As much as I loathe U of O athletics, I find myself cheering for them on the NIL front. Give the kids all the money. It's fascinating to see how universities are reacting to losing control of their programs. The NCAA has had this coming for a really long time.
John, of more concern to me, is the bill in the California legislature that demands that one half of all surplus revenues from football & basketball at state universities must be paid to the California athletes. If it passes, it is sure to go national out of self protection, setting up a likely situation favoring the biggest schools with the greatest revenues. How then will an OSU, or a WSU be able to compete?
Maybe, you can write a column about that eventually.
Saban isn't worried about losing the recruiting title to Jimbo--his bigger worry is losing his #1 recruiting advantage (sending kids to the league) because NIL has leveled the playing field. As opposed to getting kids money later, NIL promises money NOW! He knows kids will jump at that from schools he never had to compete against before. Also, the pittance he was offering in under-the-table, illegal pay-to-play (yes, he was doing that as all SEC schools do) is nothing anymore to what the top recruits will accrue with NIL. His dominance is acutely threatened. One more thing: with NCAA neutered, the SEC/ESPN cabal can longer rely on their selective enforcement to keep other potential threats at bay. Bad times for Nick.
Next you will have high profile agents sniffing around HS looking to get in on the action early. Hey kid let’s start shopping college boosters see who we can get to cough up the most cash. Oh mom needs a new car I bet we happen to find one at the front door of this college. We don’t even have to hide the boosters name any more or pretend lease it.
I guess I am too old to “appreciate” some of the coaches of today. I want the old guys back…no gigantic salaries, no need to be the “big guy” on campus and everywhere else they set foot. I also hope that all the money the today guys make with their commercials is being donated to the poor.
Lived in Las Vegas in the 80s and the stories about Tarkanian and UNLV basketball were legion...my favorite is at the first practice in mid October Tark would have assistant coach first go in and tell players to only drive the old junker cars they had been given and store the nice fancy new car somewhere else..... But on NIL I noticed the recent report the UO athletes received a little over $2 million collectively which works out to roughly a couple thousand per year....but if Thibodeau received as much as $1 million and a couple of others also received substantial deals, the average for the other athletes is much less probably under $1000. Would be interested in you digging into that a little...
As much as I loathe U of O athletics, I find myself cheering for them on the NIL front. Give the kids all the money. It's fascinating to see how universities are reacting to losing control of their programs. The NCAA has had this coming for a really long time.
If college football just would expand the playoff, it could drop the conference title games.
I'd love to hear more Jimbo unfiltered. And I'd love even more him and Saban in the Octagon.
Great column blending humor and pathos. God help college sports.
John, of more concern to me, is the bill in the California legislature that demands that one half of all surplus revenues from football & basketball at state universities must be paid to the California athletes. If it passes, it is sure to go national out of self protection, setting up a likely situation favoring the biggest schools with the greatest revenues. How then will an OSU, or a WSU be able to compete?
Maybe, you can write a column about that eventually.
This is going to get ugly. Hopeful congress steps in sooner than later to set parameters..
Saban isn't worried about losing the recruiting title to Jimbo--his bigger worry is losing his #1 recruiting advantage (sending kids to the league) because NIL has leveled the playing field. As opposed to getting kids money later, NIL promises money NOW! He knows kids will jump at that from schools he never had to compete against before. Also, the pittance he was offering in under-the-table, illegal pay-to-play (yes, he was doing that as all SEC schools do) is nothing anymore to what the top recruits will accrue with NIL. His dominance is acutely threatened. One more thing: with NCAA neutered, the SEC/ESPN cabal can longer rely on their selective enforcement to keep other potential threats at bay. Bad times for Nick.
Next you will have high profile agents sniffing around HS looking to get in on the action early. Hey kid let’s start shopping college boosters see who we can get to cough up the most cash. Oh mom needs a new car I bet we happen to find one at the front door of this college. We don’t even have to hide the boosters name any more or pretend lease it.
As you say, good move by the Pac-12 to change the championship format. I'm warming up to Kliavkoff.
I guess I am too old to “appreciate” some of the coaches of today. I want the old guys back…no gigantic salaries, no need to be the “big guy” on campus and everywhere else they set foot. I also hope that all the money the today guys make with their commercials is being donated to the poor.
Lived in Las Vegas in the 80s and the stories about Tarkanian and UNLV basketball were legion...my favorite is at the first practice in mid October Tark would have assistant coach first go in and tell players to only drive the old junker cars they had been given and store the nice fancy new car somewhere else..... But on NIL I noticed the recent report the UO athletes received a little over $2 million collectively which works out to roughly a couple thousand per year....but if Thibodeau received as much as $1 million and a couple of others also received substantial deals, the average for the other athletes is much less probably under $1000. Would be interested in you digging into that a little...
as Frank Zappa so aptly penned; “there ain’t no way to delay that trouble comin’ anyway…”
Another cutting edge editorial.👍
A little peek behind the recruiting curtain.