Good for Jay Bilas

[Stern]

Kids aren't forced to go to college and play sports. If they don't like the system or the set-up or not being paid...don't play college sports. Nobody is forcing them. People make it sound like these kids are going to these colleges against their will and like they are being drafted into the military. They know what they are signing up for beforehand.

This notion of a players union or paying players is and always will be silly. It will never happen.

 

[Full_Rebar]

As much as I agree with players getting some money I also have to wonder where schools like Buffalo or Toledo can get this money to pay their football/basketball players? Would title 9 ask what about the woman, do they get paid for basketball or another sport to equal this? Yes, SEC schools do pay some baseball coaches 1 million but these schools mentioned above don't even pay their football coaches this.

Again, the Northwestern students are not asking to be "paid", they are asking to get the full cost of attendance which is another $7k per year. The model Bilas suggests is to follow the Olympic model where athletes are allowed to make money from commercial endorsements, which does not impact the school.

Just for the sake of argument, Buffalo pays their AD $301 K, and they claim to have broken even last year according to this- http://www.forbes.com/colleges/university-at-buffalo/. Maybe schools should spend a little less on coaches/admins, many of whom also get allowances for housing, cars, etc.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

[quol="Crusty, post: 916626, member: 2265"]I agree with his perspective with respect to a players union and I know most will hate it but it should help forward the conversation.[/quote]
here is how to head that off. we will pay you

My one complaint about what he said, is that essentially the free education kids get means literally nothing.

getting out of college loans free matters a whole hell of a lot more than the fact I worked 30 hours a week while I was in grad school to have enough money to pay rent and for books so I didn't need to take out even more loans. I'll spend the next 20+ years of life paying off those loans. My experience is not exactly unique.

Given the choice between a free education, where I could only have minimal amounts of pocket change for spending, or working through college while having (very slightly) more pocket change, but $100,000+ in student loans, I'll take the first one every single time.

Oh and my face (along with a ton of other students nationwide) is on a handful of campus ads, pepsi ads with shots of the stands, I'm in the commercial that SU has been running every sporting event this year (and a good portion of last year), I don't see anybody clamoring to help me make some money off the numerous advertisements dollars both the campus, Pepsi and whoever else has my face on an ad has made. I didn't sign anything saying use of me in advertisements without compensation is OK. It's not like I don't need the additional funding (along with every other college kid or recent Grad in America) But I'm not going after Pepsi for it, and I consider it an honor, and exciting to be a part of those ads, and I have copies of them lying around that I can save and show to my kids those ads one day. If I pressed the advertising agencies for my money, supposing they would actually give me "my dues" (yeah right that would happen) it certainly wouldn't be as much money as C.J. Fair is owed, but I'd still be owed something, as they obviously saw something in the pictures I am in that enabled them to think it would help them move their product to the public.

So my point here, longwinded as it may be, is that a free education is not worthless, no matter what anybody thinks. It's on the kids to put it to good use once they have it. No matter what I (as a normal college student) was allowed to earn, a guy like Brandon Triche (who doesn't appear he will make it in the NBA) is so much further ahead in his life financially than I am, despite me working 30 hours a week during my college tenure.

Kids aren't forced to go to college and play sports. If they don't like the system or the set-up or not being paid...don't play college sports. Nobody is forcing them. People make it sound like these kids are going to these colleges against their will and like they are being drafted into the military. They know what they are signing up for beforehand.

This notion of a players union or paying players is and always will be silly. It will never happen.

here is how to handle it from schools.

We will pay you $100.00 per hour for your time. You pay tuition, room and board, etc.

 

[Cheriehoop]

Kids aren't forced to go to college and play sports. If they don't like the system or the set-up or not being paid...don't play college sports. Nobody is forcing them. People make it sound like these kids are going to these colleges against their will and like they are being drafted into the military. They know what they are signing up for beforehand.

This notion of a players union or paying players is and always will be silly. It will never happen.

I must be missing something. What is stopping high school kids from going to the D League like Latavious Williams, overseas like Brandon Jennings, straight to the NBA draft, if they want pay for play. They could also opt to go the IMG route and have agents privately invest, promote, negotiate endorsements instead of the college route.
Players not chosing these ways only confirms that players value what colleges provide over the alternate pay for play route. As Stern pointed out no one forces kids to go to college to play sports - they chose to so how bad a deal is it for them really?

 

[SmilinBob]

Again, the Northwestern students are not asking to be "paid", they are asking to get the full cost of attendance which is another $7k per year. The model Bilas suggests is to follow the Olympic model where athletes are allowed to make money from commercial endorsements, which does not impact the school.

Just for the sake of argument, Buffalo pays their AD $301 K, and they claim to have broken even last year according to this- http://www.forbes.com/colleges/university-at-buffalo/. Maybe schools should spend a little less on coaches/admins, many of whom also get allowances for housing, cars, etc.

Well lowering their coaches salaries should help them be more competitive.

I get that the NW kids want a seat at the table and I was commenting on what Bilas said who the OP mentioned in their post which had no mention of the Northwestern kids.

 

[Moontan]

Again, the Northwestern students are not asking to be "paid", they are asking to get the full cost of attendance which is another $7k per year.

It's not $7k per year. I believe you're using the figures mentioned on Game Day. The stipend being discussed is on the order of $2,000-2,500 per year. This amount is to cover incidentals while on campus (laundry, an occasional bite out, etc. and also part of transportation from home to campus).

 

[Full_Rebar]

Well lowering their coaches salaries should help them be more competitive.

I get that the NW kids want a seat at the table and I was commenting on what Bilas said who the OP mentioned in their post which had no mention of the Northwestern kids.

I'm saying that every school could lower coaching/admin salaries to provide for the full cost of attendance that student-athletes want. There is no need to cut sports to make this happen, and in fact, the NCAA could set a cap of salaries. I recognize that no school is going to do this on their own, but I want to point out that comments like Delaney saying the BiG schools would become D3 schools is a joke. I also can't stand college admins/NCAA folks who saying giving the full cost of attendance (or a stipend) would mean cutting sports. All of these schools can afford it, if they looked to control salaries.

It's ridiculous that in a majority of states, the highest paid state employee is a college football or basketball coach. That's one of Bilas' arguments. You can't claim poverty when the average salary of college football coaches is higher than the average salary of NFL coaches.

Moontan- I am not talking about stipends. The request is not a stipend, it's for athletes to get the same scholarship as other students, which covers the full cost of attendance. The 7k figure was what Northwestern used (maybe just the number at that school). Yes, this can be used for things such as travel expenses, incidentals, but I think when people say stipend it makes you think that athletes are getting more than other students, but in fact, this would just put the athletes on equal footing.

 

[SmilinBob]

They won't control salaries though F_R, it just isn't going to happen. Somebody is only worth what somebody else is willing to pay for them. Unless, they have a coaches salary cap.

 

[Full_Rebar]

Oh I know they won't, just pointing out that the argument that schools "can't afford it", isn't true. I'm of the opinion that this is what will split the P5 off because at some point. It makes no sense for a Toledo or Middle Tenn St to try and compete with Ohio St/Texas/Bama.

 

[SmilinBob]

Oh I know they won't, just pointing out that the argument that schools "can't afford it", isn't true. I'm of the opinion that this is what will split the P5 off because at some point. It makes no sense for a Toledo or Middle Tenn St to try and compete with Ohio St/Texas/Bama.

Probably right but I despise this 1%er thing that college football is becoming.

 

[Crusty]

I'm saying that every school could lower coaching/admin salaries to provide for the full cost of attendance that student-athletes want. There is no need to cut sports to make this happen, and in fact, the NCAA could set a cap of salaries. I recognize that no school is going to do this on their own, but I want to point out that comments like Delaney saying the BiG schools would become D3 schools is a joke. I also can't stand college admins/NCAA folks who saying giving the full cost of attendance (or a stipend) would mean cutting sports. All of these schools can afford it, if they looked to control salaries.

It's ridiculous that in a majority of states, the highest paid state employee is a college football or basketball coach. That's one of Bilas' arguments. You can't claim poverty when the average salary of college football coaches is higher than the average salary of NFL coaches.

Moontan- I am not talking about stipends. The request is not a stipend, it's for athletes to get the same scholarship as other students, which covers the full cost of attendance. The 7k figure was what Northwestern used (maybe just the number at that school). Yes, this can be used for things such as travel expenses, incidentals, but I think when people say stipend it makes you think that athletes are getting more than other students, but in fact, this would just put the athletes on equal footing.

I am not sure that the NCAA could implement a salary cap without an anti-trust exemption or a CBA with a coaches union.???

 

[All4SU]

[quol="Crusty, post: 916626, member: 2265"]I agree with his perspective with respect to a players union and I know most will hate it but it should help forward the conversation.

here is how to head that off. we will pay you


here is how to handle it from schools.

We will pay you $100.00 per hour for your time. You pay tuition, room and board, etc.[/quote]

You do that, and you will ring the death knell for expensive private schools.