Reshaping Athletics

[Mandolorian]

"In the Ivy or D3 case, I wonder if this could backfire for the athletes and result in a reduced athletic experience. Regardless, Dartmouth and the NCAA are going to need better counsel on appeal."

I don't know how this won't backfire on the athletes. Anyone who thinks that "Athletic departments are raking in tons of cash and those poor athletes should get a cut" are naïve to think it doesn't take a ton of cash just to operate those athletic departments. In 2023, only 23 (out of 363) DI athletic departments operated financially in the black. I am sure most people can guess which schools those are, and I doubt Dartmouth, or any of the Ivy League schools are one of the 23.

These Dartmouth kids think they are so smart and that this is going to get them money. Boy I am sure they are going to be surprised when the school decides lets just cut the football program.

[Mandolorian]

And since I am on a rant...it drives me nuts when people complain athletes aren't getting paid. Really? Think about it this way....here is what goes into a full scholarship for an athlete:
Tuition and Fees - can range from $10k to $50k+ depending on the school, in state or out of state, etc...
Room - between $6k and $8k
Board - $4k - $5K
Books - roughly $500-$1k
Cost of Attendance** - Approx $3k
Alston Award ## - Approx $6k
** this is money the athletes get to use for whatever they want
## this is also money athletes can receive as long as they stay academically eligible and remain on the team

So that adds up to on average $50k-$60k per year...and for an athlete that is at a school for 5 years - that is $250,000+ they are being paid.

That doesn't even include these other costs the athletic department has to pay for:
Team travel budget
Uniform budget
Equipment budget
Athletic trainers and doctors
Academic Advisors
Tutors
Professors
Sports Psychologists
Nutritionists
Compliance staff
Coaching Salaries
Strength coaches salaries
Sports Information and media staff
Event staff and all of the people who work the sporting events
Dining hall staff at athletic dining halls
Facilities and maintenance staff
Administrators
Insurance

So where is the money coming from for those expenses? Without them, none of these sports would exist as they do.

The athletes of today have no clue how much they are getting in return to do the sport they love. I believe this generation of spoiled athlete is going to ruin collegiate athletics. I would not be surprised if varsity athletics disappears from all but the top 25-50 schools within the next 10-20 years. Fiscally it barely makes sense now....having to pay these athletes will put the last nail in the coffin.

[Mandolorian]

And don't even get me started on NIL....

[socalstroke]

"In the Ivy or D3 case, I wonder if this could backfire for the athletes and result in a reduced athletic experience. Regardless, Dartmouth and the NCAA are going to need better counsel on appeal."

I don't know how this won't backfire on the athletes. Anyone who thinks that "Athletic departments are raking in tons of cash and those poor athletes should get a cut" are naïve to think it doesn't take a ton of cash just to operate those athletic departments. In 2023, only 23 (out of 363) DI athletic departments operated financially in the black. I am sure most people can guess which schools those are, and I doubt Dartmouth, or any of the Ivy League schools are one of the 23.

These Dartmouth kids think they are so smart and that this is going to get them money. Boy I am sure they are going to be surprised when the school decides lets just cut the football program.

They could try and argue narrowly that BB itself is profitable. The current ask is small but it will grow. They already made comments about expanding conference wide. I agree you could easily see Dartmouth rethink things like prereads, if the rulling were to stand.

[socalstroke]

With slowing revenue growth who takes this on first? College athletics or the IOC?
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2024/ ... lash-grows

[Slim]

How long is that going to last after the first athlete strokes out?

[rowing]

Watching the sport of rowing try to get premier recognition and rewards like revenue sports, only to see rowing get cut instead.....who thought that was a good idea????

[SQUAREdown]

How long is that going to last after the first athlete strokes out?

David Foster Wallace and even Wall-e called this. We’re entertaining ourselves to death.

[socalstroke]

How long is that going to last after the first athlete strokes out?

As long as there is a money making opportunity.

[oldman]

As to the Australian

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6lPCDGlwCs&t=355s

[rowingpun]

And since I am on a rant...it drives me nuts when people complain athletes aren't getting paid. Really? Think about it this way....here is what goes into a full scholarship for an athlete:
Tuition and Fees - can range from $10k to $50k+ depending on the school, in state or out of state, etc...
Room - between $6k and $8k
Board - $4k - $5K
Books - roughly $500-$1k
Cost of Attendance** - Approx $3k
Alston Award ## - Approx $6k
** this is money the athletes get to use for whatever they want
## this is also money athletes can receive as long as they stay academically eligible and remain on the team

So that adds up to on average $50k-$60k per year...and for an athlete that is at a school for 5 years - that is $250,000+ they are being paid.

This has always been my stance as well. You're not even factoring in the time cost of money either, a graduate with a significant scholarship will have a very small, if any, loan payments. Especially for those athletes who are told they'll play in the league and end up stocking shelves or playing basketball in Albania.

You can get a scholarship if you graduate, you can get paid if you don't go to class.

[SQUAREdown]

I think part of what gets lost in this is the tacit fact that a lot of college is a charade. It’s a 4-5 year pleasure cruise mostly designed to facilitate lazy employer hiring based on credentialism and network connections. Everyone knows this and so permission is granted for all kinds of nonsense. Like Stanford having more admin than students. Or like Ivy League basketball players with 10 fans in the gym asking to get paid. So if you’re charging 90k a year to mostly pay for salaries of non-rev generating paper pushers, why would it seem so ridiculous to throw some money at non revenue generating basketball players?

[bz]

ESPN and the College Football Playoff have agreed on a six-year, $7.8 billion extension that will make the network the home of the 12-team tournament through the 2031-32 season.

Rowing was not included in the new eight-year TV deal worth nearly $1 billion that the NCAA signed with ESPN to cover 40 of its championships.

'Nuff said.

[SwissSculler]

Emotions aside and looking from the outside in, it seems possible that women’s rowing (as NCAA sport) is done by 2029/2030. I hope I am wrong from the bottom of my heart, but… or even more likely, the NCAA as we know it is gone (with same consequence for women’s rowing).

Or am I reading into this completely the wrong way?

[fullmetal]

Actually, I do not see women's rowing going away since women's rowing tends to balance football in terms of Title IX resource allocation. If football becomes quasi-professional and leaves the Title IX equation though, then women's rowing suddenly loses its administrative raison d'etre.

While rowing won't be on tv, it's not without utility as long as Title IX is the law.