, obviously, is money. At virtually every major university, the vast majority of sports revenue is generated by football and men’s basketball. Virtually all other sports lose money. A typical university in a major conference like the Big Ten or SEC, offers between 20 – 24 sports for men and women combined. The NCAA hosts 26 Division I championships, 13 each for men and women. According to a recent NCAA study, approximately 43% of football and men’s basketball programs are unprofitable. Fewer and fewer schools can afford to offer sports.
One of today’s controversial issues is NIL money. It stands for Name, Image, and Likeness. Athletes are now allowed to receive money to play college sports, as much as the market will bear, essentially. The money cannot come directly from the university, so it is redirected and comes from signing autographs, doing commercials, participating in camps and clinics, and various business ventures all set up for the athletes. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
Whenever and wherever a lot of money is involved, ethics and morality issues naturally arise. These are some of the disconcerting actions we have seen in recent years and will likely continue to see in the foreseeable future.
Ø Players will change schools multiple times in search of bigger payouts.
Ø Star players will decline participation in post season games and tournaments in order to prevent end of the season injuries that could jeopardize their professional career.
Ø Coaches who value character development and the tradition of the scholar athlete will have to decide whether to change their value system or resign from coaching. Nick Saban, perhaps college football’s all-time greatest coach, recently chose the latter.
Ø Unscrupulous donors will yield even more power as they compete behind the scenes for the most heralded athletes.
Ø Only a select few colleges will be competitive in football at the highest level, slightly more in men’s basketball.
Where is all this going?
Imagine this… In the not-too-distant future, there will be a college football conference called The Rich and Famous Football Conference. In it will be Alabama, Ohio State, USC, Oklahoma, Texas, Michigan, Clemson, and Florida State. Every year they’ll play each other once and whichever team comes in last place gets kicked out, at least for a year, giving say, Florida State or Oregon a chance at the big time. The season will actually be a few weeks shorter, giving all the players and coaches more time to make even more money with appearances, promotions, and business investments. When money is your top priority, can there ever be enough?
There will be a national championship playoff within the Rich and Famous Football Conference. NFL owners and scouts will vie for the best seats, costing around $5,000 or more, and there will be a huge payday for the winning team, as well as lucrative bonuses for the star players. Good for them.
Meanwhile, all the other conferences will return to their traditional geographic alignments. The Big Ten will be schools from the Midwest, The Pac Ten will be schools on the west coast, etc. It’s not rocket science, it’s just completely sensible and logical. We might see Purdue upset Northwestern in the Big Ten Championship, the school’s first Big Ten title since 1952. Or maybe Indiana wins its first since 1945. The possibilities are endless.
College football, in essence, will mirror the rest of society. Within sports there will be the proverbial 1% – The Rich and Famous Conference. Everyone else adjusts, chooses to watch the games, donate money, or instead decides to support other sports and other teams. What’s the big deal? The critical question is this – How will the 99%ers fund their athletic programs? Will Purdue and Indiana, and all the others sell out their respective stadiums? Will boosters and rich alumni still support their alma maters, despite not being included in the Rich and Famous Conference?
Again, I think we can look at the rest of the country for answers. While it may be interesting to read about Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos, or any of the 1%ers. It may even be interesting to fantasize about joining that elite group, but at the end of the day we 99%ers, hug our wives and kids and go back to our daily lives. Which, in this country, for most of us, isn’t all that bad. We can cheer as enthusiastically as we want at Pop Warner football games, wear the school colors at high school games, and be loyal followers of our alma maters at any level. We can relish historic rivalries and root for the underdogs or perennial favorites. We can inspire youth to dream of greatness while we teach them all that will be required should they embark on such a character-building journey. And perhaps most of all, we will create memories, good and bad, that will last a lifetime. Isn’t that what athletics are really all about?
Certainly, there is enough wealth among the 99%ers to support the continuation of amateur athletics at all college levels below the Rich and Famous Conference. We may need to remind ourselves of the essential role athletics plays in the overall college education experience as well as the integral part it plays in the fabric of our society.
By all means, we can tip our hats to the athletes who are talented enough to play at Alabama or Ohio State and marvel at their remarkable abilities. At the same time we might offer them a word of caution about becoming too enamored with money. Some will listen, others won’t. But ultimately, the most fortunate ones will discover that the love of money can be a curse as easily as a blessing.
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Michael Kayes
*These views are my personal opinions and are not the viewpoints of any company or organization.