Litigation to force paying of players?

[WhereistheDove?]

For sure, you're correct about that. On the other hand, when they surveyed donors to the Longhorn Foundation, 65% of them were unaware that they were not contributing to the academic side. If you've ever been to these shakedown soirees, a lot of time you have an administrator literally having checks stuffed into his coat pocket by people. Another part of the donations, by the way, is in capital campaigns for facilities. Schools say the money was raised privately. But the money raised is counted as contribution revenue while the school itself bonds out the construction of facilities. Neat sleight of hand. In the Daily Texan, one of economists down there broke down all components of the athletic budget. It was very revealing.

Almost all my contact with my undergraduate school is non-athletics related--travel groups, shows, events, lectures, etc.

That seems pretty specific to UT. I know the UConn foundation is not a solely athletic fundraising department. To your last point, I'm sure many different people have different reasons for having connections to their alma mater, but athletics is a big one for a lot of people. And at least in UConn's case, it is a big draw for students. Myself and a bunch of my college friends all got into significantly better academic schools and were drawn here by the athletics program. Again, it's not that way for everyone, but for a pretty sizeable number.

 

[upstater]

That seems pretty specific to UT. I know the UConn foundation is not a solely athletic fundraising department. To your last point, I'm sure many different people have different reasons for having connections to their alma mater, but athletics is a big one for a lot of people. And at least in UConn's case, it is a big draw for students. Myself and a bunch of my college friends all got into significantly better academic schools and were drawn here by the athletics program. Again, it's not that way for everyone, but for a pretty sizeable number.

I do agree that people decide on schools in such a fashion. My contention is that very few schools improve academic standing due to athletics. UConn is simply one of the lucky ones. The vast vast majority do not, as the rankings show. I think you'll find that the students who did attend the institutions you turned down for UConn are very attached to their universities, as attached as UConn fans. Many of these schools without athletic programs have alums who yearly contribute a good amount to the endowment. If you were the CEO of a school without athletics, you would think long and hard about whether to go bigtime into them

 

[WhereistheDove?]

I do agree that people decide on schools in such a fashion. My contention is that very few schools improve academic standing due to athletics. UConn is simply one of the lucky ones. The vast vast majority do not, as the rankings show. I think you'll find that the students who did attend the institutions you turned down for UConn are very attached to their universities, as attached as UConn fans. Many of these schools without athletic programs have alums who yearly contribute a good amount to the endowment. If you were the CEO of a school without athletics, you would think long and hard about whether to go bigtime into them

I'm not sure we're disagreeing on this. I have never contended that every school or even most improve academically. I have never said schools without good athletics don't get donations, etc. Schools need to foster that alumni relationship somehow and for a school like UConn without great academics or a lot of tradition, having a good athletics program fills a big chunk of that need.

 

[upstater]

I'm not sure we're disagreeing on this. I have never contended that every school or even most improve academically. I have never said schools without good athletics don't get donations, etc. Schools need to foster that alumni relationship somehow and for a school like UConn without great academics or a lot of tradition, having a good athletics program fills a big chunk of that need.

My response was to stuff earlier in the thread. That's why I initially mentioned donations to the other poster.

 

[Jarhead_1775]

Update article:
http://m.si.com/2595135/uscs-haden-ed-obannon-case-could-cause-seismic-ncaa-change/

 

[SubbaBub]

If you look at Soccer, and what Barcelona does, it is brilliant really. They run a school as part of their youth program, and recruit kids from around the world. They can manage and ensure a healthy study/sports balance that our colleges struggle with.

You may have solved it. Allow pro sports teams to sponsor college athletic programs. The Giants find prospects, sign them to a development contract and pay UConn to school them.

Your level of competition depends on the level of your "payroll"

No sponsorships, you are in an amateur division. Scholarships only. Break the rules and you are shut down.

Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk 2

 

[upstater]

You may have solved it. Allow pro sports teams to sponsor college athletic programs. The Giants find prospects, sign them to a development contract and pay UConn to school them.

Your level of competition depends on the level of your "payroll"

No sponsorships, you are in an amateur division. Scholarships only. Break the rules and you are shut down.

Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk 2

I know there are already a bunch of non-students in D1, but in soccer you have a lot of Messi's, kids who effectively stop taking classes and ditch their education at 15.