Somebody Muzzle Mark Emmert

[Fishy]

I keep seeing Saban's salary as some sort of evidence that schools are making money.

Some are - we're not.

If the NCAA loses this, the P5 adjusts and the water level creeps a little closer to the top of our head.

I think we have more at stake here than most everyone else.

 

[UConnJim]

I keep seeing Saban's salary as some sort of evidence that schools are making money.

Some are - we're not.

If the NCAA loses this, the P5 adjusts and the water level creeps a little closer to the top of our head.

I think we have more at stake here than most everyone else.

I'm not so sure. Virtually all of the reporting and key comments on the P5/Autonomy/full cost of attendance... has come from entities that have the most to lose if the college sports model changes: ESPN, TV networks, Conference commissioners, P5 ADs, P5 coaches, college sports announcers,... Bottom line is that virtually all universities are not making money on college sports, but people are making lots of money on college sports like the Athletic Department administration, Coaches, Cable networks, TV networks, college sports broadcasters, ...

Think about this, ESPN and CBS have committed BILLIONS of dollars to a college sports model that is potentially under attack. Do you think anything they write about the subject is unbiased?

Going to a semi professional sports model will tear at the soul of some P5 universities as well as many other universities. I think it's going to be a tough sell on many university campuses that college athletes are potentially going to receive compensation beyond their room and board that could exceed the pay for TAs and adjunct professors.

I think UConn is committed to competing in the long run and will do what needs to be done. I have the view that from this point forward, any ripple in the college sports landscape is positive for UConn's future.

 

[upstater]

I have no doubt that people like Delany and Slive will continue college sports no matter the ultimate outcome, whether minor league, etc. I do have doubts about fan interest in the longterm.

 

[noeynox]

Maybe Ollie shouldn't have been paid?

Have you seen the subsidy for UConn sports?

So, the flipside of your argument is that you DON'T pay the coaches, then your program craters and becomes irrelevant. And that's why the coaches are paid. It doesn't mean you're making money, just because you're trying to maintain relevancy. You can always pull out altogether.

What is weird though is that parents and the general public seem perfectly willing to shell out $30k a year for a son or daughter to take classes from someone making $2k per class, and you'd think that would bother people more than athletes getting top notch training, scholarship, room & board in return for labor.

The NCAA is better off just saying "these are our rules, the revenues generated are for the schools, and to provide scholarships for the non revenue sports athletes". Problem is they keep trying to make the argument about a level playing field that doesn't exist because the likes of slive and Delany don't want to share revenue any more than they have, and that they are protecting athletes from "commercial exploitation". That is such a weak argument that the plaintiffs appear to be shredding their arguments with relative ease.

And it isn't just about paying coaches, it is about creating other competitive advantages to attract top notch talent. The emails from NCAA executive themselves calling the term student athlete a "hypocrisy" is in itself so damning. I know this is threatning college sports as I have loved it through my UConn tinted bias, but the NCAA's position is laughable.

 

[Fishy]

I think UConn is committed to competing in the long run and will do what needs to be done. I have the view that from this point forward, any ripple in the college sports landscape is positive for UConn's future.

This isn't registering.

Our administrators are making money, our coaches are making money - we're level with the P5 when it comes to expenses.

We're not level when it comes to revenue - we're actually going to make less in a few years than we used to as part of the Big East. Any additional expenses is going to have to be picked up by the University which already kicks in about $18M a year.

Every previous 'ripple' has ultimately been a negative for us - these particular ripples are more of the same.

 

[CL82]

This isn't registering.

Our administrators are making money, our coaches are making money - we're level with the P5 when it comes to expenses.

We're not level when it comes to revenue - we're actually going to make less in a few years than we used to as part of the Big East. Any additional expenses is going to have to be picked up by the University which already kicks in about $18M a year.

Every previous 'ripple' has ultimately been a negative for us - these particular ripples are more of the same.

I hate reading this but I can't say I disagree. Sports at UConn will continue but I am really afraid that we are about to lose our spot at the adult table.

 

[FAIRTIDES]

Emmert reminds me of the we've all worked with that sucks at his job but always schmoozed with the right folks and got promoted way above his level (Peter Principle to the Nth degree).

Finally said gets his shot in front of a non-partisan group and has to stand on his merits.

Epic. Fail. Commences.

Joe Nocera's (New York Times) comments on Emmert's testimony. The "comments" contributed by readers are interesting as, well.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/21/o...esident-emmert-testifies.html?ref=sports&_r=0

Emmert must have a PI on Nocera, by now.

 

[noeynox]

As disgusted as I have become of the NCAA, mainly for moving the line in the sand on APR to us twice, while simultaneously letting UNC skate on a much bigger scandal, botching the Miami infractions case, finding no violation of Auburn in the SCam Newton case, it is going to be sad if O'bannon wins this. The college sports we all loved will probably become unrecognizable.

The NCAA however has brought it on themselves, they didn't decide on a stipend because they became altruistic overnight, they realized they had to do something to stem the tide of where their exploitation had taken them. I read yesterday how a Wisconsin basketball player arrived at a practice during the NCAA tournament drinking from a bottle of Nestle water, he was almost tackled by NCAA security because Dasani was the official water of the NCAA tournament, yet they claim they are "protecting" players from exploitation.