It was bound to happen ...

[OrangeDW]

College sports, especially college basketball, has been going downhill for a while. First it was the one and done's, then it was the portal, and now the NIL. As a fan it's sad to know the sport I grew up loving in the 80's and 90's is never coming back. The best part of college sports was watching young kids come in as freshman and develop throughout their careers. After 3 or 4 years it's like they became part of the family. Now it;s just hired assassins with no loyalty. The one thing that made college sports fun, and different from pro sports is gone. College football held out longer thanks to the NFL rules that the athlete had to be out of HS for 3 years, but now that sport is gone as well. Sad times knowing the 2 sports you loved will no longer be the same.

Also sucks because to many around the country, SU basketball is all they know Syracuse for.

 

[baggerbob]

Rooting for our school, town, region, whatever. But yeah we've been rooting for laundry for a long time. Unless you're UNC since those kids never leave...

Outside the highest of highest levels sports gave kids a chance for a free or highly discounted education, medical care, some pocket money, and a chance to do something with it.

And they don't have to take classes either, not in the NCAA wheelhouse.
Now that these players are making all this money, they don't have to go to classes.

 

[Bayside44]

And they don't have to take classes either, not in the NCAA wheelhouse.
Now that these players are making all this money, they don't have to go to classes.

Yeah just dumb down the experience for the student population at large and whammo...

 

[anomander]

Also sucks because to many around the country, SU basketball is all they know Syracuse for.

So true. Cuse hoops is always the go to talking point when traveling to other parts of the country.

 

[ORANGE OATH]

I have long since lost interest in the NFL, MLB, NBA , etc.
I am so thankful I had the opportunity to start watching Syracuse Basketball when Manley had a dirt floor.
I lived to see Syracuse’s evolution from the ECAC into the monster that was the Big East, to now a member of the once hated ACC. All were great times, and a focused interest of myself as well as my whole family.
I remember the day Jim McKechnie sold my wife and I seats in the brand new Carrier Dome. We had to pay/donate $500 per seat plus the ticket price & also paid for a parking permit at Stadium. I think the permit was and additional $50.00.
I now see the end is at hand, perhaps we’ve actually reached it several years ago and I preferred to live in denial that College Sports as we knew it then ( certainly it was always corrupt to some degree) was still a basis for young athletic men and woman to further their education and world perspective.
Obviously, unless you have been vacationing on Jupiter things are very very different now. The change is going to kill the joy of a once great pastime.
I’m glad if someone can elevate themselves out of a difficult life’s situation, but I fear many whom may benefit would have grown more as individuals, and ultimately had a more fulfilling life with a college education.
NIL is the straw that broke the camel’s back in my opinion.
RIP: College Basketball

 

[Willy75]

You think they’ll just be happy to have less freedom of movement?

Doesn’t matter if they’re happy or not. The viability and integrity of the college model are what matters and free agency is making a mess of that. If players don’t like the structure they can make their own decisions on their actions and future, e.g. G League, Europe whatever. I’m all for letting them go straight from high school (or 8th grade) to the NBA if that’s what they want to do.

 

[FrancoPizza]

College sports, especially college basketball, has been going downhill for a while. First it was the one and done's, then it was the portal, and now the NIL. As a fan it's sad to know the sport I grew up loving in the 80's and 90's is never coming back. The best part of college sports was watching young kids come in as freshman and develop throughout their careers. After 3 or 4 years it's like they became part of the family. Now it;s just hired assassins with no loyalty. The one thing that made college sports fun, and different from pro sports is gone. College football held out longer thanks to the NFL rules that the athlete had to be out of HS for 3 years, but now that sport is gone as well. Sad times knowing the 2 sports you loved will no longer be the same.

Thanks for the reminder. No wonder some are drinking at 8am.

 

[SWC75]

The 1955 Nats vs 2003 Orange would have been a good game .I saw both of them play. George King,Red Rocha and Wally Osterkorn were my neighbors. Red lived one house down the street his daughter Terry was my age and a friend.

I'm just wondering how the caliber of play and the of the athletes in the 1955 NBA compared to college ball in 2003. the sport had exploded and I think the 2003 team would have had a height advantage. But the 1955 Nats were 25-30 year old men who had been playing together for years while the 2003 teams was 19-20 year-olds emerging from boyhood. I remember watching the Globetrotters playing the 2004 teams, (basically the same team - Carmelo) and the difference in strength and experience was decisive.

1954-55 Syracuse Nationals Roster and Stats | Basketball-Reference.com

Checkout the latest Syracuse Nationals Roster and Stats for 1954-55 on Basketball-Reference.com

www.basketball-reference.com

2002-03 Syracuse Orange Men's Roster and Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com

Check out the detailed 2002-03 Syracuse Orange Roster and Stats for College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com

www.sports-reference.com

 

[rrlbees]

Nails it.

'I don't know what the solution is': Isaiah Wong's money demands exposed college sports' complicated NIL issue

There is a distinct difference between NIL rights and pay-for-play advocacy and the latter is taking over in college sports

www.cbssports.com

 

[SWC75]

College sports, especially college basketball, has been going downhill for a while. First it was the one and done's, then it was the portal, and now the NIL. As a fan it's sad to know the sport I grew up loving in the 80's and 90's is never coming back. The best part of college sports was watching young kids come in as freshman and develop throughout their careers. After 3 or 4 years it's like they became part of the family. Now it;s just hired assassins with no loyalty. The one thing that made college sports fun, and different from pro sports is gone. College football held out longer thanks to the NFL rules that the athlete had to be out of HS for 3 years, but now that sport is gone as well. Sad times knowing the 2 sports you loved will no longer be the same.

If the sports factories hit the 'eject' button to form their own level of the sport, then what's left might resemble what you remember because there'd be more players who are here to get their degrees. the talent level might be less but there would be more continuity.

 

[SWC75]

I have long since lost interest in the NFL, MLB, NBA , etc.
I am so thankful I had the opportunity to start watching Syracuse Basketball when Manley had a dirt floor.
I lived to see Syracuse’s evolution from the ECAC into the monster that was the Big East, to now a member of the once hated ACC. All were great times, and a focused interest of myself as well as my whole family.
I remember the day Jim McKechnie sold my wife and I seats in the brand new Carrier Dome. We had to pay/donate $500 per seat plus the ticket price & also paid for a parking permit at Stadium. I think the permit was and additional $50.00.
I now see the end is at hand, perhaps we’ve actually reached it several years ago and I preferred to live in denial that College Sports as we knew it then ( certainly it was always corrupt to some degree) was still a basis for young athletic men and woman to further their education and world perspective.
Obviously, unless you have been vacationing on Jupiter things are very very different now. The change is going to kill the joy of a once great pastime.
I’m glad if someone can elevate themselves out of a difficult life’s situation, but I fear many whom may benefit would have grown more as individuals, and ultimately had a more fulfilling life with a college education.
NIL is the straw that broke the camel’s back in my opinion.
RIP: College Basketball

College sports has always thrived in places that don't have a big enough market for pro sports. That will continue.

 

[SWC75]

Nails it.

'I don't know what the solution is': Isaiah Wong's money demands exposed college sports' complicated NIL issue

There is a distinct difference between NIL rights and pay-for-play advocacy and the latter is taking over in college sports

www.cbssports.com

the NCAA should have jumped on the Nil question and made a rule that the money has to be shared with the school and the rest of the team. The players gained their fame wearing the school's uniform and playing with those teammates. And they could have regulated what could be paid so that it's not boosters paying players to come to their school.

 

[rrlbees]

Larranaga might be the next big name coach to retire. Wonder how much Mintz will get offered to transfer if he has a big freshman year.

 

[Hoo's That]

And they don't have to take classes either, not in the NCAA wheelhouse.
Now that these players are making all this money, they don't have to go to classes.

Not exactly. They do have to take classes. They have to maintain a certain GPA in order to be eligible. However, the NCAA has a limited ability to say what is and what isn't a legitimate class. The key is a class that only athletes can take. Because the fratty boys at UNC also glommed onto the Easy As got them off the hook because it showed the classes were open to anyone. Personally, I think UNC should have been raked over the coals, but that didn't happen because the hearing chair determined they couldn't act.

 

[chugg21]

Not sure anything is different at all on the college football side. At least among the mega powers who used to just have to waste $20m on locker rooms with slides in them. Now some of that money can just go to the workforce instead of pissed away on dumb crap they come up with when they already have everything else.

I remember buying an orange #10 jersey when Perry was the QB. Sure am thankful all the money went to Nike and the school. What a travesty it would have been if he got 5 bucks out of the 40 I paid for it specifically because it was the starting QBs jersey.

 

[Willy75]

Not exactly. They do have to take classes. They have to maintain a certain GPA in order to be eligible. However, the NCAA has a limited ability to say what is and what isn't a legitimate class. The key is a class that only athletes can take. Because the fratty boys at UNC also glommed onto the Easy As got them off the hook because it showed the classes were open to anyone. Personally, I think UNC should have been raked over the coals, but that didn't happen because the hearing chair determined they couldn't act.

You can bet that had it been Cleveland State the NCAA would have gone down CB like gangbusters.

 

[kcsu]

This wont last long. NIL was never supposed to be pay for play. Give it 2 years and it will blow up.

 

[baggerbob]

Not exactly. They do have to take classes. They have to maintain a certain GPA in order to be eligible. However, the NCAA has a limited ability to say what is and what isn't a legitimate class. The key is a class that only athletes can take. Because the fratty boys at UNC also glommed onto the Easy As got them off the hook because it showed the classes were open to anyone. Personally, I think UNC should have been raked over the coals, but that didn't happen because the hearing chair determined they couldn't act.

Yes and that is the problem, when was the last time a high profile athelete was suspended for failing classes. The SEC probably never, and yes North Carolina should have had the book thrown at them.

 

[FRANKIEFAN]

College sports has always thrived in places that don't have a big enough market for pro sports. That will continue.

I'd say its 50-50 whether college teams are in pro markets or not. There is plenty of room for overlap.

Everything is currently working against the NCAA model EVERYTHING and most NCAA sports fans openly criticize and loathe the NCAA yet here it is. We'll still outdraw NBA teams this winter for weekend games.

College football and basketball will continue to be excellent TV content the exposure isn't going anywhere and for the most part its on par with the NFL and NBA. Maybe even better since you don't get regional blackouts like the NBA and you can catch any ACC or SEC game with cable.

Just wondering how many fans and entities are actually out there willing to give these kids thousands of dollars. How many NCAAF teams have a shot to win the title this year? 3 SEC schools? Are fans of the rest going to cough up millions in NIL to join that group? For basketball there are less players on the team and more teams but same thing Syracuse has as big a fanbase as any team even if we aren't contenders at this moment (we will be again in the not too distant future) but despite leading the nation in attendance how many fans are going to buy us McDonalds All Americans?

Its the same system kids can just do commercials.

 

[All4SU]

Nails it.

'I don't know what the solution is': Isaiah Wong's money demands exposed college sports' complicated NIL issue

There is a distinct difference between NIL rights and pay-for-play advocacy and the latter is taking over in college sports

www.cbssports.com

Yup. The writer got it all.

The only thing he could have done better was write a more evocative headline like:
College Basketball Going Wong On So Many Levels

 

[DaveT]

I too wonder why we spend so much time and effort on hs recruits. They have an easy path to leave, we don't know how they will play. Coaches spend so much time on it. I too started watching at Manley. It saddens me to see how bad Syracuse basketball has become. I don't have an answer but I know fundamental change is needed. Also we need a 4/5 out of the portal!

 

[miamicuse]

On Thursday night free agency truly arrived on a public stage in college sports. It was so drastic, it had one veteran coach pining for the old days.

"Why can't we go back to how it was," the coach said. "Just have someone drop a bag, go back to when it was cheating before. I like that world."

 

[SWC75]

 

[shermstheman]

You missed my point. I’m not blaming the athletes, they are currently being forced through the college “amateur” system post high school pre-payday whether they have an interest in an education or not.

Baseball has a better system. If you are not interested in an education you can immediately go to the minor leagues and try to earn a living playing. If you are interested in an education you can have it paid or partially paid for and continue your athletic development while getting the education and then flip to pro when you either have your education, as much of it as you want to get, or determine you can make it as a pro and would rather try that than continue in school.

Not much of a living in the minors. Pay is awful- they’ve made it better but it’s still awful. You have to move in with a host family or rent a dive with several other. You make more money flipping burgers.

 

[pfister1]

Not much of a living in the minors. Pay is awful- they’ve made it better but it’s still awful. You have to move in with a host family or rent a dive with several other. You make more money flipping burgers.

The median minor league salary was $44,680. With a range from a low of $19,910 to a high of $187,200. And that is about a 1/2 year of full time employment that can be supplemented in the off season, if necessary.

Unless you own the restaurant, you’re unlikely to make that flipping burgers. Not to mention you are being paid to do something you presumably truly enjoy, how many can say that?

But why let facts get in the way.