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Arian Foster and the NCAA

It all makes sense now, the Texans cut Eric Winston so that Foster can be first-string media spotlight guy. :)
 
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.
 
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.
 
Big Lou said:
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.
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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...
 
Rey said:
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...
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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.
 
majestrate said:
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.
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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.
 
Big Lou said:
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.
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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.

...
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http://www.holyturf.com/2011/05/football-players-receive-17000-annually-in-cash-all-within-ncaa-rules/
 
silvrhand said:
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.
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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...
 
Rey said:
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...
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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.
 
Big Lou said:
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.
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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.
 
Rey said:
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.
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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.
 
Big Lou said:
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.
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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.
 
majestrate said:
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.
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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.
 
Dutchrudder said:
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.
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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.
 
infantrycak said:
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.
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I agree that there should be one rule.

That said, most of the other sports like swimming, track, golf and tennis didn't require the hours that were put into football. As a football player you really dint have a lot of free time. Class during the day. Maybe a break somewhere for lunch, practice, dinner, meetings until about 9:30 if you're lucky. Most nights you get out after 10.

Off season you get more time, but we still were waking up at 4:30 am for workouts, shower, class, evening weight lifting, only have meetings for sharing information.

Summertime, you get a few weeks off then you're back at school training. Around September you start two a days with meetings at night.

The only Students that I saw working as much as us was the band. I think they actually had it just as hard or maybe even harder.

But I do agree that it should be one rule, but I think the major sports at that particular school should set the tone.
 
infantrycak said:
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.
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How many athletes are "Really good students" to begin with ?
 
Rey said:
I agree that there should be one rule.

That said, most of the other sports like swimming, track, golf and tennis didn't require the hours that were put into football. As a football player you really dint have a lot of free time. Class during the day. Maybe a break somewhere for lunch, practice, dinner, meetings until about 9:30 if you're lucky. Most nights you get out after 10.
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Corrosion said:
How many athletes are "Really good students" to begin with ?
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Well I will respond this way. My ex-wife was on the mens water polo team at the University of Carolina Chapel Hill - hardly a shabby school putting up with a glitzy athlete. She spent tons of time in the water practicing for her sport. She did it while doing well enough in getting her nursing degree to be offered a bunch of head nursing/hospital administrator positions prior to going to law school. And she is 5' 2". My roommate at Berkeley had a soccer scholarship and was a straight A engineering student even though we spent a ton of time pit crewing and ultimately racing together. Obviously all athletes are not as good academically, but some are.

But bottom line, assuming a tennis player spends less time practicing (dubious but OK) why should they be rewarded with being allowed to charge $50 an hour for tennis lessons while a football player is prohibited from signing autographs? The rules are truly goofy. If a football player happens to know how to play tennis he can't charge for lessons but a scholarship tennis player can? It makes no sense.
 
LSU makes more money on ticket sales from a single home game than it does in tuition for the entire fall semester. While there are a lot of moving parts to a football team, but more than anyone, the players generate that revenue and should get a cut.
 
infantrycak said:
Well I will respond this way. My ex-wife was on the mens water polo team at the University of Carolina Chapel Hill - hardly a shabby school putting up with a glitzy athlete. She spent tons of time in the water practicing for her sport. She did it while doing well enough in getting her nursing degree to be offered a bunch of head nursing/hospital administrator positions prior to going to law school. And she is 5' 2". My roommate at Berkeley had a soccer scholarship and was a straight A engineering student even though we spent a ton of time pit crewing and ultimately racing together. Obviously all athletes are not as good academically, but some are.

But bottom line, assuming a tennis player spends less time practicing (dubious but OK) why should they be rewarded with being allowed to charge $50 an hour for tennis lessons while a football player is prohibited from signing autographs? The rules are truly goofy. If a football player happens to know how to play tennis he can't charge for lessons but a scholarship tennis player can? It makes no sense.
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I wasn't really assuming, and I get what you're saying. It's different for every school. At FAMU football was THE major sport and the band was actually the main attraction at the school.

I know for a fact that the other sports didn't put in as much time. Practice aside. Our meetings, required study hall and off-season work outs alone probably trumped their practice time. But besides that, we drew the most fans and generated the most money.

All that said I still think the money should be split equally amongst all the players in all the sports.

And I was actually never told I couldn't have a job. I had never even heard that. But it just wasn't feasible.

I have three brothers playing college ball right now. Two just started this spring and one is about to be a fifth year senior at sfa. He cannot work during the season. It's not possible. He really can't work during the off season either. The only time he has that he can work is the few weeks he's home during summer. And when he can find work it's usually not what I'd call a real job.

And some of the rules regarding what a kid can do for work are goody, but I think football players can work as long as they are doing legit work. You can't get 150 dollars from a "random person" for 30 mins worth of work.

One of my brothers friends is a Freeman on a full scholarship at Nebraska. I know he said they aren't allowed to tweet and stuff like that during the season, but I'm going to ask him if they said anything about employment during the summer.
 
Hagar said:
LSU makes more money on ticket sales from a single home game than it does in tuition for the entire fall semester. While there are a lot of moving parts to a football team, but more than anyone, the players generate that revenue and should get a cut.
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That's what I'm saying. Just from ticket sales alone a lot of these teams are making serious dough. Then you add in merchandise and the other smaller revenue streams. They can afford to at least pay the players like 300-500 a semester and not sweat it.
 
infantrycak said:
Well I will respond this way. My ex-wife was on the mens water polo team at the University of Carolina Chapel Hill - hardly a shabby school putting up with a glitzy athlete. She spent tons of time in the water practicing for her sport. She did it while doing well enough in getting her nursing degree to be offered a bunch of head nursing/hospital administrator positions prior to going to law school. And she is 5' 2". My roommate at Berkeley had a soccer scholarship and was a straight A engineering student even though we spent a ton of time pit crewing and ultimately racing together. Obviously all athletes are not as good academically, but some are.

But bottom line, assuming a tennis player spends less time practicing (dubious but OK) why should they be rewarded with being allowed to charge $50 an hour for tennis lessons while a football player is prohibited from signing autographs? The rules are truly goofy. If a football player happens to know how to play tennis he can't charge for lessons but a scholarship tennis player can? It makes no sense.
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I'm not opposed to them being allowed to have jobs, but I doubt that many of the football players would get real jobs. They spend at least 40 hours a week doing football stuff, probably more, on top of attending class and studying. I'm fairly certain the rule was put in place to prevent players from getting paid $100 a day to "mow a lawn" or some other fake jobs that take 30 minutes. Jobs were used as a way to give money to players in a way that appears legal, so the NCAA nixed it for football players because no one was sending $1000 a week to the women's tennis captain to walk their dog.

Besides that, the point in Arian's video was that players need to be paid because they are so poor they eat ramen noodles all the time. That's just BS IMO. The top tier players get lots of money, and many get extra illegal money under the table from boosters of the schools. Starters most certainly get taken care of, as I saw at A&M when I was there. Those guys aren't driving around in BMWs their parents gave them or wearing $500 shoes they got for Christmas from Santa. All of it comes from somewhere, either their "own" money or gifts from people close the programs.

They are getting free education, books, room and board on top of free money through grants and such. The starters are getting lots of money, and the only guys that might be getting shaft are the third string players who only get a few hundred bucks a week. My friend at A&M was a walk-on for their football team for 4 years and got at least $120 for each week. He wasn't on scholarship or anything, but he got checks from the athletic club each week. Guys like the starting QB, RB etc got about $1000-$1500 a week from them. It's not uncommon, it's just how things worked.

Oh and most of them don't really need much money for dates, as the big universities have programs that turn out to be semi-escort services used for recruiting and team events. We had a couple at A&M called "Diamond Darlings" for the baseball team and "Aggie Hostesses" for football. Not all of the girls were slutty, but the one's who help with recruiting the most tend to be comparable to escorts. They show them around town and make sure they have a "good time" during their visit. Then keep up with the players until they choose a school, and dump them immediately if they don't choose their school. It's pretty sad really.

Some players do get hurt on the field and that is a valid problem, but the NCAA did address this by adding a Catastrophic Insurance Program program that will pay up to $20,000,000 for care and coverage (long term) for athletes, coaches, etc injured in a covered event. That sounds pretty reasonable to me. Before this fund, I would imagine that injured players had to sue the school/athletic program to get paid for serious injuries.

http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/public/NCAA/NCAA+Insurance+Programs/Student+Athlete+Insurance+Programs/Catastrophic+Insurance+Program
 
Dutchrudder said:
I'm not opposed to them being allowed to have jobs, but I doubt that many of the football players would get real jobs. They spend at least 40 hours a week doing football stuff, probably more, on top of attending class and studying. I'm fairly certain the rule was put in place to prevent players from getting paid $100 a day to "mow a lawn" or some other fake jobs that take 30 minutes. Jobs were used as a way to give money to players in a way that appears legal, so the NCAA nixed it for football players because no one was sending $1000 a week to the women's tennis captain to walk their dog.

Besides that, the point in Arian's video was that players need to be paid because they are so poor they eat ramen noodles all the time. That's just BS IMO. The top tier players get lots of money, and many get extra illegal money under the table from boosters of the schools. Starters most certainly get taken care of, as I saw at A&M when I was there. Those guys aren't driving around in BMWs their parents gave them or wearing $500 shoes they got for Christmas from Santa. All of it comes from somewhere, either their "own" money or gifts from people close the programs.

They are getting free education, books, room and board on top of free money through grants and such. The starters are getting lots of money, and the only guys that might be getting shaft are the third string players who only get a few hundred bucks a week. My friend at A&M was a walk-on for their football team for 4 years and got at least $120 for each week. He wasn't on scholarship or anything, but he got checks from the athletic club each week. Guys like the starting QB, RB etc got about $1000-$1500 a week from them. It's not uncommon, it's just how things worked.

Oh and most of them don't really need much money for dates, as the big universities have programs that turn out to be semi-escort services used for recruiting and team events. We had a couple at A&M called "Diamond Darlings" for the baseball team and "Aggie Hostesses" for football. Not all of the girls were slutty, but the one's who help with recruiting the most tend to be comparable to escorts. They show them around town and make sure they have a "good time" during their visit. Then keep up with the players until they choose a school, and dump them immediately if they don't choose their school. It's pretty sad really.

Some players do get hurt on the field and that is a valid problem, but the NCAA did address this by adding a Catastrophic Insurance Program program that will pay up to $20,000,000 for care and coverage (long term) for athletes, coaches, etc injured in a covered event. That sounds pretty reasonable to me. Before this fund, I would imagine that injured players had to sue the school/athletic program to get paid for serious injuries.

http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect...rance+Programs/Catastrophic+Insurance+Program
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You just proved Foster's point. Except for the new insurance program you mentioned, all those new shoes, BMWs, weekly "stipends", etc. are supposed to be ILLEGAL. That crap is done under the table. As you pointed out, players are already getting paid by boosters and such when, by rules, they shouldn't be.

Foster's message is: Fix the dang process so those "payoffs" are legal and above board.
 
I have been there, playing for Arkansas State for a year before my shoulder gave out and I was done. Let me tell you, when you have a poor family and are hundreds of miles or more away from home, you need some cash flow. You can't work, so you are basically stranded in a dorm and it gets super ****ing depressing. One idea I have had is to stop with the numbers on NCAA football and use their likeness. Give them a cut of that. It wont be a whole lot, but its a start. Jersey sales as well.
 
Hagar said:
LSU makes more money on ticket sales from a single home game than it does in tuition for the entire fall semester. While there are a lot of moving parts to a football team, but more than anyone, the players generate that revenue and should get a cut.
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Players should be at college to get an education. They are already getting "a cut" through their scholarships. That's enough.
 
BullBlitz said:
Players should be at college to get an education. They are already getting "a cut" through their scholarships. That's enough.
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LSU and other big time programs bring as much if not more money then and NFL team. NFL players get millions while an LSU player gets a $70k scholorship. Further, since the LSU player could get hurt on any play, they take on the same risk as an NFL player without the pay. They may get a cut but its nowhere near a fair one.
 
Hagar said:
LSU and other big time programs bring as much if not more money then and NFL team. NFL players get millions while an LSU player gets a $70k scholorship. Further, since the LSU player could get hurt on any play, they take on the same risk as an NFL player without the pay. They may get a cut but its nowhere near a fair one.
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So what. I'm not in favor of having people taking up space in college classrooms who don't care about their education anyway, and are only interested in football and a shot at the NFL. Most of them prove by their poor accomplishments and sub-par graduation rates that shouldn't be there and are only accepted because of athletics.

If they hurt, too bad. No one is guaranteed anything anyway.
 
BullBlitz said:
So what. I'm not in favor of having people taking up space in college classrooms who don't care about their education anyway, and are only interested in football and a shot at the NFL. Most of them prove by their poor accomplishments and sub-par graduation rates that shouldn't be there and are only accepted because of athletics.

If they hurt, too bad. No one is guaranteed anything anyway.
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What are the graduation rates?

Most college players aren't going pro. Are they just dropping out?
 
BullBlitz said:
So what. I'm not in favor of having people taking up space in college classrooms who don't care about their education anyway, and are only interested in football and a shot at the NFL. Most of them prove by their poor accomplishments and sub-par graduation rates that shouldn't be there and are only accepted because of athletics.

If they hurt, too bad. No one is guaranteed anything anyway.
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This is more of an argument for a minor league type system for football similar to what baseball has had for 70-some years and that the NBA is doing with their development league.

But good luck getting the NCAA to give up their multi-GigaBuck cash cow and getting the NFL to give up their freebie "development" league.

Corporations and even smaller businesses support development of prospective employees thru college intern and co-op programs. Why should the billion-dollar enterprise like the NFL get away scott-free??
 
ObsiWan said:
This is more of an argument for a minor league type system for football similar to what baseball has had for 70-some years and that the NBA is doing with their development league.

But good luck getting the NCAA to give up their multi-GigaBuck cash cow and getting the NFL to give up their freebie "development" league.

Corporations and even smaller businesses support development of prospective employees thru college intern and co-op programs. Why should the billion-dollar enterprise like the NFL get away scott-free??
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Maybe because one of the primary roles of universities is to prepare students for work in corporate America. Maybe because one of the main reasons that students pay tuition to go to college is to get a job in the U.S. Economy.

Universities didn't set up athletic programs to prepare players to go the NFL. They were meant to be extra curricular activities. The fact that a few schools have leveraged one or two sports to be revenue producers doesn't change that.

Not only do I think that college players shouldn't be paid, I would like to see them be required to be making annual progress toward a degree by earning academic credits, and maintaining an adequate minimum GPA of a 2.0 in order to retain playing eligibility.
 
honestly I am just glad that the person who represents the Texans on a national level doesn't sound like a moron. Foster makes intelligent well thought out points whether you agree with him or not and is much better than having a plexico, or a ochosinco (although I do like his antics), or one of those locker room problem guys who can't handle themselves off the field. He is a good representative for the team and seems to have a really good head on his shoulders. On this particular issue I think he has a good point and I would be for some kind of stipend and long term care for injuries sustained while representing that school if they are going to last like his friends arm.
 
BullBlitz said:
Maybe because one of the primary roles of universities is to prepare students for work in corporate America. Maybe because one of the main reasons that students pay tuition to go to college is to get a job in the U.S. Economy.

Universities didn't set up athletic programs to prepare players to go the NFL. They were meant to be extra curricular activities. The fact that a few schools have leveraged one or two sports to be revenue producers doesn't change that.

Not only do I think that college players shouldn't be paid, I would like to see them be required to be making annual progress toward a degree by earning academic credits, and maintaining an adequate minimum GPA of a 2.0 in order to retain playing eligibility.
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Again you make a fine argument for an NFL minor league system. As with college baseball student-athletes, those who chose to go the college route, should be expected to maintain their course work and keep up their grades. But those who, to put it bluntly, just aren't college material should have an alternate path available to them. Just like the baseball minor league system. Kids who don't want to do the college thing but show promising baseball skills aren't forced to fake a college career. If lucky enough to be scouted in high school and chosen by some team get to play minor league ball. Why not two paths to the NFL?

And while you say "Universities didn't set up athletic programs to prepare players to go the NFL"
They sure as hell use their success in sending their players to the NFL as selling points to attract the most promising high school athletes which, in turn, tends to keep their well-heeled boosters contributing big bucks to the schools. If you're talking about an MIT or a Rice U. or a Cal Tech, I might agree with you. But that statement holds little water when you're talking about an LSU or an Alabama or a U-T.
 
ObsiWan said:
Again you make a fine argument for an NFL minor league system. As with college baseball student-athletes, those who chose to go the college route, should be expected to maintain their course work and keep up their grades. But those who, to put it bluntly, just aren't college material should have an alternate path available to them. Just like the baseball minor league system. Kids who don't want to do the college thing but show promising baseball skills aren't forced to fake a college career. If lucky enough to be scouted in high school and chosen by some team get to play minor league ball. Why not two paths to the NFL?

And while you say "Universities didn't set up athletic programs to prepare players to go the NFL"
They sure as hell use their success in sending their players to the NFL as selling points to attract the most promising high school athletes which, in turn, tends to keep their well-heeled boosters contributing big bucks to the schools. If you're talking about an MIT or a Rice U. or a Cal Tech, I might agree with you. But that statement holds little water when you're talking about an LSU or an Alabama or a U-T.
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It would be great to set up a minor league system. Anything to get players out of the university system who aren't interested in academics. Let them go straight to the NFL. But if you play in college, you ought to be required to be making real progress academically.
 
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