APSome links from around college football on a Friday…
- Want to pay players? Fine, but John Infante says start with a few guidelines.
- Wisconsin assistants are making more in 2013.
- Auburn is looking for playmakers along the defensive line this spring.
- I don’t even care that this isn’t football related. You’ve earned this link, Florida Gulf Coast. Seriously, y’all have to see this alley-oop.
- Paul Finebaum on Harvey Updyke’s guilty plea: ”For everyone’s sake, I’m just glad this is finally over.”
- Clint Trickett may be the starting QB for Florida State heading into spring, but the Seminoles have an interesting battle at the position.
- Baylor will have some new threads for the 2013 season.
Thank you Ben. I think we both agree there needs to be a deeper look into what ‘pay for play’ will involve.
Baylor has been playing decent football for two years now, after collecting BCS league money your over twenty years. I guess I will give them props, they are at least trying now. Before, they used threat of law suits and politicians to ensure their cash cow keeps pumping out milk. Profiting off other’s efforts to field nationally competitive teams. (Remember they threatened to sue the SEC and TA&M).
Did Baylor buy Oregon’s uni’s from 2010 and just silkscreen their school’s name on the chest?
No Pay for Play
Scholarships are the reward.
Even if one year ‘pay for play’ actually flies… I won’t like it.
Congrats to Baylor. Maybe they can upgrade their tarp.
http://www.cyclonefanatic.com/forum/attachments/big-xii-conference/14471d1346982447-baylor-vs-smu-oklahoma-v-baylor-v-hjh8-kglul.jpg
Somebody google “ace jewel”… That’s The one liner from yesterday.
With a little luck, Harvey Updyke will be available to be the Alabama Athletic Director shortly.
I tend to agree with Polegojim , that the scholarship should be the reward, but I think the evidence shows that more needs to be done.
Almost weekly we read about suspensions and/or releases of players who commit some exasperatingly stupid, bone-headed mistakes.
Some of these kids come from either extreme poverty or from seriously ‘tough’ neighborhoods – sometimes both. The scholarship places them in an atmosphere and relatively plush surroundings and they may have difficulty adjusting.
There’s probably nothing wrong with given them some sort of spending allowance (some of which the better ones may even send home to support family).
The idea has merit, but requires careful consideration.
We absolutely should not condone or approve a pay for play system. In theory, these student athletes deserve more, but not at the expense of opening pandora’s box. As long as we have greed and a lack of priorities in the world, the pay for play system will never work the way it is intended.
Players will still use that money to buy more higher end clothes, alcohol, drugs, jewelry, anything really to emulate their idols in the pros. Ultimately, like many kids that age, they will misuse the money.
On top of that, boosters will continue to give money to student athletes to persuade them to join their program and reward them for successful games. It would be foolish to think this would change simply because we instituted a pay for play system.
Finally, this slippery slope will eventually spiral out of control as some sports will continue to be worth others and players of the football and basketball programs will eventually make more than the athletes in other sports. How long will it be before this issue of unequal payment gap arises between mid-major and BCS conferences. Will this even be the same for all levels of sports? Eventually, this problem is going to become an even large issue.
The scholarship should be enough. College football players have been making it for decades under the scholarship allowances. I know I did. Many others have to. It is a privilege and honor to play college football. Not a right. Please do not disrupt the things that make college football special by treating these players like professionals before they are ready.