NCAA Football, 2014-2015

[grumbler]

I think we learned the true nature of the michigan coaching staff in that video. She was assigned to the skins team because the coaches "forgot" she had to wear a shirt? More likely she was invited to the camp as a ploy to see a way underage girl without a shirt on.

[CountDeMoney]

So, Seedy, are you torn by the fact that Ralpie-boy is going to be on the opposite sidelines for the Rutgers game this fall?  I know Friedgen was a favorite of yours at Maryland (as he was one of mine) and it is weird that a coach gets fired in the same season he wins a conference coach of the year award, but do you forgive his "I burned my diploma" act and his decision to coach for a conference foe?

I am torn on this one.  I like the guy, but don't much like Rutgers and wish they and the Terps well....






... away from the Big Ten.

Meh, I can't fault Fridge for copping the attitude he did, although the diploma-burning thing was a tad too Rex Ryanish, but I believe he was genuinely hurt.  Personally, I think he had every right to be.  They didn't have to do him like that.

I really don't know about the UMD Athletic Department.  I'm glad they got rid of that goofy bean-counting bitch Debbie Yow--and yes, chicks can't fucking be ADs, they just can't--but if you really want to be a competitive organization in NCAA football, you just don't get your AD from fucking Army.  You just don't. 

I think hiring Edsall was a decent move for the options they had, but one that will be eventually wiped out by the incredibly stupid decision to turn themselves into a Big Ten tune up team from the MAC.   INTRODUCING YOUR KENT STATE TERRAPINS

I'd say I was more excited by UMD basketball, but the Turgeon pick is backfiring;  he's consistently recruited some of the best classes in the nation but all his picks are fucking headcases with no basketball sense, four players transfer en masse this offseasn...and who gives that kind of contract?  Even Gary Williams, with all the personality of Steve Spurrier on an Ativan overdose, never had kids leave like that.

Only thing working at UMD any more is the lacrosse, and fuck that noise.  Prep school douchebag soccer fags with sticks.

[Valmy]

Huh surprised Tim didn't mention the Power five conferences getting the right to write their own rule book.  With the SEC writing the rules College Sports is about to enter a new golden age.

So when David and Henry get this letter:



It will come with two cars and a contract for one million dollars, being the league minimum by then.

[grumbler]

Huh surprised Tim didn't mention the Power five conferences getting the right to write their own rule book.  With the SEC writing the rules College Sports is about to enter a new golden age.

So when David and Henry get this letter:

(snip)
It will come with two cars and a contract for one million dollars, being the league minimum by then.

The Big 5 don't get to write the rules.  That, admissions requirements, scholarship numbers, transfer rules, etc don't fall within the purview of autonomy.

Unless you just mean the "recruiting rule book," but, even then, there are only a few things the Big 5 can do.  Title IX being what it is, if every football recruit gets offered a million dollars to come and play, every women's volleyball recruit will have to get offered a million dollars, as well.

[Valmy]

True.  Man there are going to be some rich volleyball players.

[derspiess]

Title IX being what it is, if every football recruit gets offered a million dollars to come and play, every women's volleyball recruit will have to get offered a million dollars, as well.

You hardly ever hear it mentioned, but yeah that is going to cause some really odd side effects.

[Valmy]

Title IX being what it is, if every football recruit gets offered a million dollars to come and play, every women's volleyball recruit will have to get offered a million dollars, as well.

You hardly ever hear it mentioned, but yeah that is going to cause some really odd side effects.

Actually I tend to see that as the first argument against paying the players.  But seriously yeah each and every scholarship from swimming to field hockey will probably now be getting stipends and other goodies (or a portion depending on what percent of an athletic scholarship they have).  The students who get scholarships for something stupid like academics will sure feel silly.

[grumbler]

Actually I tend to see that as the first argument against paying the players.  But seriously yeah each and every scholarship from swimming to field hockey will probably now be getting stipends and other goodies (or a portion depending on what percent of an athletic scholarship they have).  The students who get scholarships for something stupid like academics will sure feel silly.

Students on academic scholarships can and do get employment outside of their scholarship work, and get paid for it.  No TA is required to spend the time an athlete is required to spend, and they get paid for the job.  I don't think any academic scholarship player is going to be jealous because athletes get another $2,000 a year for spending 40 hours a week (during season) or 20 hours a week (out of season) at "work."

Frankly, I think one of the first items on the agenda for the Big 5 should be further limits on the amount of an athlete's time the various sports can demand.

[MadBurgerMaker]

[grumbler]

And, as expected, the NCAA loses the O'Bannon case: http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/writer/jon-solomon/24653743/obannon-judge-rules-ncaa-violates-antitrust-law

Basically, the judge ruled that the NCAA was illegally constraining the abilities of athletes to profit from the use of their names, images, and likenesses, but allowed the NCAA to limit (to some extent) the amount that a given athlete could get for use of likeness, and allowed the NCAA to pool such reimbursements, and to limit the payout until the players had finished their college athletic career.  So, we won't have the case where some bagman promises to buy an athlete's signature for $50,000 if he commits to State.  That was my big concern.  As far as I can tell, this is pure win for college football.

[alfred russel]

Wake me up when it is through the appeals process.

My personal view is that the structure of college football has roughly been the same for generations. The idea of a court rewriting the rules without any new laws being passed is bullshit. I'm rather certain that when anti trust laws were being passed, the intent wasn't to undermine the charade of amateurism that we've been entertained by for the past 100+ years.

[Admiral Yi]

$50 even money, or any amount you wish to wager, that the decision survives appeal.

[grumbler]

$50 even money, or any amount you wish to wager, that the decision survives appeal.

I'm not sure what there is to appeal, or who would want to appeal.  The decision is a great one for the NCAA, and probably a satisfactory one for the O'Bannon crowd.  The biggest gripe people are having, I think, is the semi-arbitrary $5,000 number, but that's not a hard-and-fast number and judges sometimes need to put out arbitrary numbers - that's just what they do.  I agree that it survives appeal.

[alfred russel]

$50 even money, or any amount you wish to wager, that the decision survives appeal.

I don't want to wager, but it was a ~100 page decision...isn't it most likely to be upheld in parts and overturned in others?

[alfred russel]

I'm not sure what there is to appeal, or who would want to appeal.  The decision is a great one for the NCAA, and probably a satisfactory one for the O'Bannon crowd.  The biggest gripe people are having, I think, is the semi-arbitrary $5,000 number, but that's not a hard-and-fast number and judges sometimes need to put out arbitrary numbers - that's just what they do.  I agree that it survives appeal.

I'm sure as shit not reading the ruling, or even espn's take on the ruling (espn is a joke with sports reporting, so I'm disinclined to give its legal reporting much weight).

So from an uneducated distance, it seems like a rather bizarre half pregnant ruling. You can conspire to pay players well below market wages. You can conspire to withhold payments to players for years. You don't have to differentiate between a superstar like Tebow and a scrub (we are talking about marketing revenue generated). But in the end, you have to give schools the ability to pay them $5,000 / year or you violate anti trust law.