The Off Topic Topic

[Zanza]

College sports in the US aren't professional. They are amateur, at least for the athletes. No one is a professional college football player (yes I know the rules have been bent from time to time)

Considering that tuition and housing are paid for these athletes and that can easily be $20,000 or more per semester, I wouldn't consider them amateurs. They may not be paid in cash, but they are paid. These articles here suggest that college football is a net negative for the colleges and is basically paid by the tuition fees of other students, by alumni and taxpayers:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/09/15/athletics-cost-colleges-students-millions/2814455/
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB124104338171170501

[Josquius]

Dude is on the subcommittee for energy!

But the windmills will keep everyone cool!

[Liep]

I love online grocery shopping.

[CountDeMoney]

But the windmills will keep everyone cool!

Personally, I like the representative from South Carolina that said carbon dioxide was "food for trees", and reducing man-made emissions of it would be starving them.

[Ideologue]

But the windmills will keep everyone cool!

Personally, I like the representative from South Carolina that said carbon dioxide was "food for trees", and reducing man-made emissions of it would be starving them.

Why do you hate forests?

[CountDeMoney]

All that oxygen makes my head hurt.

[Ideologue]

As "ex" smokers, I think both of us could benefit from a heightened oxygen regime.

[garbon]

[alfred russel]

Considering that tuition and housing are paid for these athletes and that can easily be $20,000 or more per semester, I wouldn't consider them amateurs. They may not be paid in cash, but they are paid. These articles here suggest that college football is a net negative for the colleges and is basically paid by the tuition fees of other students, by alumni and taxpayers:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/09/15/athletics-cost-colleges-students-millions/2814455/
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB124104338171170501

Yeah, pretty sure a scholarship doesn't make someone a professional. I had an academic scholarship for part of my college career, did that make me a professional? My roommate for part of college was a swimmer that had a scholarship but toiled in absolute anonymity and no one showed up to his events. Was he a professional?

Exceptional students in the US frequently get scholarships that can include housing costs. We recognize that students can be exceptional in many different ways: in the arts, in academics, and in athletics.

College sports, depending on the accounting methods used, are a net negative. That doesn't change that the schools paying out the $5 million / year salaries to coaches that result in the chart that started this are the exception rather than the rule. The biggest programs with the highest salaries have the most revenue and tend to be cash flow positive--at a minimum in the sport that is generating the revenue.

[Valmy]

These articles here suggest that college football is a net negative for the colleges and is basically paid by the tuition fees of other students, by alumni and taxpayers:

You are seeing the endgame of a process that has been playing itself out for 130 years.  As I said major changes are coming.

[Ed Anger]

Down with the NCAA.

[Valmy]

Down with the NCAA.

Division 4 is coming man.  If it were not the fact March Madness pays for the entire NCAA it probably would have already happened awhile ago.

[Grey Fox]

These articles here suggest that college football is a net negative for the colleges and is basically paid by the tuition fees of other students, by alumni and taxpayers:

You are seeing the endgame of a process that has been playing itself out for 130 years.  As I said major changes are coming.

Elaborate?

[alfred russel]

Elaborate?

Contrary to Zanza's assertions that college athletes are professionals, they are not paid. However, the ideal of amateur athletics is completely dead. College athletics are run to produce maximum revenue, with all the commericalization of pro sports and arguably more (the Super Bowl hasn't sold its name to a sponsor). Everyone makes a shit ton of money at the big schools except the players.

That strikes many as screwed up. At the same time, many supporters are willing to pay for good players, or access to good players, or future rights to represent the players as agents in an NFL future, and give them money. Schools also have incentives to break rules, and there have been multiple scandals that have seen things like schools sending attractive female students to assist with recruiting high school players that sleep with the recruits. The governance structure around this is quite byzantine.

Basically the governance structure has very little support and credibility. The governing body, the NCAA, is apart from the universities. It isn't far fetched to see the universities either freezing out the NCAA or forcing major changes on it--if for no other reason than as a part of a power grab.

At the same time, there are significant moves by players to have more of a say. There is an ongoing legal struggle for players to get access to the rights to their image. For example, schools sell jerseys of the players, but the players don't get revenue from that. There is also a unionization effort that is ongoing.

[crazy canuck]

Our culture is very different on this point.  We consider sports just as vital as other forms of education, and education is considered an essential task of the government.

Our universities and schools all have sports education, but it is meant mainly for the normal students and doesn't have a professional side to it. I played soccer at university and went skiing with them.

However the idea was never that it become this huge deal where coaches and athletic directors are being paid millions.  That came about because of TV and it is looking more and more certain these teams are going to be pro for all intents and purposes sooner rather than later.  It was a nice idea while it existed I guess, sort of like the Olympic ideal.

Our university sports are probably much closer to what you may have had before it became a professional business.

College sports in the US aren't professional. They are amateur, at least for the athletes. No one is a professional college football player (yes I know the rules have been bent from time to time)

Dr. obvious, I was wondering when you would show up.  Now perhaps you could try reading the posts you are responding to.