Hey folks - as a member of the DawgNation community, please remember to abide by simple rules of civil engagement with other members:
- Please no inappropriate usernames (remember that there may be youngsters in the room)
- Personal attacks on other community members are unacceptable, practice the good manners your mama taught you when engaging with fellow Dawg fans
- Use common sense and respect personal differences in the community: sexual and other inappropriate language or imagery, political rants and belittling the opinions of others will get your posts deleted and result in warnings and/ or banning from the forum
- 3/17/19 UPDATE -- We've updated the permissions for our "Football" and "Commit to the G" recruiting message boards. We aim to be the best free board out there and that has not changed. We do now ask that all of you good people register as a member of our forum in order to see the sugar that is falling from our skies, so to speak.
- Please no inappropriate usernames (remember that there may be youngsters in the room)
- Personal attacks on other community members are unacceptable, practice the good manners your mama taught you when engaging with fellow Dawg fans
- Use common sense and respect personal differences in the community: sexual and other inappropriate language or imagery, political rants and belittling the opinions of others will get your posts deleted and result in warnings and/ or banning from the forum
- 3/17/19 UPDATE -- We've updated the permissions for our "Football" and "Commit to the G" recruiting message boards. We aim to be the best free board out there and that has not changed. We do now ask that all of you good people register as a member of our forum in order to see the sugar that is falling from our skies, so to speak.
Smart among those who want college football’s ‘Wild West’ tamed
System
Posts: 11,467 admin
Smart among those who want college football’s ‘Wild West’ tamed
At this rate, college football fans might not recognize the game in a year or two.
Comments
Thanks Bill for another interesting article. One of the “portal” rules that is unclear to me is what happens if an athlete enters the portal and then decides to remain at their university. Is the university required to honor their scholarship or can they say goodbye and don’t let the door hit you on your way out? Most of the players who have left UGA were athletes who weren’t going to get much playing time. In fact, we definitely needed some players to leave to get us to the magic #85 scholarship limit. Go Dawgs!!!
The thing I suspect Jimbo Fisher of doing—is using the total dollar amount in the collective to influence recruits. I imagine they say,“See how much money is in our collective? You have a better chance of a big payday if you sign with us.” Not really making an offer—not really signing anyone and no booster is involved. As Bill said these collectives should be forced out of recruiting. In my opinion, even mention of them by coaches or program staff should be prohibited.
BubbaBill Their scholarships are still good as long as they're a member of the team in good standing, I believe..
Didn't notice who wrote the article until I'd already decided it was superior coverage of the subject.
Thanks, Bill.
Go, Dawgs!
"In the past, it never was fair that ... college athletes were restricted in their ability to change programs, while coaches could come and go as they pleased."
I've always been in favor of the athletes being able to make money off their own names. It's just common sense, and it was always ridiculous that they weren't allowed to do so.
On the other hand, I've never bought the logic quoted above as an argument for having (essentially) no restrictions on transfers. Unlike the ban on players making some cash in their free time, the transfer rules were put in place for the good and stability of the sport.
But let's put aside the argument on the benefits or detriments of having transfer rules and focus on the most commonly presented logic behind the stance of doing away with them: if the coaches can do it, why can't the players? Well, is that not how it works in most-every industry? The people who have shown a penchant for the work - who have the talent and work ethic required to make it to the top of their industry - have an opportunity to do so over the years and decades that they decide to dedicate to the work. And those people end up enjoying considerably more benefits than the people just starting out straight out of high school.
Sure, there are arguments to be made about fairness to workers in general, corporate greed, corruption, etc. And those would be perfectly fair and valid points - again, in general. But the suggestion that college athletics/football is the industry where new workers don't enjoy the same benefits as the people who have been at it for decades - and that that is a wrong that must be righted - has never rung true to me.
Bill, if that’s correct and Georgia is at their limit of 85 scholarship players…..then what happens at the last minute if Clay Webb and Daran Branch (2 unsigned Dawgs in the Transfer Portal) decide to return? That doesn’t sound fair for UGA, but life is not always fair. Go Dawgs!
It is a bit ironic that NIL is given teeth by the potential of antitrust litigation. By definition, antitrust is supposed to even the playing field and provide fairer competition. I believe with these collectives entering the fray, that intention creates a nightmare, and our game may be irrevocably altered.
Great write up, Bill. Someone needs to fix the issues you raise ASAP. The fiasco that is happening was easy to predict, given the lack of oversight and rules. The whole thing is just ridiculous.