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re: Sounds like the season is on life support
Posted on 8/10/20 at 9:13 am to The Spleen
Posted on 8/10/20 at 9:13 am to The Spleen
quote:
I think to this point, the difference is injuries are a known risk, while long term health impacts from Covid are still not entirely known.
Which is why canceling the football season while also keeping students on campus makes no effing sense! You're worried about liability and long-term health issues, yet you're still going to allow in-person classes to take place? Could someone please explain this logic to me?
This post was edited on 8/10/20 at 9:14 am
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Posted on 8/10/20 at 9:18 am to RollTide1987
quote:
Which is why canceling the football season while also keeping students on campus makes no effing sense!
I don't disagree, but these decisions are being made by wholly different bodies. If the SEC cancels the football season, it's not the presidents, chancellors, and administrators making that decision, it's the athletic departments.
Posted on 8/10/20 at 9:25 am to The Spleen
quote:
If the SEC cancels the football season, it's not the presidents, chancellors, and administrators making that decision, it's the athletic departments.
Untrue. The ADs of the Big Ten and Pac-12 wanted to play football. That much is clear. It was the university presidents who have reportedly brought the ax down on the season.
Posted on 8/10/20 at 9:45 am to RollTide1987
quote:
It was the university presidents who have reportedly brought the ax down on the season.
There are two things at play here:
(1) Avoidance of unbelievable civil liability for both student-athlete, patrons, or anyone connected with a college game day setting.
(2) The NCAA will not jeopardize the amateur status of it's highest revenue sportsman by basically requiring them to be on campus when others don't have to. It's as an absolute body blow to their 95% discounted cost model.
What has always puzzled me is this - why do college football fans think there is "too much money at stake not to play?" While there is definitely a large chunk of tv money that can be procured by playing, the football team still derives more than half of its revenue from tickets, donations stemming from tickets, high-dollar in-game sponsorship, etc... They don't build fancy skyboxes because they love their fans so much - they do so because the revenue margins are infinitely higher than the average joe sitting in the UU, NN, or SS sections on Saturdays.
The cost-benefit analysis of not playing could have been seen from a mile away.
Comparing it to the NFL is also silly. The NFL is run by owners whose average net worth individually is more than any SEC school's entire endowment. They also pay their athletes and undergo constant, rigorous labor rule revisions through the CBA negotiations (completed by multi-millionaire counsel), as well as in special circumstances, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
College football is big business. But the most wealthy NCAA team last year in terms of revenue (A&M) isn't worth half the enterprise value of the least valuable franchise, the Buffalo Bills.
Everyone here is staunchly against paying athletes. Well, to protect this curious prism of what amateurism looks like, cancelling the season was an absolute necessity.
Posted on 8/10/20 at 10:02 am to ATLabama
quote:
Avoidance of unbelievable civil liability
This is bullshite. 13 of the 14 Big Ten schools are still planning on having students on campus this year. How is that not a liability in and of itself? How is it any different from having players playing football?
Posted on 8/10/20 at 10:09 am to RollTide1987
quote:
How is that not a liability in and of itself?
It is.
And, please bookmark this - when there is a COVID outbreak at any of these schools, the student body will be sent home. Why? To avoid negligence claims in a... civil liability suit.
C'mon now. It's just one fall man. You'll survive.
We all want football, but I think we can agree it's better off to just get this good and gone, and get back to what makes college football not a watered-down, free farm league for the NFL: big crowds, packed college towns, tailgating, students on campus, the band and the fight songs, the RVs, the smell of bar-b-que rolling down University at 8 am with a whiskey-coke in your console... that's the magic. That's what is worth bringing back.
This post was edited on 8/10/20 at 10:12 am
Posted on 8/10/20 at 10:09 am to ATLabama
There's another issue here that you failed to mention: the presidents of the schools are making these decisions. In most cases, the president is an academic who tolerates the athletic department as a necessary evil of a large university; they are not in favor of the emphasis and finances placed on the big sports of football and basketball. But with the dollars they bring in, from boosters and alumni, on top of the TV money and ticket sales, they accepted it. They also were envious that at the big time programs like most of the P5, the athletic department and the AD had as much or more clout as the president.
COVID has suddenly presented them with the opportunity to reverse years of growth of money and power in athletics and they are seizing it. They have a once in a century chance to emasculate the athletic department and put them in their place and by God, they are going to use it. We are fortunate at Alabama that Dr. Witt at least appears to embrace athletics and seems able to peacefully coexist with them. That's not the case at most schools.
COVID has suddenly presented them with the opportunity to reverse years of growth of money and power in athletics and they are seizing it. They have a once in a century chance to emasculate the athletic department and put them in their place and by God, they are going to use it. We are fortunate at Alabama that Dr. Witt at least appears to embrace athletics and seems able to peacefully coexist with them. That's not the case at most schools.
Posted on 8/10/20 at 10:18 am to ATLabama
quote:
And, please bookmark this - when there is a COVID outbreak at any of these schools, the student body will be sent home. Why? To avoid negligence claims in a... civil liability suit.
Then go ahead and send EVERYONE home. Why risk having an on-campus outbreak? If they're being pro-active and canceling football out of fear of an outbreak on the football team, then they should apply that to the rest of campus right now.
This post was edited on 8/10/20 at 10:19 am
Posted on 8/10/20 at 10:25 am to RollTide1987
quote:
Then go ahead and send EVERYONE home. Why risk having an on-campus outbreak?
The schools won't risk not being able to collect full tuition and fees. This bait-and-switch has been discussed here, ad naseum.
quote:
If they're being pro-active and canceling football out of fear of an outbreak on the football team, then they should apply that to the rest of campus right now.
Agreed. A lot of schools have already done this.
Posted on 8/10/20 at 10:33 am to ATLabama
quote:
The schools won't risk not being able to collect full tuition and fees. This bait-and-switch has been discussed here, ad naseum.
I know and it's the height of hypocrisy. If they were so worried about this virus and the safety of their student-athletes they would send everyone home right now. But they're not. They're worried about losing money from either lack of tuition or lawsuit. I hope they're all damned to Hell.
This post was edited on 8/10/20 at 10:35 am
Posted on 8/10/20 at 10:40 am to RollTide1987
quote:
If they were so worried about the players they would send everyone home.
You are correct - they aren't. They are worried about protecting the money coming in, and safeguarding themselves from it going out.
If there's a positive to come out of this, it's that people hopefully stop thinking that college sports are some wholesome, God-fearing tradition that goes hand-in-hand with basic human values.
The athletic departments at P5 schools are no different than the C-Suite executives of NFL teams. They want your money. They want as much as they can possibly get from you. They will sell sponsorships for any part of the game and will do anything, for a price.
The only difference is, to maintain their business model, they have to have a talented labor pool that is compensated so deeply below the market value of their services, they must adhere to strict guidelines that protect this cost line-item, by any means necessary.
If that means shutting down the season under the guise of player safety to prevent them from being put in a situation that would put greater contrast between players and the student body, so be it.
Posted on 8/10/20 at 11:55 am to ATLabama
I agree should just send everyone home but as some have mentioned, especially for the athletes, this may be their best living option they have ever had.
Also to note the NCAA has yet to approve an extra year of eligibility, but I am told will do so if everyone cancels their season.
Also to note the NCAA has yet to approve an extra year of eligibility, but I am told will do so if everyone cancels their season.
Posted on 8/10/20 at 11:56 am to TideWarrior
They want to keep these athletes on campus even if they are taking online courses. Many of these athletes already struggle in the classroom and need the support they get while being on campus. If they sent them home many may not be able to return due to academics.
Posted on 8/10/20 at 12:00 pm to TideWarrior
quote:I don't see why they couldn't do that. With most of the students taking classes from home, there should be enough dorm rooms available for every need based student to have their own space.
They want to keep these athletes on campus even if they are taking online courses.
Posted on 8/10/20 at 12:07 pm to pvilleguru
quote:
I don't see why they couldn't do that. With most of the students taking classes from home, there should be enough dorm rooms available for every need based student to have their own space.
They plan on doing that. The only concerns right now is how the NCAA will handle the situation and adapt. Several issues need to be addressed from what I am told. Especially with year of eligibility being blown and what type of workouts/training will be allowed.
Posted on 8/10/20 at 1:09 pm to RollTide1987
quote:
Then go ahead and send EVERYONE home. Why risk having an on-campus outbreak?
Because they want to get that last tuition check before they send everyone home and "transition" to being Pheonix University Online.
Pretty simple
Posted on 8/10/20 at 4:09 pm to RollTide1987
Tell that to Kevin Turner's wife and kids.
Posted on 8/10/20 at 4:11 pm to RollTide1987
quote:
Untrue. The ADs of the Big Ten and Pac-12 wanted to play football. That much is clear. It was the university presidents who have reportedly brought the ax down on the season.
Correct.
Most presidents are lukewarm about football at best (Andrew Sorensen, anyone?).
The governors will have a say in this as well. Remember, the Governor of Alabama is head of all university boards and appoints all board members.
This post was edited on 8/10/20 at 4:13 pm
Posted on 8/10/20 at 5:09 pm to ATLabama
quote:Why is it just one fall?
C'mon now. It's just one fall man. You'll survive.
Posted on 8/10/20 at 5:12 pm to TideCPA
quote:
Why is it just one fall?
I don't see anything much changing barring a vaccine
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