A problem that could arise with giving football players money to pay for normal is expenses is that athletes (both men and women) in the other sports would want the same thing.
I totally agree. A lot of these kids come from families that are so poor that there is just no way they can help them financially at all. A small stipend to cover basic necessities or an occasional date seems reasonable. I like your idea of the parents being comped for reasonable travel expenses to a game if needed.
The $5k/player would increase ALL FBS football budgets by $425k ($5k x 85). I think all 125 FBS schools could handle that but not 100% sure. The parent's travel would be higher and create a divide between the haves and have nots, which I certainly don't want to see happen, and I think it's crossing the line.
If the "haves" (ie "BCS" schools) want to push the "have nots" out of division 1, which i think they do and will eventually happen, they could easily enact rules to do so. The only thing holding them back is the NCAA and Slive's comments today indicate they will play hardball with the NCAA in the very near future.
Personally, I'd like to see rules that allow for a level playing field and don't create a divide. I think the player's stipend does that. Not so sure about parent's travel. Today is the first time I've ever heard of that.
I refuse to watch the circus that is SEC media days. Less than an hour away from Hoover but I can still smell the stinch of manliness oozing out.
I agree that it's impossible for these kids to make any money due to football being a year round obligation now. So there are only two viable options IMO.
1). Pay players "X" amount over their scholarship. This figure should be based upon what an average student would make having summer job. Somewhere between 5-8k would suffice, and this would be distributed some how by the NCAA, NOT the schools.
2). A football dead period from mid May-end of July. Football players are completely removed from any football relate obligations.. If they want to workout it's on their own accord but they have no communication what so ever with any football staff, not even Equipment Managers. This would allow them to get a job and (gasp) be kids. Holy hell what a novel idea. Unfortunately this would never even be an option due to the impact it would cause to the product on the field. (sigh)
Side note-sorry I think it's the sole responsibility of the parent to the finance the trip to see their child play, no one else's. I know I'm a heartless a$$ hole.
Great post.
And finally, you're absolutely correct, the schools owes no obligation to a player's parents. If you want to see your child play every weekend, then that's a conversation you should have as a family. Perhaps it'll re-prioritize your college choices (or come to the conclusion that getting the best education despite distance is the most important).
I do, however, think that compensation for parent's travel could be a great incentive for schools such as ND that rely on having to recruit on a more national scale. Some players do come from disadvantaged backgrounds financially and it would place a hardship on the parents to travel to attend games. I do agree those type of conversations should take place prior to a player committing, but I would hope travel distance would not be a factor in their ultimate decision simply based on ability to pay for it to see their kid play.
You're absolutely right in that ND would stand to benefit as much as any school in the country if the Ol' Ball Coach gets his way. I read the transcript from his media day press conference, and watched some video, and it wouldn't surprise me if he had a few drinks in the coach's lounge before addressing the media. There's not a coach in the country that likes throwing back a few brews more than Spurrier.
But, to date, he's the only one talking about parent stipends. Player stipends are coming in the next 2 to 10 years, but it's very unlikely we'll ever see a parent stipend instituted.
And I thought parents in the SEC already received stipends...how much did you get when your son signed at Bama?
Maybe I should have held out a little bit longer... at least upgrade to the Courtyard by Marriot... but i digress.
At least my son is getting a top notch SEC education. That's worth something... right?
You definitely should have pushed for the Courtyard. But I'm happy you're happy. Word on the street is many SEC parents were disappointed to learn their compensation may be getting cut to only $300/game.
I've always believed players/parents should have this attitude and be satisfied with the full ride education instead of acting like the University owed them more than that. I'm starting to see the light on the player stipend issue and have changed my mind on it, but this reminds me of an experience I had with Matt Leinart's dad. I was in Miami for the 2004 NC game (USC vs Oklahoma) and ran into Bob Leinart at the USC hotel. We had spent some time together recently and started talking about life since Matt won the Heisman. Mr. Leinart became angry that USC had sold something like 40,000 Leinart jerseys since he won and Matt wasn't going to see a dime from it. He went on for a few minutes about how Matt should be compensated for all the money he was bringing to the university. I found his attitude towards this completely ridiculous considering all USC had done for his son, but responded with something like "yea, that's crazy" and changed the subject.
Notre Dame football: Hey, Coach ND brand helps game
I like the Brian Kelly answer...Take a number. Haha
Nothing, nowhere, no how, comes close to Notre Dame when it comes to branding a product.
Notre Dame’s involvement in the ACC’s non-BCS second-tier bowl lineup has made its autonomy even that much sweeter.
There’s no flat-sum settlement amount that will replace the bells and whistles of a Notre Dame appearance.
I can't help but have a childish, and somewhat devious, grin when I read articles like this.
Some favorite quotes: