What College Football needs

[Mott the Hoople]

Is a players union. First the notion of amateurism in college football is a joke. More like shamateurs. The cause of corruption in college football and the main source of it's hypocrisy is College Football generates billions in revenue each year. It's the second biggest spectator sport in the nation. We currently have a system where kids get tuition, room and board and that's pretty much it. If they get paid, they are considered cheaters and corrupt. How fucking hypocritical can you get. Coaches and athletic administrators and NCAA goons make 6 and 7 figure incomes.....and these kids get demonized for trading what little they do have for some tats and weed? Give me a fucking break.

The NCAA and Colleges are exploiting these kids to the tune of billions annually and then publicly villifying them when the Universities prove themselves to be corrupt. Well it's fucking obvious that the Universities and the NCAA is not looking after the best interest of these kids. They are a money making machine hypocritically hiding behind a pretense of academia.

A union can negotiate an appropriate wage scale and work limits for student athlete and there's nothing wrong with paying them. I was paid a stipend when I was a grad student and many grad students get a tuition waver too. Most college students work part time jobs to help make ends meet but those morons in the NCAA prohibit student athletes from working because it lends to the corruption they fucking created in the first place.

There are academic reasons for the need for a student athletes union too. That is, that most of these coaches and their multi-million dollar salaries don't give a rats ass about their athletes academic progress. They just care about keeping them eligible. Go into any recreation stuides class room at a State University. It's mostly athletes and they are pressured by their coaches to dummy down their classes so as to remain eligible. I've personally talked to two guys who played under Coach John Cooper and they do not hold him in high regard due to this. One was Robert Smith and the other was Bob Hoying. Smith was a pre-med major and Hoying was a business administration major. Both demanding majors and both were pressured by Coach Coppers staff to take less demanding classes so as to focus more time on football and be able to remain eligible. Both Players refused. Smith ended up quiting the team and Hoying was benched in favor of a less talented player who did.

The issue here is really sharing the wealth that the players do the lions share of the work in earning in a reasonable and equitable fashion so as to end this hypocritical and corrupt system we currently havee. A players union would be a step in the right direction.

[WinterBorn]

I like Steve Spurrier's idea of paying the players out of the head coach's salary. The money those guys make could give the players a little walking around money without it being missed.

[Mott the Hoople]

I don't. I made more money then that on my stipend as a graduate assistant. It's freaken chump change Considering the revenues being generated by major programs and money is not the only issue here. These students need their rights and perogatives as students protected and the Universities and the NCAA have not only failed in this respect but have ruthlessly exploited these kids for their own selfish gain.

Here's what I would suggest. Organize the students into a players union. If the Universities and athletic programs exploit them in a manner which endangers their health, well being, financial status and academic status then a union would provide the means for the players, via work stopages, to meet and resolve these issues in a manner which protects the interest of both the students and the Univiersities. Would coaches or AD's like this. Frankly, no but fuck them, you think they really give a shit about these kids more then their 6 and 7 figure incomes?

As for paying the students. These kids have to work 20 to 40 hours a week to maintain their scholarships. This does not include class time or study time. That's like working two full time jobs if your taking a serious major. That's the major problem I've talked to with student athletes. The NCAA restricts practices to 20 hours a week but the reality is, it's a 40 hour a week job. More if the coaches could get away with it. So where to you find time to study? That's why many student athletes take mickey mouse majors, not because their stupid but because they don't have enough time to work for the football team and take a demanding academic major. A student Union would end this absurdity as a 20 hour work week could be negotiated and demands by the coaching staff to exceed this would violate the collective bargaining agreement and could result in work stoppages and legal actions against the coaches and the universities. Stops that shit cold wouldn't it? Since the athlete produce far more revenue then your average grad assistant why not pay then accordingly? Here's how I would do it on a sliding scale. Freshmen get paid $10,000/yr, Sops, $20,000, Jr, $30,0000 and Sr, $40,000. This sliding scale would help to create loyalty and commitment to the team via profit motive. That works out to about $2.5 million per team annually in player pay roll. Spurrier gets paid about $3.5 million....So, yea....take it out of his salary....he still makes a cool million and the players get a fair slice of the pie they did the lions share of the work in producing.

Then there's also the issue of safety. If NCAA football had to comply with OSHA regulations they'd be in real deep shit. A substantial number of student football players walk away from their college careers with life long debilitating injuries that have a significant impact on their quality of living and coaches and universities get away with it with out compensating these kids for these injuries or providing the follow up care and treatment that they will need for the health problems that they are responsible for if the first place. Not even the NFL does that. They pay mucho millions in workers compensaton insurances for injury settlements for athletes with debilitating injuries. Again, a players union would prevent knuckle headed neanderthal coaches who have a disregard for players health (you know who I"m talking about, the idiot "get tough and play injured" moron coaches who turn minor injuries into life long degenerative injuries). A union can negotiate specific health and safety standards, not to mention insurance protections, for athletes that would hold coaches and athletic administrations accountable for players health and safety. In that regards, just as coaches bonuses are often tied to players graduation rate, they should also be tied to players health and safety. Coaches who win while reducing injury occurances should be recognized for their good work just as coaches who win and graduate their players are.

[WinterBorn]

At least they would finally address the head injuries suffered by every interior lineman in football.


I guess my problem with tying the revenues made to what the players get is that it would increase the distance between the top money programs and the "also rans".

[Mott the Hoople]

At least they would finally address the head injuries suffered by every interior lineman in football.


I guess my problem with tying the revenues made to what the players get is that it would increase the distance between the top money programs and the "also rans".

Oh there's an easy solution to that. Create a playoff system for a national championship. It's estimated that would generate at least a billion dollars annually in revenue. Put an agreement in place where 50% of that revenue goes to all 120 some Div I schools. That would generate about 4 million per school. Half of that revenue will be spent on players salaries and the other half will be put into a trust fund as insurance for injured and disabled athletes and to provide additional funding for these athletes to complete their academic education after they have completed their athletic eligibility as a way for the Universities to ensure their academic integrity, so the kids will have the resources to study demanding majors even if it's after their playing days are over and as a way for the Universities to reward these kids for their contributions to the culture and economic health of the Universities.

[Minister of Truth]

Naked Cheerleaders.







I'm unsure why this hit came up, but LOLZ

[Dixie - In Memoriam]

I have a problem with 'unionizing' college football players. Especially if the football program would still fall under purview of the institution. It would pretty much eliminate academic standards, because a school couldn't 'flunk' a union member and easier than a company can fire a union member. Everything would be subject to arbitration with the players reps and agents, and universities would have to negotiate promises to keep failing students enrolled, in order to secure contracts, etc. It's just too problematic and too much potential for conflict of interests.

Personally, I think something along the lines of what Spurrier suggests is more likely, and doable. There needs to be a way to help student-athletes out, without it being considered 'cheating' to do so. At the least, have some sort of financial assistance program, in proportion to what an average student might earn through a part-time job, which could be made available to them and distributed by a credible third party...the NCAA itself, could do it, for that matter.

[Liberty]

You beat me to it.

Great post Threedee.

[Liberty]

Is a players union.

A players union?

Unions destroy most everything they touch.

What a bad idea Mott.

[WinterBorn]

If we create a players union, and they go on strike, do the athletes still get their free education?

[Liberty]

If we create a players union, and they go on strike, do the athletes still get their free education?

What does it matter when the ladies aren't around,,,,,

in their skimpy outfits,,,,,

jumping up and (or) down.

Also,,,,,, would muslim women be stoned to death because of this?

Where would they fit in to all this?

[Minister of Truth]

We're already not getting NFL this season. You want to have no football at all, Mott? (I'm sure Topspin will answer for you)

[Liberty]

We're already not getting NFL this season. You want to have no football at all, Mott? (I'm sure Topspin will answer for you)

Please don't think those kind of thoughts.

Let's just keep telling ourselves that there will be football.

Don't forget the muslim thing.

[Topspin]

college football is perfect

[Mott the Hoople]

A players union?

Unions destroy most everything they touch.

What a bad idea Mott.

You don't know what you're talking about. I have to many family members who have been union members. Unions built not only a big chunk of this country but they also built the middle class. I'm reasonably sure some southern rednecks have no use for a union....that's why ya'll give up your rights when you walk into your employers door.