college football under quarantine

interesting implications of a possible new normal:

https://www.theringer.com/2020/8/3/21349611/season-schedule-power-five-conferences-college-football-playoff

But college football is a lot of things, and a season exclusively for the Power Five is few of them. It’s clear that the Power Five teams have needs and goals that differ from everybody else’s. By playing games solely against each other, they will maximize both fan interest and profit. Maybe the Power Five schools will realize this arrangement is financially beneficial even in non-pandemic circumstances. But a few dozen teams with similar needs and goals making decisions that benefit each other isn’t college football. It’s a professional sports league. And professional sports leagues have to pay and provide fair treatment to their players. This feels like a lasting split, and the more bonds the College Football programs sever with the college football programs, the harder it will be for them to pretend they still have anything in common with the distant relatives they’re leaving behind.

None of this is a secret. The fact that NCAA Division I football is essentially a semi-pro league feeding the NFL and that everyone is profiting from it but the players has been evident for decades. It is rarely acknowledged by the sports media because it is so ugly and they profit from it as much as anyone else. The players seldom complain because they are so vulnerable to reprisals. Most of them are seen as easily replaceable parts and 'troublemakers' swiftly get the boot.

The players do profit if they are on scholarship (and manage to stay on scholarship) and D1 football and basketball "student athletes" also enjoy elite status and other fringe benefits compared to other students.

But the system is absolutely semi-pro at best and at worst, big school college athletics operates (via the NCAA and the major conferences) as a monopoly with ruthless corporate vision. Everyone in the system gets a career out of it except the players, where something like less than 1% get drafted to the NFL and an even smaller number will play more than three years in the pros.

That said, I suspect that the vast majority of athletes at all levels love their experience in college sports even though they realize they are but actors in a circus. They know that they aren't getting their fair share but they are kept just happy enough by the experience that they still participate.

The idea that a scholarship athlete necessarily benefits from their time in a university is spotty at best. Scholarship athletes are chosen for their athletic prowess, not their academic ability, which may be minimal or even wholly inadequate. Graduation rates have been notoriously very poor among scholarship athletes in the two big money-making sports at "power five" universities, where scholarship athletes are routinely expected to prioritize their sport over all other activities and those who struggle academically are tutored just enough to maintain the lowest standard of required achievement to keep them playing. The NCAA pretends to address this, but their first priority remains keeping athletes playing; learning still takes a back seat, despite gestures designed to quiet criticism.

I will say that scholarship athletes are generally well fed at the training table free of charge, so there's one real benefit they can count on, even if they never earn their degree.

What is a notoriously poor rate to you, Aimless? Just curious.

http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/research/graduation-rates
or this
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1731218-college-football-schools-with-the-best-and-worst-graduation-rates

Mens' college basketball also makes a lot of money but the number of scholarship athletes is way lower. But the grad rates are very good at the elite programs.

Also, as you probably know, it's hard to use graduation rates as a measuring stick given the percentage of students at, say, LSU who graduate. Hint: at LSU (and most schools), the official graduation rate for students overall is lower than the football teams. But that's partially because the non-students have a higher attrition rate.

I would also add that an enormous benefit for scholarship "student athletes" and "student athletes" in general is that their entrance requirements are, as you note, at much lower academic standards. So, a person can go to, say, the University of North Carolina on a football scholarship and have much lower admissions standards. Assuming that they graduate, which 75%+ of UNC football players due, that's pretty awesome. And as you note, they get really nice living facilities, their own dining hall, have amazing tutoring options, and get to travel the country.

There is a large number of student athletes who honestly cannot afford to go to college even if they have a "full ride". These kids don't have time for jobs during the off season, and there really is no off season. These kids often live far from home and literally have no way to get to and from college. They don't have idle spending money. There are many issues that are worthy of withering criticism and you and I agree (!) that the NCAA doesn't address this with much honesty.

Supporting college athletics even as a fan seems morally dubious I guess.

no return of the mac(k)

big 10 cancels season

holy shit

trump's fucked

the ACC is saying they'll go ahead no matter what

pac 12 is canceling, big 12 is on the fence

at least we still have idaho high school football

I told my wife as fall prepares to start “if I die of COVID (and I doubt I will) at least my sons will know I stood up for doing what is right and going to work & educating and molding young people rather than hiding” she responded “agreed “ ❗️❗️💪💪💪

— Coach Hargitt (@coachhargitt) August 10, 2020

sad about my problematic fave getting canceled :(

BREAKING: The Big Ten presidents have voted to postpone the 2020 college football season with hopes of playing in the spring, per sources.

— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) August 11, 2020

more like the small zero

smoll

sm0ll

if this swings Michigan and Wisconsin for Biden then it'll be the best thing the Big Ten has produced since Charles Woodson.

what a win for the democrats(?)

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EfJo3OrXgAIICG2?format=jpg&name=small

college football coaches are the worst people in america (#34985859340293849494 in a series)

Lou Holtz tells Fox News that college football needs to play amid coronavirus pandemic this fall: "Let's move on with our life! When they stormed Normandy, they knew there were going to be casualties -- there were going to be risks." pic.twitter.com/zZZ5qrFRFb

— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) August 11, 2020

tbf this is the kind of shit that got him fired.

There's going to be a lot of unmolded young men out there!

lou is freaking deranged lol

Georgia State QB announces he has a heart condition from COVID 19 and won’t play this year https://t.co/aH4CawZdsi

— trey wingo (@wingoz) August 20, 2020

BREAKING: #PennState's director of athletic medicine, Wayne Sebastianelli, says that cardiac MRI scans revealed that roughly 30-35 percent of Big Ten athletes who tested positive for COVID-19 appeared to have myocarditis. https://t.co/md4p1IoaLh

— Parth Upadhyaya (@pupadhyaya_) September 3, 2020

oh

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EiDe5zeXkAQPJ01?format=jpg&name=small

cool they can also check for CTE posthumously, this sounds super humane

Guys. GUYS. I found the Michael Scott of college football. pic.twitter.com/NdEvpYFlkg

— Laura Albanese (@AlbaneseLaura) September 16, 2020

i don't *really* care about college football, but i definitely appreciate Oklahoma and LSU being beaten at home

hate this guy

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney: 'On board' with Black Lives Matter messages, but not politics

^ A man torn between his need to recruit Black players and his need to soothe the multi-millionaire alumni who bankroll his program.

"i mean i'm okay with black people scoring touchdowns, that's gotta count for something"

xp apparently this all started because a 'law enforcement officer' called into dabo's radio show and asked him if he supported 'these people'

anyway he's old school, grew up in alabama, can't be expected to let the coloreds mess up the uniforms or make money or be 'political'

totally understandable racist behavior, who could blame him except everyone

SABAN HAS THE RONA

:-0

hope he's ok, but the SEC's covid attitude has been sickening, and the league deserves a dose of reality

LSU/Florida has been postponed until Dec. 12

hopefully Alabama's AD recruited another, younger 5-star coach that is ready to take saban's place, and saban will never get another opportunity as he watches his dream slip away, hobbled on the sideline.

cold but fair

UK won at Tennessee for the first time since like 1986 and biggest win by points since like 1932 today.

Kentucky has some more O-linemen that will be playing in the NFL soon.

Alabama will definitely not let Saban transfer without setting out a year.

Saban's test was apparently a false positive. He's had three negative tests since and we be on the sideline tonight. Cool.

He released a statement, "Don't be afraid of covid."

everyone who goes into remission should blab to the world “don’t be afraid of cancer!”

aaaaand trevor lawrence has covid

btw wtf nebraska

'we're not allowed to catch covid from wisconsin, so please let us catch it from chattanooga'

Indiana whupped the Wolverines today. Michigan looked slow. Harbaugh might be joining you know who in looking for a new job in January.

Good day all around.

Indiana's Michael Penix Jr. should start getting some talk as a big QB to watch and like many lefty QBs he's kind of fun to watch. Big thing with him is just not getting hurt again.

https://wgntv.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2020/11/GettyImages-1284436894.jpg?w=1280&h=720&crop=1

they shouldn't be playing, but at least it's resulted in michigan and penn state getting fucking smoked

They got Michigan State now too...knock wood they can complete the set by beating the Buckeyes next week.

It would figure that IU would have their season of the century in the middle of a plague.

lol the first play roller coaster

Sports books made some $$$$$…

not too sure about that play call

Michigan made some mistakes and survived.

Heck of a game, looking forward to ruining into Feinbaum tomorrow. I’m sure this was a conspiracy.

Alabama on 4th and goal in OT pic.twitter.com/biJPW20L2k

— Sully Engels (@sullyengels) January 2, 2024

just take a knee

Was just thinking about how cool it would be if the College Football Playoff didn't exist and the conferences were still intact and Washington and Michigan were facing off in the motherfucking Rose Bowl.

i was at the game yesterday and yeah, that is the best place in the world to watch a football game. immaculate vibes. everyone talks about the mountains but the trees add a lot, especially when the sun goes down

The call on third down was baffling.

I've only been to a music festival on the nearby golf course. It's a great spot. Congrats to Michigan fans! Both lines looked really good. Hopefully the 'ship is as thrilling as yesterday's games.

if washington had lost because their guy got hurt and stopped the clock . . . that would have been really something

in any case, i'm not sure their defense will be up to the task next week

btw that enormous jadevon clowney hit (against michigan!) was ten years ago yesterday; time really flies

My sister is a UW grad, which is my only, rather tenuous connection to any of the four schools in the playoff. So, I'll pull for them for that reason, also because I'd like to see a west coast team win, and Michigan fans, while maybe not as obnoxious as THE Ohio State fans, are pretty damn close. Their defense will have their hands full, for sure, although they did an adequate job last night.

the broad strokes of this match up -- line domination vs electric skill talent -- usually ends up going in one direction, tho texas' DL is great and washington was generally able to handle them esp at the OT spots. the kinda moves penix was making in the pocket last night to avoid free rushers up the middle are prob not sustainable, michigan is gonna get sacks. can washington offset that w/ big plays? it's possible but it's a tough place to be

michigan is going to try to win with long drives, shortening the game so each time they stop the penix offense will be more meaningful. tho washington has the 121 ranked pass defense - maybe finally michigan will air it out?

i doubt it, but we will see. gonna be a fun game.

the stats really don't favor UW. But it must look a little bit like the TCU matchup? UM, like every college team, can always beat themselves. Penix tends to show up in the big games.

yeah i hope that the more normal preparation time will help michigan focus up and avoid their usual bowl game mistakes. they made a lot of them yesterday and still pulled it out, they probably can't do that twice.

I am all in favor of Michigan making their usual bowl game mistakes.

voodoo are you going?

my personal math: normally root against any of the top big ten schools. but also washington declined my (admittedly utterly half-assed) application to grad school 30 years ago. i've kinda extra hated michigan since the fab five. but also i know people in ann arbor and it's nice. so mostly it comes down to how much i fucking loathe jim harbaugh (and also the wolverines' whole us-against-the-world schtick whenever harbaugh has to sit in the booth or whatever). will he go lay flowers on bo schembechler's grave this week? ffs

i think they'll probably win tho, and anyway seeing the SEC shut down is not without its merits

i went yesterday! logistically i had to choose between the rose bowl and the possible championship, and i always wanted to go to the rose bowl

Now for a less fun nugget for UW fans: The Huskies currently rank 44th in defensive SP+. The last national champion to rank outside the top 30 on D? Oklahoma. In *1950*.

The worst title defense since then: 2010 Auburn was 27th. And it took CAM NEWTON to overcome that.

— Bill Connelly (@ESPN_BillC) January 4, 2024

the stats suggest it's a long shot. However, stats suggested Oregon was a long shot.

washington also has 3 legit NFL WRs and uses them heavily, which is not the case for most underdogs. so you can at least envision how washington *could* win. i've also heard that their OL is actually pretty legit. but none of that explains how washington's defense keeps its head above water

The OL seems to be good at pass pro. Alabama OL was supposed to be good too, however.

I’d say Washington’s path to victory is probably no different than TCU last year- Michigan makes a boodle of mistakes and QB/team has game of their lives.

washington settling for a FG from inside the 10 on its first drive feels like a death knell to me

^^^

welp

i thought harbaugh let washington hang around a bit when michigan should have been ending it...

mccarthy has looked shaky to put it mildly

but still every drive feels like an uphill climb for washington

would imagine the number of chances washington has to flip this game are dwindling…

well that woulda possibly done it but noooo

hard to swallow that holding call when every completion replay features a Michigan OL with a handful of jersey

Penix and WRs just didn't do it tonight, though

Washington's punter and right tackle are awful

Can't handle JJ's Gino Torretta smiles

we'll find out how they cheated soon enough

Jim thinks of himself as a storyteller, really

voodoo <3

this is pretty great, not gonna lie

With a hard work ethic Inshallah the U of M will return to its glory days.

— Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (@Ahmadinejad1956) October 16, 2018

imo Michigan has no chance in the next game against "Mr. Dream"

Nick Saban is retiring, according to ESPN

Definite changing of the guard with Carroll stepping down and more than likely Bill B. Leaving at NE.

not sure carroll 'stepped down' so much as he was pushed

anyway good for saban getting out at 72; perhaps he should run for president as the youthful option

Tommy Rees was a plant, sent to annoy Saban into retirement.

just learned that sports illustrated's 2023 sportsperson of the year was . . . deion sanders, coach of a college football team that finished 4-8 overall and last in the pac-12 at 1-8

a publication/brand that deserves to die, because wtaf

the selection was made by AI

this is amazing, and i will think of it whenever anyone uses the phrase 'participation trophy'

Former LSU coach Les Miles is suing the school for vacating wins in response to an NCAA infractions case, a move that dropped Miles below the threshold for College Football Hall of Fame qualification.

Miles, who coached LSU from 2005 to 2016, also named the NCAA and the National Football Foundation, which manages the College Football Hall of Fame, as defendants. The lawsuit states he was deprived of property rights to the vacated wins and his nomination for the Hall of Fame, which must be done by those affiliated with an NCAA member school.

In 2023, LSU vacated 37 wins because of recruiting violations stemming from impermissible benefits paid to the father of former player Vadal Alexander by a former booster. The wins coincided with Alexander's playing career from 2012 to 2015 under Miles, who went 37-14 during the stretch. The vacated football wins were announced alongside other penalties for LSU's football and men's basketball programs by the NCAA's Independent Accountability Resolution Process.

The 37 vacated wins dropped Miles' overall record from 145-73, a winning percentage of .665, to 108-73, a winning percentage of .597. Coaches must have a career winning percentage of .600 in at least 100 games to qualify for selection to the College Football Hall of Fame.

those wins were his property!

could Pete Rose try this

fewer smiles