what is a "commitment" in 2024?

[huskymedic]

 

[Zonepress]

It's destroying competitive fairness - you know, competing, the entire point of sports. There's a reason every professional sport has contracts. Even some high school associations don't allow free transfers as easily as the NCAA currently does.

Well, what you’re saying is that these college athletes are professionals
And if you want to have contracts with them, then you have to make them employees
And then you can put whatever restrictions you want on them that they’re willing to agree to
Imho making the players employees would be potentially disastrous
Players would most likely unionize that would present a whole new set of challenges and costs
Big-time college sports went for the money and for 30 or 40 years they were all fat and happy and now it’s changed
Which I think is great

 

[JMick]

Well, what you’re saying is that these college athletes are professionals
And if you want to have contracts with them, then you have to make them employees
And then you can put whatever restrictions you want on them that they’re willing to agree to
Imho making the players employees would be potentially disastrous
Players would most likely unionize that would present a whole new set of challenges and costs
Big-time college sports went for the money and for 30 or 40 years they were all fat and happy and now it’s changed
Which I think is great

Yes, they're professionals because they get paid now. But not all professionals are employees. They're more akin to contractors. They're being paid for services.

I'm not sure people like you realize that all of this is just killing interest and it'll lead to less opportunities for future athletes

 

[How Sway?!]

Yes, they're professionals because they get paid now. But not all professionals are employees. They're more akin to contractors. They're being paid for services.

I'm not sure people like you realize that all of this is just killing interest and it'll lead to less opportunities for future athletes

Is it killing interest? The last playoff was the most watched in years, same for the bowl season and championship games.

 

[JMick]

Is it killing interest? The last playoff was the most watched in years, same for the bowl season and championship games.

And attendance keeps dropping year over year. There are a hundred more teams that will never sniff a playoff

 

[Jetskies]

So, is it just a players commitment that has you upset?

What’s the commitment of this school to being P5? Not great

What’s this state’s commitment to the u? Not great

What’s commitment to football program by administration? Not great

What’s commitment of fan base to program? Not great.

You want to have a hissy fit about commitments from kids who are not allowed to legally drink a beer? How about we challenge the adults first?

My commitment is to keep coming to BY on a reg basis while praying the adults will wake up one day and provide more commitment to the program.

if you said you're coming, you should not be able to take it back without paying a price/penalty of some sort.
I recognize that the equation is more complex than the point i made in my original post, but I can only speak to what I'm aware of. Regardless of the other issues in this current model, it makes no sense that players can commit and de-commit on a whim. It means theres no such thing as a commitment, which means we have no idea who is an actual husky until we physically see them on campus. and even then they can leave us before 4 games played.

I never said it's the ONLY thing that needs to be fixed, so relax on the condescending tone there, chachi.

 

[ZooCougar]

Geez. Everyone feel sorry for Bama! LOL

 

[Jetskies]

And attendance keeps dropping year over year. There are a hundred more teams that will never sniff a playoff

for sure. I know football is not basketball, but the fact that a San Diego State/Butler/FAU can make it to the final four is a powerful prospect. what if a CUSA champion or Sun Belt champion went nuts one year and truly could contend for the national championship? there needs to be a path (albeit unlikely or small), for everyone in FBS.

 

[gioff2323]

if you said you're coming, you should not be able to take it back without paying a price/penalty of some sort.
I recognize that the equation is more complex than the point i made in my original post, but I can only speak to what I'm aware of. Regardless of the other issues in this current model, it makes no sense that players can commit and de-commit on a whim. It means theres no such thing as a commitment, which means we have no idea who is an actual husky until we physically see them on campus. and even then they can leave us before 4 games played.

I never said it's the ONLY thing that needs to be fixed, so relax on the condescending tone there, chachi.

Choo-chi

You do realize the school does not need to stand by a commitment until they get a signed letter on or after a prescribed date?

Your focus on holding a teenager to a threshold no one else is held to comes across as odd.

PS. Hopefully, this does not upset you. I understand some like to rant but get there panties in a bunch when someone pushes back.

 

[Jetskies]

Choo-chi

You do realize the school does not need to stand by a commitment until they get a signed letter on or after a prescribed date?

Your focus on holding a teenager to a threshold no one else is held to comes across as odd.

PS. Hopefully, this does not upset you. I understand some like to rant but get there panties in a bunch when someone pushes back.

i think we're saying variations of the same thing, though we disagree on the standard to which an 18-24 year old MAN (not child) must be held.

I think the players need to be held accountable to commitments, since in principle that's what happens to u when you're an adult. Likewise, the commitment needs to exist from the university as well, in ways in mentioned in my original post + other ways that knowledgeable folks like you are pointing out.

someone else here said that the more formal this gets, though, is when the pressure to turn them into salaried, w-2 wielding employees becomes too great, which ultimately will create a CFB players union, which will unleash another wave of hell not seen before. Maybe this nonsense is better than that nonsense. It's probaby true that the NCAA has thought out all the permutations and decided this nonsense is most convenient to them.

It just sucks to be on the UConn side of the nonsense, watching the P4 dance around while our linebackers and running backs crash into each other week 1, then throw in the towel in week 3.

btw my panties feel great

 

[JMick]

Choo-chi

1. You do realize the school does not need to stand by a commitment until they get a signed letter on or after a prescribed date?

2. Your focus on holding a teenager to a threshold no one else is held to comes across as odd.

PS. Hopefully, this does not upset you. I understand some like to rant but get there panties in a bunch when someone pushes back.

1. The problem is people are committed and signed, or on campus, and can just leave without penalty for the most part. You should be bound until the next cycle (and the cycles should be further apart) and you should be limited on number of transfers. Remember, this is about athletic eligibility. They aren't held against their will, their eligibility is. They can decide to quit their sport whenever they want and they can go to whatever school that will accept them.

2. They're adults. College is about learning. Making a commitment and staying with it or facing the consequences of breaking a commitment is a good learning experience. Plenty of other people are held to commitments in a binding way that can only be relinquished with penalty.

Athletic eligibility used to be a privilege and now it's an expectation for some reason.

 

[Zonepress]

Yes, they're professionals because they get paid now. But not all professionals are employees. They're more akin to contractors. They're being paid for services.

I'm not sure people like you realize that all of this is just killing interest and it'll lead to less opportunities for future athlete

 

[Husky25]

Verbal commitments are non-binding, though continually committing and backing out will certainly affect one's reputation and make other programs second guess making a committable offer ("Committable offers" have been hashed and re-hashed over the years here).

As I understand it, players who sign a NLI, cannot leave without penalty. Unless under specific circumstances (Coach leaves, for example, or an NCAA waiver, whose granting seems arbitrary), If a player intends to enter the Portal before the end of the season, they are essentially kicked off their current team and while their scholarship is intact for the rest of the academic year, they can't play for, or receive a scholarship from, another program mid-season. They sit out the rest of the season, potentially lose the current season of eligibility, and spend a year residency at a new school.

According to Sports Illustrated, in 2022:

• 54% reported enrolling at a new school
• 41% have not found a new school, are still looking, transferred to a non-NCAA school, or left their sport completely
• 59% of scholarship transfers found a scholarship at a new FBS school
• 8% left their scholarships and became walk-ons at a new school
• 33% of players remain without a destination
• 18% of walk-ons that transferred found a scholarship at a new school
• About one-third of FCS transfers land a scholarship at a new school
• 36% of FCS transfers find a new school to sign with at all

So because college football is essentially an NFL farm system, transferring players have a better than 2 in 5 chance that they will never play in competitive organized football again and there is no doubt those chances decrease in direct relation to the combination of initial star rating and/or program prestige. This is why it is so important that an athlete take their time on making a decision on where to continue their higher education.

 

[Uconnalliance]

Seeing these twitter announcements and cool photo shoots of kids who i'm not even sure will actually come to Storrs in the spring/summer.

what does a commitment mean, if they can de-commit at any point and go back to the portal? this makes it v hard to celebrate anyone's "arrival". What is the formal NCAA guideline for this process (i..e honoring your word)? does one exist?

I get if the head coach moves on you should be able to de-commit (i.e. Alabama/UW/Arizona, SJ State, etc.) - but if nothing has changed, why do you just get to leave? This is a very basic tenet of contract law, so while there isn't a law/legal aspect to this, the principle should still apply.

You made a deal, you need to fulfill your end of the deal, for however long the agreed upon timeline is (let's say 1 season/academic year). And likewise, your team needs to fulfill their end of the deal (your spot on the team must be honored, for the upcoming year - they can't just kick you off of the team without due cause, because they found someone better). I feel that we are teaching our young men to accept and even celebrate being a flake - there will always be a prettier girl than your wife. You don't get to leave just cuz she smiled at you. This is your team - honor it.

every commitment in society is binding to some degree (as far as I can think of):

• marriage (family law, Tax benefits, etc.)
• construction projects / contractor winning contract
• college --- early decision admission
• employment (benefits, stock vesting, NDA's, non-competes, etc.)

NCAA please enter the chat!!!

People need to come to the harsh reality that this program will be average at best goin into the future especially as an independent

 

[huskymedic]

1. The problem is people are committed and signed, or on campus, and can just leave without penalty for the most part. You should be bound until the next cycle (and the cycles should be further apart) and you should be limited on number of transfers. Remember, this is about athletic eligibility. They aren't held against their will, their eligibility is. They can decide to quit their sport whenever they want and they can go to whatever school that will accept them.

2. They're adults. College is about learning. Making a commitment and staying with it or facing the consequences of breaking a commitment is a good learning experience. Plenty of other people are held to commitments in a binding way that can only be relinquished with penalty.

Athletic eligibility used to be a privilege and now it's an expectation for some reason.

It’s just a matter of time before the whole shebang goes kabomb…

 

[JMick]

It’s just a matter of time before the whole shebang goes kabomb…

This whole thing is so stupid. It's just as dumb as having coaches be part of the faculty union.

 

[Zonepress]

While the interest in the uconn program may be diminished
Interest is never been higher in the college playoffs and at the top 30 or 40 programs betting will continue to keep interest high even if attendance may fall off a bit
It seems obvious to me that at some point the top 50 or so programs will break away and will be a Saturday version of the NFl and will use a combination of streaming and traditional networks will pay the players contractually either as private contractors or employees( yes I know the difference
Between an employee and a private contractor as I work as a contractor))
Uconn obviously not be part of that arrangement
Financially geographically historically and culturally
Not who UConn is and for me that a good thing

 

[Jetskies]

People need to come to the harsh reality that this program will be average at best goin into the future especially as an independent

fair. Average is competitive and means most games are winnable.

i also think "average" over the long haul (10 years) contains maybe 1 awesome season, with 10 or 11 wins. On that rare occasion, we're put on a path to a new years 6 bowl or even if we're lucky the CFP. I'd bet many, if not most, fans would sign up for that.

I would.

 

[Husky25]

People need to come to the harsh reality that this program will be average at best goin into the future especially as an independent

I believe this is the first offseason since its inception that UConn is utilizing The Portal to significantly reshape the program, and I'm all for it.

That said and regardless of my other posts in this thread, I think I understand what the OP is getting at. I pretty much watch only UConn and sometimes Michigan. Most other aspects of FBS football are tedious, and player movement is no small part of that. On the other hand, if a former 4-star high school freshman isn't getting the playing time or exposure in a more prestigious program to achieve his next level, by all means, come find it in Storrs.

I like following High School recruiting and want UConn recruits to succeed in a UConn uniform, but (aside from 2022) they average 2 wins/season. If they choose to leave, so be it. UConn can't get much worse without their talents and maybe it opens the door for a better fit. For their sake, sometimes the grass isn't greener, but they have to make decision on their own. Regardless, I don't begrudge their decision.

 

[Patman]

This whole thing is so stupid. It's just as dumb as having coaches be part of the faculty union.

Dan Wetzel is also a hack. The first has nothing to do with the second. Wetzel wants the second which is why he conflates the two

The last barrier will be the academic one. People talk about grad transfers but there are other ways like loading up on multiple bachelor's degrees though that starts to be a scheduling problem as you need 4 classes to be a full time student

 

[tiger paw]

Verbal commitments are non-binding, though continually committing and backing out will certainly affect one's reputation and make other programs second guess making a committable offer ("Committable offers" have been hashed and re-hashed over the years here).

As I understand it, players who sign a NLI, cannot leave without penalty. Unless under specific circumstances (Coach leaves, for example, or an NCAA waiver, whose granting seems arbitrary), If a player intends to enter the Portal before the end of the season, they are essentially kicked off their current team and while their scholarship is intact for the rest of the academic year, they can't play for, or receive a scholarship from, another program mid-season. They sit out the rest of the season, potentially lose the current season of eligibility, and spend a year residency at a new school.

According to Sports Illustrated, in 2022:

• 54% reported enrolling at a new school
• 41% have not found a new school, are still looking, transferred to a non-NCAA school, or left their sport completely
• 59% of scholarship transfers found a scholarship at a new FBS school
• 8% left their scholarships and became walk-ons at a new school
• 33% of players remain without a destination
• 18% of walk-ons that transferred found a scholarship at a new school
• About one-third of FCS transfers land a scholarship at a new school
• 36% of FCS transfers find a new school to sign with at all

So because college football is essentially an NFL farm system, transferring players have a better than 2 in 5 chance that they will never play in competitive organized football again and there is no doubt those chances decrease in direct relation to the combination of initial star rating and/or program prestige. This is why it is so important that an athlete take their time on making a decision on where to continue their higher education.

Great info ! Is there any stats on why players portal out ? Money , playing time ,academics ? Did you see the last USC game . The announcers said Caleb Williams takes 1 on line course and spends the rest of his time at the FB facility.

 

[billybud]

It is basketball too...commitment isn't really a commitment...

Cam Spencer played at Loyola, then Rutgers, and now UConn

Tristan Newton played for East Carolina before the Huskies

Hassan Diarra played for Texas A&M

 

[Husky25]

Great info ! Is there any stats on why players portal out ? Money , playing time ,academics ? Did you see the last USC game . The announcers said Caleb Williams takes 1 on line course and spends the rest of his time at the FB facility.

Not that I saw, but that does not mean that the info doesn't exist. I wasn't really interested in going down a rabbit hole.

However, my anecdotal armchair analysis suggests that:

A) player who excels in a less prestigious program is looking for exposure to NFL scouts (E.g. Darrian Beavers).
B) High-star Bench/rotation players transferring out of a school like Alabama (Saban retiring notwithstanding) may be looking for more playing time.
C) Transferring starters from a prestigious program may be looking for a better fit.
D) Players at prestigious football schools might see no path in football and transfer to a school with more prestige in an area of study leading to a post-grad career. Playing out their string would be nice, but ancillary for them.