Same as it ever was.

For all you amateurism romantics who believe nothing’s changed in the wide, wide world of college sports that justifies any demand that student-athletes deserve something more than the traditional scholarship, room and board arrangement, allow Jeremy Foley, of all people, to retort.

Jeremy Foley, who is retiring as Florida athletic director on Oct. 1, notes how much longer the seasons are then when he first got to the school in 1976. Back then, he said, there were 10 football games and now there are 12 with as many as 15 now for those who advance in the postseason. Basketball has gone from 27 games to 31 regular season games and the NCAA tournament has expanded.

It’s not just that, of course, and the linked article touches on many other time demands that have cropped up as the money being paid to schools has ratched up:  mandatory summer practice hours, weird TV times, to name just a couple.

The point is that the world has changed and the way these kids are being compensated for their time and effort needs to change, as well.

17 Comments

Filed under Look For The Union Label

17 responses to “Same as it ever was.

  1. Reipar

    Personally I do think they should get COA, but I will admit the way they are being compensated has changed. It is called inflation. That scholarship, room and board are worth a lot more now than they were 20-30 years ago.

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    • The cost of everything else has gone up commensurate with inflation as well.

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      • Reipar

        That is my point. They do more and get more.

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        • No, they aren’t getting more. You seem to not understand how inflation works. I’m thinking you should read up on nominal value vs. real value.

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        • *arent getting more outside of the COA.

          The value of the scholarships and room and board is the exact same as it was 30 years ago, but the prices for all goods and services have increased. That’s how inflation works. Let’s say $1 in 1986 may be worth $5 now, but the cost of a pound of potatoes increased from $1 to $5. My $5 still only buys me that same pound of potatoes even though $5 is greater than $1. That’s how inflation works.

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    • Got Cowdog

      I agree with COA and revenue from a likeness, but not related to a jersey number.
      On the flip, salaries are subject to inflation as well. I suspect the earning potential difference for those with degrees as opposed to those without is similar to what it was 20-30 years ago, percentage wise.

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    • Monday Night Froetteur

      The players pay for that. Schools take revenue football players earn and use it to cover the “cost” of the scholarships. They use a separate arm of a unified entity (the Athletic Department) to make it look like somebody is losing money on the players somewhere, but an AD paying scholarship money to a central Bursar’s Office is moving money from your right pocket to your left.

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    • Cousin Eddie

      Include the fact they often have to change to a major that they really can’t use so they will have time for a football program.

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  2. gone are the days when the kid on scholarship got a cushy job watching the dials at the steam generation unit. This job was nothing other than watching dials while he did his homework. A friend who played for Vandy got a job working for a construction company during the summer and worked about 20-25 hrs a week and got paid for 40. Now these kids have mandatory summer work outs now so he couldn’t do this now even if the NCAA didn’t exist. I see no problem with COA but it does need to be standardized. I agreed with a Gaturd…I need a shower.

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  3. Uglydawg

    …meanwhile..according to another post on here today, Les Miles gets 2.5 million a year more on his contract if these amateurs can deliver him a NC.
    All these other coaches have to squeeze by on a few million a year, plus the little bit they can get from endorsements…Good thing they nailed Gurley for selling those autographs, huh?

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  4. Gurkha Dawg

    Great band
    Great song
    Greatest video ever

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  5. Bob

    The esteemed AD of UF is wrong. College Football went from 10 to 11 games my senior year in Athens (1971). Don’t disagree with his basic premise but he should get his facts right. The Gators were playing 11 game regular season the same year. That 71 team finished 11-1, losing to Pat Sullivan and Auburn and beating UNC in the Gator Bowl. We added a home game with Oregon State to be that 11th game.

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  6. Monday Night Froetteur

    In 1975, the coach of the B2B National Champs (Barry Switzer) was paid $33,000 by the University of Oklahoma, and received $70,000 in outside income for a total salary just over $100,000. In 2016 $$, that’s about $445,000, less than what almost every D-1 coach makes now and less than what most P5 coordinators make, and less than what elite-program position coaches make.

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    • Wow … that’s excellent work, sir. There are many high school head football coaches today that earn more in nominal terms than a national champion coach received in the 1970s.

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    • Yup – one group is getting incredibly wealthy off this whole enterprise while fighting tooth and nail to throw even a few bucks for food and stuff to the kids that make this whole thing go. I look forward to the burning embers once Kessler is done with them.

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