04/16/24
November 12, 2010
Alabama Paying Opponents $2.3 Million in 2011: Losing to the top football programs is a revenue opportunity. The University of Alabama will pay a $2.35 million to its three 2011 non-conference home opponents in football: $1.2 million to Kent State, $750,000 to North Texas and $400,000 to Georgia Southern.
without giving them any share of the profits
Except for the FREE education and some of the fringe benifits that would cost you and I tens to hundreds of thousands in loans that would take many years to pay off.
posted by sgtcookzane at 10:45 PM on November 12, 2010
It's a good job that the NCAA treats payments designed to pad the win column with the same scrutiny that it does payments to recruit pl-- oh.
posted by etagloh at 11:01 PM on November 12, 2010
Except for the FREE education and some of the fringe benifits that would cost you and I tens to hundreds of thousands in loans that would take many years to pay off.
I'm not a college admissions expert, but that assumes that every football player costs the school money equal to what to tuition would otherwise be. If anything, at schools like 'Bama, the football players make the school a net profit, even with their free tuition considered. Then again, this is also true for science tech labbies who have to pay to work in the labs and do research for the school. Schools who can then make money off my research, which I had to pay to do (no, I'm not bitter!).
posted by jmd82 at 11:18 PM on November 12, 2010
I remember when Northern Illinois beat Alabama in 2003. That was fun.
posted by Aardhart at 11:19 PM on November 12, 2010
I remember going to a high school game where people were planning to drive ten hours overnight for App State's visit to Michigan. That was fun.
posted by etagloh at 12:36 AM on November 13, 2010
Except for the FREE education and some of the fringe benifits that would cost you and I tens to hundreds of thousands in loans that would take many years to pay off.
It ain't free. Maybe reduced, but there are still education-related costs they will have to pay out of pocket.
Especially if they get injured.
And as always, remember that it's not a four-year scholarship-it's a one-year scholarship the school is free to revoke or renew at any time.
posted by Bonkers at 07:27 AM on November 13, 2010
Just looking over Alabama's recent MasterCard statement--
- Playing rcade's alma mater: $750,000
- Watching Auburn go through what they're currently going through: priceless
posted by beaverboard at 09:45 AM on November 13, 2010
I have a hard time with tier one schools playing these cream puffs to pad their stats and win columns. They are no more than pre-season tune up games and shouldn't be considered at all for BCS standings.
I have always thought that college football programs were little more than farm clubs for the NFL in modern times. I think that the players should be compensated. For many of them a career ending injury also means a school ending and education ending injury.
posted by irunfromclones at 02:08 PM on November 15, 2010
I have always thought that college football programs were little more than farm clubs for the NFL in modern times.
That's a really NFL-centric way of looking at things. College football generated $2.04 billion in revenue in 2006, which was around 31% of NFL revenue for the same period. It's another pro sport and more than 96% of its players never reach the NFL.
posted by rcade at 03:04 PM on November 15, 2010
Well, I guess its only fair. I mean, the players for these hopelessly outmatched teams are putting their health and safety on the line when they play far superior teams like 'Bama, so it stands to reason that they should be compensated quite handsomely, and
Wait, what's that? The players don't see a penny of it? But that would mean that the universities are colluding to offer up sacrificial lambs, without giving them any share of the profits. Ridiculous.