There are a lot of complaints about the money and changes happening in college football, but these same complaints could be heard throughout every era.
My takeaway though.. money has always been a part of college football (both overtly and covertly). But the sport was not defined by it, in the past. Now profit/money is priority one. College football is maybe a tragedy of financial escalation (?)
Thanks! All of the warnings do make me think that those early warnings were ignored and everything just kept ballooning. The bubble may really pop one day. What will that look like then?
When Maryland left the ACC, for me, it became (shockingly) clear that money mattered more than anything else in college football/basketball. When the universities themselves starting abandoning 50-100 year old rivalries, leaving regional conferences, etc. And Maryland was very candid that their move was only about $. But they tried to make it noble, and say it was ultimately about financing smaller sports, etc. Which is a cover story no one bothers to mislead with anymore.
My opinion, the bigger football schools will eventually sever from smaller programs and form a pro league that lies somewhere between the NFL & college football. Then the smaller programs like Richmond, New Hampshire etc might restore/revert to an actual student-athlete league, etc (?)
I agree that regionalism is probably the biggest thing that we've lost in the new conference movement. That, though, is seemingly something that is a broader American (or even global issue). Regionalism or perhaps localism is slowly eroding from pretty much everything (accents, newspapers, culture etc).
I also agree with you about the pro leagues spinning off. It seems we are heading there with the Big 10 and SEC being the two pro conferences and then everyone else. I do have a follow-up piece on this planned. Maybe later in the year or early next year before the college football playoff.
The attack on Researchers via cuts to their funding is at the heart of this fallen nations problems. Leadership of Universities all the way up to the highest office is under valuing science and over valuing things like college football. Billions are wasting on sport, at the expense of research. Money is a finite resource. The more spent on Football, the less for everyone else doing actual academic work.
I do think we end up spending way too much with Keepin' Up With the Joneses in the chase for football. But I also have softened my view of how much is 'wasted' with the attention. Once I realized how much public trust in higher ed has dropped in recent years, I thought the PR of football may actually be a saving grace in many states. Like, I imagine my home state of Oklahoma might just cut the entire university budget if not for the love the state has for the Sooners.
It's complicated human nature with American culture. Might have to write more on this actually.
This is a great history, and context, thanks.
My takeaway though.. money has always been a part of college football (both overtly and covertly). But the sport was not defined by it, in the past. Now profit/money is priority one. College football is maybe a tragedy of financial escalation (?)
Thanks! All of the warnings do make me think that those early warnings were ignored and everything just kept ballooning. The bubble may really pop one day. What will that look like then?
When Maryland left the ACC, for me, it became (shockingly) clear that money mattered more than anything else in college football/basketball. When the universities themselves starting abandoning 50-100 year old rivalries, leaving regional conferences, etc. And Maryland was very candid that their move was only about $. But they tried to make it noble, and say it was ultimately about financing smaller sports, etc. Which is a cover story no one bothers to mislead with anymore.
My opinion, the bigger football schools will eventually sever from smaller programs and form a pro league that lies somewhere between the NFL & college football. Then the smaller programs like Richmond, New Hampshire etc might restore/revert to an actual student-athlete league, etc (?)
I agree that regionalism is probably the biggest thing that we've lost in the new conference movement. That, though, is seemingly something that is a broader American (or even global issue). Regionalism or perhaps localism is slowly eroding from pretty much everything (accents, newspapers, culture etc).
I also agree with you about the pro leagues spinning off. It seems we are heading there with the Big 10 and SEC being the two pro conferences and then everyone else. I do have a follow-up piece on this planned. Maybe later in the year or early next year before the college football playoff.
The attack on Researchers via cuts to their funding is at the heart of this fallen nations problems. Leadership of Universities all the way up to the highest office is under valuing science and over valuing things like college football. Billions are wasting on sport, at the expense of research. Money is a finite resource. The more spent on Football, the less for everyone else doing actual academic work.
I do think we end up spending way too much with Keepin' Up With the Joneses in the chase for football. But I also have softened my view of how much is 'wasted' with the attention. Once I realized how much public trust in higher ed has dropped in recent years, I thought the PR of football may actually be a saving grace in many states. Like, I imagine my home state of Oklahoma might just cut the entire university budget if not for the love the state has for the Sooners.
It's complicated human nature with American culture. Might have to write more on this actually.