College sports are bullshit.

http://nypost.com/2016/11/17/spartans-laughable-schedule-shows-ncaa-at-its-worst/

Consider Michigan State’s basketball schedule, just this month:

Summoned by ESPN money to play Arizona on ESPN in Hawaii, this past Friday, Michigan State’s student-athletes — many on full scholarships as minimal academic qualifiers — missed at least three days of classes.

Then, from the middle of the Pacific Ocean, it was back on an airplane to fly all day and night to New York to play Kentucky — again at ESPN’s purchased request — Tuesday night in The Garden.

Then it was back in the airplane and back to East Lansing, but only long enough to play two games in three nights, versus Mississippi Valley State on Friday, then against Florida Gulf Coast on Sunday night.

Then it’s back on the airplane and off to the Bahamas to play three games in three days within a tournament on and for ESPN, beginning Wednesday.

Finally, it’s back on the airplane to fly back to the States — North Carolina — to play in ESPN’s “ACC/Big 10 Challenge,” at Duke on Nov. 29 (a Tuesday), starting at 9:30 p.m., before flying back to Michigan.

This team, composed of 16 young men from six states and three countries, is enrolled at Michigan State as college students. Such a TV-determined schedule isn’t rare, it’s just that Michigan State lately has spent so much far-from-school time playing on our TVs — with plenty more to come.

And so, Dr. Emmert, how does this work? How can we practically — possibly — reconcile what you nobly reference as “student-athletics” to be better than a con, a fraud; colleges serving as fronts for basketball teams?

DEAD POOL

The good news is that 99.7% of everybody will never see that commentary.

Floyd Robertson wrote:The good news is that 99.7% of everybody will never see that commentary.

True that. But let's stop pretending g these guys are student athletes. Let's call them employees and let's pay them.

Don't the overwhelming majority of the guys under Izzo who stay 4 years graduate?  I thought I saw somewhere it's close to 90%.  I could be wrong about the stat, but for those that stay and graduate, they did get something very valuable, so they did get paid something close to 6 figures when you include all the costs of getting a undergrad degree.

Since the other scholarships of both genders are paid for by the men's football and basketball programs, what happens to the kids in nonrevenue sports?  Many of them put close, if not as much, time in preparing for their sport and do a lot of travelling as well.  Do they also get paid?  Do they get paid, but not as much?  Who pays for this?  And do other programs get cut because there's not enough money to pay for them?  I don't claim to have an answer, just aksin' questions.

I 'm open to the idea IF the university doesn't pay for it.  I've never really had a problem with bagmen to be honest.  It happens - everywhere.  It happens more in the Power 5 schoolz than it MAC type programs.

If I had a concept idea, it would expand things like the Spartan Fund a different way. Boosters could make 'donations' to their desired program and the money would then pooled with other donations and distributed equally to the athletes as a stipend for that sport, not a general athletic department account.

Some students might not get as much - I doubt the pool for the men's golf team would equal the donations of the football team, but I'm sure there are people and alums would be glad to give to the sport they used to compete in.

People could give through things like the Spartan Fund as well.  It wouldn't be scraped.  But if for some reason I wanted to help 'pay' the salaries of a particular sport, then it's my money.  Fuck the NCAA with these all these rules that aren't even enforced.  It's none of their business in how I should use my money.  Just make the whole thing transparent and be done with it.

Frank Ricard wrote:Don't the overwhelming majority of the guys under Izzo who stay 4 years graduate?  I thought I saw somewhere it's close to 90%.  I could be wrong about the stat, but for those that stay and graduate, they did get something very valuable, so they did get paid something close to 6 figures when you include all the costs of getting a undergrad degree.

IMO it's much larger than that. When I see this I always see just the cost of tuition paid for... not the future earnings due to their degree/skills learned in college which wouldn't have been possible without that scholarship

Come on. Profs cancelled tests because Trump won. Missing a few days of classes won't hurt anyone.

They have a break over Thanksgiving anyway. I think.

Western Michigan is undefeated and has no avenue to play for the national championship. College sports are, indeed, bullshit.

CORNER BLITZ wrote:

Frank Ricard wrote:Don't the overwhelming majority of the guys under Izzo who stay 4 years graduate?  I thought I saw somewhere it's close to 90%.  I could be wrong about the stat, but for those that stay and graduate, they did get something very valuable, so they did get paid something close to 6 figures when you include all the costs of getting a undergrad degree.

IMO it's much larger than that. When I see this I always see just the cost of tuition paid for... not the future earnings due to their degree/skills learned in college which wouldn't have been possible without that scholarship

Athletes do already get a cash stipend if they live off campus. They also get free health insurance, access to professional trainers, professional nutritionists, and professional coaching. Not to mention free books, supplies, clothing and unlimited tutoring.

Just create athletic majors it's not complicated.

Other Teams Pursuing That wrote:Just create athletic majors it's not complicated.

We accept these kids with 17''s on their ACT. They're employees. Pay them what they're worth. My own kid is a non revenue sport. Oh well, that was her choice. She shouldn't get paid if she doesn't bring in money. The football and basketball teams need to be paid. If all college athletes went on strike in the middle of October for a month, we'd see how crazy America would want them to get paid.

DWags wrote:

Other Teams Pursuing That wrote:Just create athletic majors it's not complicated.

We accept these kids with 17''s on their ACT. They're employees. Pay them what they're worth. My own kid is a non revenue sport. Oh well, that was her choice. She shouldn't get paid if she doesn't bring in money. The football and basketball teams need to be paid. If all college athletes went on strike in the middle of October for a month, we'd see how crazy America would want them to get paid.

dwags its title xi and equal pay that fuck all that shit up. with that said, i have a solution i would propose on tbob.

Fuck ACTs dwags. Can't believe we still use that standardized testing bullshit. Why can't basketball be like theater or an art? Learn literally the entire sport everything around it in it etc. Your degree is what you make it.

Other Teams Pursuing That wrote:Fuck ACTs dwags. Can't believe we still use that standardized testing bullshit. Why can't basketball be like theater or an art? Learn literally the entire sport everything around it in it etc. Your degree is what you make it.

What's your alternative to standardized tests? So many people say they disagree with it but i've yet to see an alternate proposal.

I could see a football player not giving a fuck about the ACT. Hell, I didn't even read the two English/reading parts of the ACT test because they were boring - just answered the questions and if it referenced a line I read that line