re: Those of you who are calling for JHC's head....

DawgsLife pretty much covered everything (thanks, DL), so I'll just add my $0.02.

As DL said, the issue was about players bringing in money, not whether they get injured (not every player gets injured, btw) or how hard they work (they work hard physically but other students sacrifice their time and energy in other ways to pay for school or to keep their grades where they need to be). The players know the risks. They play football at a university for a shot at millions in the NFL or at least a degree that costs them nothing out-of-pocket that will help them out in life (hopefully) in exchange for playing a sport that they love to play.

The NCAA is officially a non-profit organization, so if they operated exactly like a for-profit business, the IRS would be seeking a lot of money from them. I don't agree with a lot of what the NCAA does, but they are responsible for a lot of money flowing into universities that may not go there otherwise. Some reformation is definitely needed, but I don't think paying players is a necessary step to that end.

Going to UGA (or any big university) does cost a lot of money and most students don't/can't get scholarships of any kind that help them pay for their education. Most students get student loans and wind up spending the next 20 years after graduation paying that off; something I'm doing, myself. Football players with a business degree may have been on equal footing with me when we graduated, but I left with a lot of debt where they were Scot-free in that regard. That, in and of itself, is a major blessing that many of those players won't fully appreciate.

A scholarship is enough, IMO, for the money the players bring to the universities. Those, by themselves, are worth a lot of money, and the players earn them by working hard on the field. But on top of that, attending the university gives them an opportunity to take their talents to the next level. Playing for UGA, for instance, gives NFL scouts a lot more visibility into the skills of the players and increases their chances of being drafted or making a team where they can make millions a year (something that I doubt I'll ever do). That chance alone is worth it, isn't it? It is to those kids. Even if they aren't quite good enough to play football professionally, their "fall back" is an education and degree from the university and connections that will help them get moving in the right direction. My degree didn't come with sweet connections and no one was willing to give me a shot over someone else because they didn't know my name and I didn't play football at their alma mater.

Also, coaches and assistants are paid the same way teachers and presidents (of universities) are paid. They are hired by the university to get the most out of the students/athletes and to improve the standing of the university. Their "compensation" is money and benefits for their work for the university. The "compensation" for the players is development, knowledge, a degree (if they stay), and opportunities that many kids don't get.

Finally, say what you want about our standards at UGA, but we haven't been hurting with recruits and most of the kids on our teams have obeyed the rules (or at least not got caught). I think that says more about JHC than our program. He's got the opportunity to make something of himself. He just has to do his part like everyone else.