Arian Foster and the NCAA

[Texasfan101]

Outspoken and opinionated, running back for the Houston Texans, Arian Foster, opens up about his true feelings toward the NCAA.

Check out the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYcXn...ure=plpp_video

[Allstar]

Arian's publicist strikes again.

[pissknocker]

Originally Posted by Allstar

Arian's publicist strikes again.

HAHAHA more like his stalker.

[Dutchrudder]

It all makes sense now, the Texans cut Eric Winston so that Foster can be first-string media spotlight guy.

[Big Lou]

I've never believed that College Players should be paid. They are getting room, board, in most cases a 6 figure educatio, and in most large program they give the players tons of team appareal.

However I never really thought about the fact they can't have a job, which makes it tough to do things outside of school. I would support a small stipend, maybe a tiered system. Say 10,000-20,000 a year, semething similar to what a college kid makes working part time. I do think that any long term injuries caused by practice or games should be paid for not just immediate treatment. I have no idea how that works as of now.

[Rey]

I think this is someone from the Texans...

The Mods know who it is.

[majestrate]

I think the NFL needs to move to a farm-type system. And college football as it's now known needs to be pulled from the colleges and rebranded into some minor league football organization that runs the farm system. Schools can align themselves with farm teams, and they earn a percentage of ticket sales, and are paid for any athlete that is attending that school. Let the teams rent the college stadiums.

Lots of holes to fill in that idea, and no way it would ever happen, but at least then you don't have scholarships going to student athletes who really don't care about the academics and want to stick around just long enough to become draft eligible.

[Rey]

Originally Posted by Big Lou

I've never believed that College Players should be paid. They are getting room, board, in most cases a 6 figure educatio, and in most large program they give the players tons of team appareal.

College players should be paid something.

Yes they are on scholarship and are getting "paid" in that way, but the difference between college athlete and Sally Sue that is attending on an academic scholarship is that the athlete is helping to directly generate some kind of revenue for the school. Add in the fact that it's pretty much impossible to have a pt job AND football require year round dedication and I think it's a no brainer that college athletes should be paid something.

I think that a certain percentage of the money that an athletic program makes should go to the athletes. And put a cap on the amount of money they can make for the really lucrative programs. Not anything crazy...Just enough for a guy to save up and buy a used car if he wanted to...Or take a girl out on the weekends...or whatever...

[silvrhand]

Originally Posted by Rey

College players should be paid something.

Yes they are on scholarship and are getting "paid" in that way, but the difference between college athlete and Sally Sue that is attending on an academic scholarship is that the athlete is helping to directly generate some kind of revenue for the school. Add in the fact that it's pretty much impossible to have a pt job AND football require year round dedication and I think it's a no brainer that college athletes should be paid something.

I think that a certain percentage of the money that an athletic program makes should go to the athletes. And put a cap on the amount of money they can make for the really lucrative programs. Not anything crazy...Just enough for a guy to save up and buy a used car if he wanted to...Or take a girl out on the weekends...or whatever...

Too unbalancing, you have to think these guys are walking away some of them with 250k-350k in college tution/board/fees free and clear.

[Rey]

Originally Posted by majestrate

I think the NFL needs to move to a farm-type system. And college football as it's now known needs to be pulled from the colleges and rebranded into some minor league football organization that runs the farm system. Schools can align themselves with farm teams, and they earn a percentage of ticket sales, and are paid for any athlete that is attending that school. Let the teams rent the college stadiums.

I don't understand the point in that?

I do agree that they should have some kind of real farm system...The practice squad isn't enough IMO.

[Dutchrudder]

Originally Posted by Big Lou

I've never believed that College Players should be paid. They are getting room, board, in most cases a 6 figure educatio, and in most large program they give the players tons of team appareal.

However I never really thought about the fact they can't have a job, which makes it tough to do things outside of school. I would support a small stipend, maybe a tiered system. Say 10,000-20,000 a year, semething similar to what a college kid makes working part time. I do think that any long term injuries caused by practice or games should be paid for not just immediate treatment. I have no idea how that works as of now.

There's a good reason they aren't allowed to get a job, it's because they spend so many hours at practice and preparing for games that a 20 hour a week job would only hinder their ability to attempt to be a good student. In lieu of doing so, the schools are well within their rights to give thousands of dollars worth of assistance in all sorts of forms to the 'student' athletes. Arian is BSing about this for some reason, or he's just not very educated on the topic. There's just no way he went to UT and didn't get a slice of this big ol' money pie. Although I would imagine athletes look at free money completely differently than those who actually had to get a real job to pay for college, books and living expenses.

Here's a great article detailing Arkansas player compensations from a person who used to :

...

The typical non-freshman Arkansas football player received the cash listed below in 2010-11:
$5,500- Pell Grant
$500- Clothing Fund
$8,024- Fall and Spring Room and Board
$3,016- Summer Room and Board

$17,040- Grand Total

Remember, this excludes any money from the Student-Athlete Opportunity Fund, the Special Assistance Fund, and any occasional meals provided by boosters. Monthly, football players are looking at $1,420 cash in their pocket without having to buy books or pay tuition and fees. Did you have $1,420 of cash every month in college? If football players were to work a job paying a respectable $10 an hour, they would need to work 36 hours a week for 50 weeks to make $18,000 before taxes to make what they get from their football scholarship and other available money sources.

How much does it cost to live in an apartment in Fayetteville? One of, if not, the nicest apartments on the edge of campus costs $480 per person for a two bedroom apartment. Another nice apartment about a mile from campus costs $350 per person for a two bedroom apartment. If we split the difference at $415 per person, our football players have over $1,000 remaining from their monthly income after paying for rent and remember, they have no bills for tuition, books, or fees. Still think these guys cannot afford a tank of gas, a date, or any other reasonable expenditure for a college student?

Football is a ‘head count’ sport according to the NCAA. This means that football student-athletes are either on a full scholarship or not on any athletic scholarship. There is no middle ground. A full scholarship covers tuition, fees, books, room, and board. We covered the money a football player actually receives. Now, we will look at the added value of a scholarship. At Arkansas a student taking 30 credit hours would pay just under $8,000 as an in-state student for tuition, fees, and books. A non-resident would pay $17,162 for the same. Many football players will also take summer school during both summer sessions. The average expense for an in-state student taking nine summer hours is roughly $2,000. For an out of state student, the cost is closer to $4,500.

...

http://www.holyturf.com/2011/05/foot...in-ncaa-rules/

[Rey]

Originally Posted by silvrhand

Too unbalancing, you have to think these guys are walking away some of them with 250k-350k in college tution/board/fees free and clear.

That 250K number seems kind of high, but my point is that they are collectively generating more money for the school than what they are costing them...

[Big Lou]

Originally Posted by Rey

That 250K number seems kind of high, but my point is that they are collectively generating more money for the school than what they are costing them...

I would like to see what the margins are for major and mid level programs. It's easy to say that the colleges make tons of money, I'm guessing they do but what the take home so to speak as there are costs to run a program.

To say that the NCAA is a Billion Dollar Business, well so is GM, but they're bankrupt and lose money. The stadiums cost money, the staffs cost money, the equipment and facilities cost money, the scholarships technically have a cost associated with them. People always tend to look at the really big number, and don't look into the specifics. If after all the expenses say a major program like Texas "makes" several million dollars could you split that probably.

NCAA Roster limits are 70 I believe. So say you pay each player $30k, thats $2,100,000, thats a lot of coin. Also add in the fact that a lot on the roster don't even get full rides, so do they deserve cash, if not thats starts to get pretty tricky.

I tell you what though, this is one of the most dividing topics I have ever talked about with other folks. Politics and Religion are easier to discuss than college athletics.

[Allstar]

Originally Posted by Rey

I think this is someone from the Texans...

The Mods know who it is.

most likely it's someone from Bleacher Report, trying desperately to get YouTube clicks.

[Playoffs]

My mind is changed.

[Rey]

Originally Posted by Big Lou

I would like to see what the margins are for major and mid level programs. It's easy to say that the colleges make tons of money, I'm guessing they do but what the take home so to speak as there are costs to run a program.

To say that the NCAA is a Billion Dollar Business, well so is GM, but they're bankrupt and lose money. The stadiums cost money, the staffs cost money, the equipment and facilities cost money, the scholarships technically have a cost associated with them. People always tend to look at the really big number, and don't look into the specifics. If after all the expenses say a major program like Texas "makes" several million dollars could you split that probably.

NCAA Roster limits are 70 I believe. So say you pay each player $30k, thats $2,100,000, thats a lot of coin. Also add in the fact that a lot on the roster don't even get full rides, so do they deserve cash, if not thats starts to get pretty tricky.

I tell you what though, this is one of the most dividing topics I have ever talked about with other folks. Politics and Religion are easier to discuss than college athletics.

See I'm not even saying it should be 30k.

I'm thinking more in the 1k - 5k per year range. Half each semester. Maybe not even that much.

And I think everyone on the team Should get the same amount. Scholarship or not. Kickers, long snappers, red shirts. Everyone.

When I played ball in school we weren't even supposed to get overpayment checks that a lot of the other students got. They made a "mistake" and gave us some money once but other than that nada. You had to apply for stipends and stuff. That first year was tough. 17, No car, 10 hour drive away from home, just the change mom and dad could send.

Woulda be nice to have a little extra change just to be a bit more comfortable.

[majestrate]

Originally Posted by Rey

I don't understand the point in that?

I do agree that they should have some kind of real farm system...The practice squad isn't enough IMO.

I guess collegiate ball is fine, but I don't believe it should be the road to professional sports. And that should be corrected. If someone wants to go to school, but doesn't have the money, and is athletic enough to play in a farm system, then they can use that to put themselves through school, instead of schools wasting scholarships on people that are only there to bide their time until the NFL comes calling, or their NCAA eligibilty is up.

[Doppelganger]

Originally Posted by Big Lou

I've never believed that College Players should be paid. They are getting room, board, in most cases a 6 figure educatio, and in most large program they give the players tons of team appareal.

However I never really thought about the fact they can't have a job, which makes it tough to do things outside of school. I would support a small stipend, maybe a tiered system. Say 10,000-20,000 a year, semething similar to what a college kid makes working part time. I do think that any long term injuries caused by practice or games should be paid for not just immediate treatment. I have no idea how that works as of now.

They are working 20+ hours per week. I think they should be paid just like any other student who works 20+ hours at school. Thus I say they should be paid on a per hour basis. For example, when i was in undergrad, I worked 25 hours per week in the Chemistry Department's Computer Labs. I earned $8 an hour and was paid every 2 weeks. That seems like a very reasonable wage for college athletes.

[Rey]

Originally Posted by majestrate

I guess collegiate ball is fine, but I don't believe it should be the road to professional sports. And that should be corrected. If someone wants to go to school, but doesn't have the money, and is athletic enough to play in a farm system, then they can use that to put themselves through school, instead of schools wasting scholarships on people that are only there to bide their time until the NFL comes calling, or their NCAA eligibilty is up.

I see what you're saying now, but I don't see schools giving up their athletic programs. That's not going to happen.

But I think what you're saying is a bigger problem in basketball than football.

[infantrycak]

Originally Posted by Dutchrudder

There's a good reason they aren't allowed to get a job, it's because they spend so many hours at practice and preparing for games that a 20 hour a week job would only hinder their ability to attempt to be a good student. In lieu of doing so, the schools are well within their rights to give thousands of dollars worth of assistance in all sorts of forms to the 'student' athletes.

Really? So when folks on tennis, skiing or golf scholarships spend time charging for lessons it doesn't impair their educational experience but if a football player does then it is a threat. The inconsistency is stark. There should be one rule.