A bad trend is starting...

[IthacaMatt]

40 bowl games, half of which are 7-5 and 6-6 teams playing each other, have taken the luster out of bowl games.

Three things have destroyed the bowl system, from a TV standpoint:

1. Too damn many of them, starting too early in the holiday season.

2. When they started moving "non-major" bowls to New Year's Day and, even worse, AFTER New Year's Day. This de-valued the whole New Year's Day bowl experience.

3. The playoff system, which makes everything but the top two games meaningless. It used to be that teams could wind up in any of 5 or 6 bowl games and it might have an impact on who wins the championship. Not now, with the advent of a playoff.

It would be like if they decided who was making the Final Four in basketball, and then played the rest of the bracket anyway, but those teams couldn't make the Final Four.

 

[All4SU]

No pay. Ever. Never. If you don't like it, don't go to college.

 

[maxxyz]

Yes from the stand point (in Syracuses cases) they are getting a $250k education. In turn would they like to get paid then turn around and have to pay the school for their studies? I bet most wouldn't go for that or would they?

As a college employee wouldn't they would be eligible for free tuition ? Or they could be treated like grad assistants and get credit hours, health insurance and an hourly wage? I'm pretty confident they would find a way to give free tuition. It's the perks that may change.

That being said I feel that athletes should be able to go pro as soon as they are 18, be it basketball, football, squash or whatever. But once you declare yourself a professional you can't unring the bell. Keep college athletics amateur. And I don't feel this will hurt college athletics much because the branding is with the colleges first and foremost. If anything I believe it will hurt the pro leagues because they lose the buzz from marketing on the up and coming players in the NCAA.

 

[Waltdods]

No pay. Ever. Never. If you don't like it, don't go to college.

There are thousands of people making good, and often insanely good, livings off of college basketball and football. What exactly is the principal that says Dino babers can extract a couple million bucks from the cash cow but Eric Dungey can get zero?

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

No pay. Ever. Never. If you don't like it, don't go to college.

The dark ages called. Wondering when you are coming back.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

There are thousands of people making good, and often insanely good, livings off of college basketball and football. What exactly is the principal that says Dino babers can extract a couple million bucks from the cash cow but Eric Dungey can get zero?

But it's free. The head trauma, the damage to the body, that's not a real cost.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Hey there are plenty of things wrong with college sports, the NCAA etc. Now you're starting to branch out into other areas when you talk about coaches leaving etc.

My dispute here is more about the notion that bowl games are exhibitions and also that when a QB decides not to play that it really hurts his team.

In terms of bowl games, I watched nearly all of them after Christmas Day and basically each one was played with plenty of intensity. The winning teams were fired up and took it very seriously. Imagine the cyber space that would go unused here if nobody on this site talked about SU being bowl eligible? I went to Dallas/Philly yesterday. That was an exhibition game. Bowl games are not exhibition games. Not by a long shot. Just because some SU fan has no interest in a particular bowl game doesn't mean that's the same for the participants.

When a top level QB doesn't play that lets the whole team down. The likelihood that a QB would have an injury that would materially alter his draft status is probably one in ten thousand and that risk could easily be insured against for one game. But heck if the player is that worried about such risk then why was he playing in November?

Well, fans root for the Jersey, not the player, so it shouldn't matter to the fan.

 

[All4SU]

There are thousands of people making good, and often insanely good, livings off of college basketball and football. What exactly is the principal that says Dino babers can extract a couple million bucks from the cash cow but Eric Dungey can get zero?

What exactly is the principle which says things have to keep going down the black hole into which college sports has been headed for years. Why are people so lazy and short-sighted to believe the paradigm cannot be changed?

 

[All4SU]

The dark ages called. Wondering when you are coming back.

To the contrary, I'm advocating change. Others are advocating doing nothing and letting outside forces dictate the future of college sports.

 

[cuse10]

with the schools top kids not playing in bowl games...this isn't a good thing...

Now as I have stated in another thread this bowl season already doesn't have any buzz but let me add

1. The Playoffs are taking the "luster" off of the other bowls...with CUSE out of it, Im just looking forward to the Final 4 games New Years Day

2. Yes any bowl at this point of our beloved CUSE football program is heaven

3. Sam Darnold severely hurt his draft stock last night (was it because tOSU good defense had 30 days to prepare for him or is he not that good?)

now going back to the title of this thread...hypothetically what would we do if Eric Dungey said no thanks I'm not playing in a bowl and want to get ready for the draft...

This is a bad, bad , trend that is starting and Im afraid its only going to snowball...

Why is this a bad trend? At no point were these guys compensated (legally). If you have a sure shot at getting drafted that Spring, sit out the game. Risk getting hurt for what? Will the school take out an insurance policy for you in the event you get hurt? No. Screw them. At the end of the day, all you have is yourself.

 

[Waltdods]

What exactly is the principle which says things have to keep going down the black hole into which college sports has been headed for years. Why are people so lazy and short-sighted to believe the paradigm cannot be changed?

So is your proposal that the NCAA should renounce its agreement with CBS, end sponsored bowl games, reduce ticket prices to a buck, ban sales of team paraphanalia (the Syracuse economy probably wouldn't survive the end of tee-shirts), and outlaw salaries over 100k for coaches?

If not, what is this new paradigm?

 

[cuse10]

I just think it's different if you're the QB. Kudos to Darnold for playing.

Btw plenty of meaningless games played in November too for a lot of these teams as well.

Lastly I watched several bowl games this year where teams were playing their tails off. They sure as hell didn't treat it as an exhibition game. Exhibition game? lol

Exhibition game or not, football isn't like basketball. You loaf around and you increase your potential to seriously get hurt.

 

[cuse10]

Agreed. And why just skip the bowl game if you're worried about hurting your draft prospects? Why not just skip games in October and November too? Football is a violent game, you can get hurt. You can get hurt in practice too. Hell Sidney Jones of Washington tore his achilles at his pro day.

I think it's really bad when a QB skips a bowl game. he's the leader of the team. I wouldn't draft that guy if I were an NFL GM and I'd think twice if it were any other position player as well.

Josh Rosen never has to play a game of football again if decides not to. His family has wealth upon wealth. He used his position to be a player's advocate by speaking out against the ills of the NCAA and flexed what little power he has as a collegiate athlete by putting himself first. Kudos to him.

 

[tbonezone]

"it's the bottom of the ninth lou. bases loaded and the team needs you more ever..."
"NO THANKS I'LL PASS "

 

[djcon57]

"it's the bottom of the ninth lou. bases loaded and the team needs you more ever..."
"NO THANKS I'LL PASS "

All those guys were paid.

 

[djcon57]

If only Fournette played in the Miracle Whip Cactus Bowl, he would have ran for 2000 yards this year.

 

[bpo57]

Josh Rosen never has to play a game of football again if decides not to. His family has wealth upon wealth. He used his position to be a player's advocate by speaking out against the ills of the NCAA and flexed what little power he has as a collegiate athlete by putting himself first. Kudos to him.

meh.

 

[bpo57]

All those guys were paid.

Just like many of the guys in college.

 

[djcon57]

Just like many of the guys in college.

Sure...They didn't have a limit of which they could be paid though.

 

[djcon57]

Exactly. Why does any pro prospect play in a NIT game or a fairly meaningless conference tournament game? Where do u draw the line?

They don't. Ben Simmons basically told LSU he wasn't going to play in NIT a couple years back.

It's really hurt his pro career.

 

[Ish88888]

Three things have destroyed the bowl system, from a TV standpoint:

1. Too damn many of them, starting too early in the holiday season.

2. When they started moving "non-major" bowls to New Year's Day and, even worse, AFTER New Year's Day. This de-valued the whole New Year's Day bowl experience.

3. The playoff system, which makes everything but the top two games meaningless. It used to be that teams could wind up in any of 5 or 6 bowl games and it might have an impact on who wins the championship. Not now, with the advent of a playoff.

It would be like if they decided who was making the Final Four in basketball, and then played the rest of the bracket anyway, but those teams couldn't make the Final Four.

Good post and addressing your 3rd point; we haven't seen multiple games at once with meaning towards a NC. A if they lose, they win multi team scenario. Now, with more bowls and it being clearly defined which 2 games matter, teams like UCF will moan and groan about not having a shot. That said, auburn was playing for nothing and UCF everything. Thats the problem. In many of these bowls there is 1 team happy to be there and another, not.

 

[CuseCPT]

Good post and addressing your 3rd point; we haven't seen multiple games at once with meaning towards a NC. A if they lose, they win multi team scenario. Now, with more bowls and it being clearly defined which 2 games matter, teams like UCF will moan and groan about not having a shot. That said, auburn was playing for nothing and UCF everything. Thats the problem. In many of these bowls there is 1 team happy to be there and another, not.

That’s a a great point. I keep hearing from SEC apologists that Auburn didn’t even care about being there. And that’s a “big” bowl with two ranked teams.

 

[bpo57]

They don't. Ben Simmons basically told LSU he wasn't going to play in NIT a couple years back.

It's really hurt his pro career.

Ended up missing a year anyway.

 

[djcon57]

Ended up missing a year anyway.

Yes and got paid a years salary and is a year closer to his second contract.


What an idiot he is.

 

[IthacaMatt]

I can say that real, actual GM's who build teams for a living and whose jobs depend upon their success don't seem to have a problem with the practice - at least judging by the top 10 selections of McCaffery and Fournette. It's almost like NFL GM's can distinguish between players choosing to sit out a glorified exhibition game players who supposedly quit on their teams.

Didn't Clowney do that, too? I thought he started the whole trend.