Big East Considering Bubble

[fgbrault]

So what you're telling me is college kids, who are mini celebrities on campus, are really going to sequester themselves from the rest of the world so they can play basketball for free?

Yeah sure. And I've got a big beautiful wall down south for sale if anyone's interested.

They have scholarships - not playing for free. If they refuse to play take away their scholarships, most will want to play anyway. They enjoy the game, want to be part of the team and if really good want to impress the NBA scouts.

 

[Greedo]

It depends on the scholarship. This isn't entirely true. Schools expect those on an academic scholarship to devote themselves totally. If it's financial aid we're talking about, then you're right. But those on scholarship are different than aid.

For TAs, they are totally prohibited from moonlighting in exchange for full tuition remission. I well remember those documents I had to sign.

More than that though the NCAA does this to prevent boosters and such from paying players directly.

Agreed, when I was a TA in grad school I had to sign a document saying I wouldn't make money through any other means. Though at the same time I was getting paid a stipend, so it's not exactly apples to apples with athletes.

 

[upstater]

Agreed, when I was a TA in grad school I had to sign a document saying I wouldn't make money through any other means. Though at the same time I was getting paid a stipend, so it's not exactly apples to apples with athletes.

& the stipend was for your living expenses, food and apartment. Which in my case (I had to sign the same documents) didn't come close to covering those things. Would have been better off with university room & board for sure.

 

[Greedo]

& the stipend was for your living expenses, food and apartment. Which in my case (I had to sign the same documents) didn't come close to covering those things. Would have been better off with university room & board for sure.

That's very true. I was thinking my tuition was covered, but wasn't considering the room and board aspect.

 

[upstater]

That's very true. I was thinking my tuition was covered, but wasn't considering the room and board aspect.

Not to mention that players are now getting a top off of $5k over the room&board, tuition & books. And also, in some quarters, I've heard players get some money otherwise.

 

[freescooter]

Well if you want to prepare them for the NBA bubble not a bad idea. As a fan I would take bubble over no games. I also wonder how the student athletes feel about the concept?

You mean the one guy who is an NBA prospect? And I don’t know if you know this, but college basketball doesn’t exist to ”prepare them for the NBA.” Talk about bastardizing the purpose of college. So no, putting college kids in a bubble for 4 months is completely inappropriate.

 

[UofCT]

You mean the one guy who is an NBA prospect? And I don’t know if you know this, but college basketball doesn’t exist to ”prepare them for the NBA.” Talk about bastardizing the purpose of college. So no, putting college kids in a bubble for 4 months is completely inappropriate.

Nothing inappropriate about being in a extremely safe environment where they are living out their goal of playing college basketball with national exposure all the while taking classes remotely.

 

[glastonbury50]

You mean the one guy who is an NBA prospect? And I don’t know if you know this, but college basketball doesn’t exist to ”prepare them for the NBA.” Talk about bastardizing the purpose of college. So no, putting college kids in a bubble for 4 months is completely inappropriate.

6 months ago we would have said quarantining Americans and shutting down the economy was completely inappropriate. Times have changed.

 

[freescooter]

I have to disagree. Want to live out your dream go to the g-league. College basketball players shouldn’t be locked in a bubble to play. As I said in my first post, thatvthis Is even being discussed by anyone associated with the league or the schools just shows how warped college sports have become. Players have an opportunity to get a real education instead of the shams so many of them get and people want to lock them in Omaha just to play basketball. What if we propose locking our top Chemistry or biology students in a bubble too? They want to pursue their dreams, too. You know, of things like curing cancer or ending Alzheimer’s or coming up with a treatment for this virus. Instead they will likely take online classes with very limited or no lab access. There is a cafe in the Chem building. Turn one wing into dorm space. It wouldn’t be as nice as a hotel ing Omaha, but I bet a number of kids would take it. And it would have 2 very positive things. It would allow students to spend time doing what they want to do and it wouldn’t be in Omaha.

 

[UofCT]

I have to disagree. Want to live out your dream go to the g-league. College basketball players shouldn’t be locked in a bubble to play. As I said in my first post, thatvthis Is even being discussed by anyone associated with the league or the schools just shows how warped college sports have become. Players have an opportunity to get a real education instead of the shams so many of them get and people want to lock them in Omaha just to play basketball. What if we propose locking our top Chemistry or biology students in a bubble too? They want to pursue their dreams, too. You know, of things like curing cancer or ending Alzheimer’s or coming up with a treatment for this virus. Instead they will likely take online classes with very limited or no lab access. There is a cafe in the Chem building. Turn one wing into dorm space. It wouldn’t be as nice as a hotel ing Omaha, but I bet a number of kids would take it. And it would have 2 very positive things. It would allow students to spend time doing what they want to do and it wouldn’t be in Omaha.

If a player does not want to be in a bubble nobody is forcing them. Players can even leave school, transfer or quit basketball all together! They can do whatever they want actually.

 

[gtcam]

your kid doesn't create millions of dollars of revenue for the school, basketball players do what is so hard to understand about that

They can go straight to the pros (as in baseball) and take care of that shallow argument - someone else will come in a play more than a few months and the school will still "make millions"
How many of these kids who go on and make millions give back? Very few to any proportionate extent. As much as many dislike Carmelo I have a huge respect what he has done with Cuse. UConn cannot point to one player who has done that on the basketball side.
What about Tony Rizza? he gets a partial scholarship to play soccer at UConn and gives back $8 million
Greg Wolff swims at UConn and he and his family build a Natatorium on campus
My son donates and purchases tickets more as a percent of his salary to UConn than 90% of basketball players do to their schools. Plus his success in the business field is great PR for the university.
What don't you get about if the hoops player wants to go to college he/she gets a free ride - a hell of a lot more than many who have given so much more back to the school

 

[HuskyHawk]

your kid doesn't create millions of dollars of revenue for the school, basketball players do what is so hard to understand about that

I am ok with them profiting on their likeness. But your argument is silly. I watch UConn. It doesn’t matter who the players are. The top 100 HS kids could go G league every year and nobody would watch it. They would still watch college teams. People root for the laundry. Football even more so. Minor league football couldn’t put 5000 people in the stands, let alone sell out 100k stadiums.

So no, these players don’t create millions of dollars of revenue. The schools do. The brand is 99% of the attraction. Do you plan on watching lots of southern Illinois edwardsville to catch Sid Wilson? And most of those schools lose money doing this. It’s not material to the bottom line. It’s a marketing expense that they hope breaks even or even generates a small profit.

 

[Waquoit]

I know, I know but the games still need to be tethered to college. Or else why bother? Let's just call it the C League.

 

[TouchdownHusky]

But we can solve this problem by simply having the universities license their brand to pro leagues. Make a clean cut, have the schools license their brand, and then everyone is happy.

Not a fan of that. College athletes in football and basketball already get enough - a free college education and room, board and health care. Big proponent of amateur format for college athletics, even up to the point of doing away with athletic scholarships. Leave endorsements, licensing for later in their careers. If the 85th player on the roster (or 13th in hoops) ain't getting paid beyond the scholarship then nobody is - simple.

 

[TouchdownHusky]

I am ok with them profiting on their likeness. But your argument is silly. I watch UConn. It doesn’t matter who the players are. The top 100 HS kids could go G league every year and nobody would watch it. They would still watch college teams. People root for the laundry. Football even more so. Minor league football couldn’t put 5000 people in the stands, let alone sell out 100k stadiums.

So no, these players don’t create millions of dollars of revenue. The schools do. The brand is 99% of the attraction. Do you plan on watching lots of southern Illinois edwardsville to catch Sid Wilson? And most of those schools lose money doing this. It’s not material to the bottom line. It’s a marketing expense that they hope breaks even or even generates a small profit.

Great post. Couldn't have said it better. College football is great, precisely because it is different than professional football. It's a throwback concept that should be left alone. These hotshot college athletes who thumb their noses at receiving a scholarship and not being able to make money like the pros should not bother with NCAA football and just go to a Developmental League.

 

[huskymedic]

 

[navery12]

Nonconference bubble pitched to 50 programs

An event operator in Houston said he's sent a proposal to at least 50 college basketball programs about a bubble that would allow 20 teams to play an entire nonconference schedule in three weeks in December.

www.espn.com

Carron hopes that similar events can be developed in other regions, allowing most of the 350-plus teams in Division I to achieve some sort of nonconference schedule. He is also considering a second bubble session for 20 additional programs. He thinks his bubble can be replicated by conferences if they end up having to go to a bubble format during conference play.

"Can college kids bubble for three months? Probably not. But I think they can do it for three weeks," Carron said.

 

[BearcatFan123]

Great post. Couldn't have said it better. College football is great, precisely because it is different than professional football. It's a throwback concept that should be left alone. These hotshot college athletes who thumb their noses at receiving a scholarship and not being able to make money like the pros should not bother with NCAA football and just go to a Developmental League.

Then the coaches should be professors and make professor salaries. Don't understand the outrage at players wanting a slice of the pie when coaches eat the whole thing.

 

[upstater]

Then the coaches should be professors and make professor salaries. Don't understand the outrage at players wanting a slice of the pie when coaches eat the whole thing.

Which school is going to go first by hiring coaches for a small salary?

That will signal that you're not serious at competing.

Obviously, any attempt to artificially cap salaries will be take to court and made illegal.

 

[BearcatFan123]

Which school is going to go first by hiring coaches for a small salary?

That will signal that you're not serious at competing.

Obviously, any attempt to artificially cap salaries will be take to court and made illegal.

I just want consistency. If we expect the players to be full time students and get a scholarship. Why aren't coaches required to be teachers and live off that?

 

[Hurleyman216]

I think any of these college kids who have aspirations of playing in the NBA are going to LOVE the idea of playing in a bubble. It’s exactly what the guys in the NBA that they look up to are doing right now. You have to realize a lot of these guys eat, sleep and breathe basketball. There could be so many cool things that could be done with this bubble concept. I can imagine the NCAA having a lottery system to let in just a few fans. They could literally sell $250 million worth of lottery tickets and make a huge thing out of it.

 

[upstater]

I just want consistency. If we expect the players to be full time students and get a scholarship. Why aren't coaches required to be teachers and live off that?

Because capitalism.

Experience.

If everyone could coach as well as Dan Hurley, he'd get paid less.

There are a lot more capable players who can do D1 than there are capable coaches.

 

[Waquoit]

Because capitalism.
Experience.
If everyone could coach as well as Dan Hurley, he'd get paid less.
There are a lot more capable players who can do D1 than there are capable coaches.

How can you call it capitalism when you don't pay the help a market wage?

 

[TouchdownHusky]

How can you call it capitalism when you don't pay the help a market wage?

They are "paid" a market wage - a full college scholarship. I know kkds that would play for less.

 

[TouchdownHusky]

I just want consistency. If we expect the players to be full time students and get a scholarship. Why aren't coaches required to be teachers and live off that?

They should be.