Coach_247_365

Robert Earl Keen!

Never knew that. Looks like more layers that will be undone in the coming years unless changes are made to the current college landscape. Congress will need to pass another act to counter act the swing of power from one group to another. There has to be some middle ground. Unfortunately, it doesn't exist right now and college sports will suffer as a result. Many fans, coaches, donors, and even players (gasp) think what we're currently going through is a crock.

NFL probably loves it. They get these players now after 5-6 years in the minors and don't have to pay rookie contracts to those who are unproven. Wouldn't be surprised if NFL teams start pitching in on the NIL money too. At this point, nothing would surprise me.

I was only giving my opinion of why the college game is trying to mirror the NFL while not having to play by any money rules. Look, I get it. The one thing we agree on is athletes getting paid for their services. I just feel like if the employee gets to call all the shots about their compensation and the employer either complies or l loses the employee, then so be it? That can be a standard for employers to strive for (universities in this case) but most are not going to be able to keep up with the all of the demands from their employees (athletes in this case) and will have to fold. VT can't hold that same standard for long, especially if the wins aren't coming in droves. To think that any coach is going to change that or our fan base can financially support it is short-sighted. You can't have it both ways. ** Edited by Coach_247_365 at 1/5/2025, 3:14:53 PM

You think the NFL likes playing on Thursdays? Heck no. They absolutely hate it. They went to it because of the money college football was making by being the "only game in town ". Supply and demand. Empty NFL stadiums? How about NFL on Saturdays? Why? People will come and have Sunday to travel back and ready for the work week. NFL is a business. College football is on it's way to the same. A player who will never play in the NFL can make that NFL money now in college and without penalty or having to wait out a rookie contract. Why disguise it any longer? Turn it loose. ** Edited by Coach_247_365 at 1/5/2025, 10:51:38 AM

You were talking about capitalism in a previous post when I mentioned that non revenue sports at certain schools will cease to exist. I took it as you saying it was all a part of the status quo compared to the money makers and a by product of the times. My apologies if that's not what you meant. Marshall will not be relevant again in football for the next decade with the current NIL and transfer portal landscape. The number of big time transfers and recruits that are needed to stay relevant aren't going there because they can't afford to bring them in. Literally, nearly the whole program hit the portal. They can't buy their way out of that mess.

TV coverage is getting better and better and has surpassed the in person experience. The cost, the weather elements, the traffic? Best judge of where it's headed? Just watch the current student body. Tailgate, jump for Sandman, take some selfies, and check the score. Game not going well? Back to the tailgate/house/party and head downtown. They are the future season ticket holders. The same generation that would rather send a text message to someone beside them than have an actual conversation. Not a dig. Just reality.

Revenue college sports won't end for the majority of schools. We both agree there. I should have prefaced with end of the era of college sports as we have known it. Yes, non revenue sports at some schools will cease to exist. Title IX does provide protection when there is a comparable sport for both. However, with football that doesn't exist. The non makers rely on the money makers. Just how it is. Schools will have to adjust what they cut which will effect and influence schools, their fan bases, and ultimately their donors. Let's go deeper, what does a D1 school like Marshall do about their football program? Huntington isn't a metropolis. Their program will be set back so far that any coach who takes that job might need to have their head examined. So schools like Marshall should call it capitalism at it's finest and close up shop? We like college sports because of the variety they bring and being closer to our homes typically. Under the current landscape that will eventually crush athletic departments all over the country without reform of the NIL and transfer portal. Not back tracking, just diving deeper BG_Hokie. We're both passionate about this.

Agreed 💯.

From a very credible source at a P2 school playing in the final four; what the athletes are getting now based on and compared to when this first started is probably the most shocking. Now, not only are they getting more money but skipping class (nothing new but they didn't come to play school is the most common thread), skipping mandatory workouts, no shows to team meetings, and some even laying out of practice. The players went from having no power to having all of it. The balance is so far out of whack. This very credible source cited how at VT we were still doing things the right way; and our coaches and the majority of our athletes were going about it the right way. Notice I said the majority of our players, not all. I think athletes initially were like, "I'll ask for a new ride and 150K." Then donors were like, "That's it?" Fast forward just a year ahead and now athletes are saying things like, "A ride, tickets for my whole family in a suite, a house for my family to relocate, and a million...or I'm gone." What these 18-22 year olds are asking for in a year is more than I've worked my whole career for. Either they are professionals are they aren't. Hire a college football commissioner, remove the student athlete tags, hire a GM, form a salary cap, and turn it loose. I'd be willing to bet the NFL wouldn't like that competition on the weekend. Wonder why we've seen so many NFL games on Thursdays and Saturdays? College football has corned that market for decades. NFL sees the dollar signs. They might be the only ones who can show the way to harnessing this bull that is college football. Mind blowing. ** Edited by Coach_247_365 at 1/5/2025, 9:57:45 AM ** Edited by Coach_247_365 at 1/5/2025, 9:59:09 AM

At the surface when this first came to light with NIL and the transfer portal I thought it would be well received by most and help level the metaphorical playing field to get athletes. Wow...was I wrong. I think one of the two could have existed in a way to help college athletics evolve, however, both NIL and the transfer portal coming to light at the same time has increased the gap and will crush athletic departments all over the country not in major money markets, select P2 schools, and those will the richest donors. It's absurd the amount of money that's being thrown around. Mind blowing.

Until there are some parameters put into place, the universities will be forced to strap their athletic departments to the cash cows (revenue sports). As a result, the non revenue sports which I'm sure many including yourself could care less about except those student athletes, their coaches, and their families who are actually invested in them. Once upon a time training, practice, and game facilities and housing, were a major selling point to get athletes. They still are but not to the point of someone receiving or not receiving 1+ million to play ball. We went from one way to an extremely different way primarily at the slap of a gavel. One day it was this and the next it was drastically different. That difference has not settled in the minds of fans like myself. It obviously hasn't for long time, respected coaches like Saban, Tony Bennett, and Jim Laranaga as they have all been vocal about how this is killing college sports. Will revenue college sports end? No. Will they be different? Absolutely. Will people return to watch it? The future remains to be seen. I will tune in because I love watching sports, but I'm not sure I will load up the truck on the weekend, make the drive to Lane, and spend lots of money as I have every weekend for decades. It's a shame because I really do want Pry, his staff, and the Hokies football program to succeed. However, in the current landscape I'm not sure it's possible and unfortunately fans who have no real understanding will point the finger at coaches. They didn't ask for this either, but they're trying to learn and evolve too. Comparing this to mortgage rates and the housing industry is apples to oranges, unless you're speaking of the rich being the only ones who can afford to own a home. In that vein I can draw a parallel. The richest can afford homes while others can only afford rent. The big money markets and the big name P2 schools will corner the market and everyone else will be feeder schools to them. ** Edited by Coach_247_365 at 1/5/2025, 9:17:03 AM

So 18-22 year olds who are accepting large sums of money, gifts, and services from programs and their boosters, then playing chess against those very same donors has nothing to do with the current state of our program and many others around the country? Got it. Wake up Hokie fans! This isn’t about coaching. As Nick Nolte said in Blue Chips…”It’s about money…*** **** money!” It’s not about coaches, it's not about kids, and it’s certainly not about football. Who can blame anyone for jumping at life changing financial resources? At that age, with your youth and athletic abilities who wouldn’t do everything they could to set yourself up for life? WE WOULD! Unfortunately, universities and coaches will take the fall for making money hand over fist for decades. This could have largely been avoided if there were some parameters put around how this newly allowed financial freedom would take place. Let me be clear, I take no issue with NIL and players wanting to make money that is a direct reflection of their skill set comparatively speaking. I don't think coaches are against their athletes making the kind of money they are making. What I’m not ok with and I think most coaches would agree; is how they are able to take the money, gifts, and services and run to the next program… literally what we are seeing. Agreeing to pay a player 1+ million, and they leave after the season for 1.5+ million plus somewhere else with no penalties? This won’t last…it can’t last. So it’s a money grab and it doesn’t stop until some group of administrators, politicians, and/or law makers step in and somehow add some legal parameters. The longer it goes, the worse it will get. For those who think it only effects the revenue sports have no idea how an athletic department is run. The revenue sports pay for the majority of what non revenue sports have at their disposal. When this eventually comes to an end? How many universities will have cut many of their non revenue programs? This is the beginning of the end of current college athletics until change and direction happens sooner than later. ** Edited by Coach_247_365 at 1/5/2025, 8:16:23 AM

Agreed.

Traditionalist here and absolutely in tune with the business model of it all. That's the side I'm speaking of. The numbers of the current student body are irrelevant. They aren't the ones donating the money, heck most of them leave after halftime of a game they get in cheaper/free for anyway. Most won't be in a position to make sizable donations anytime soon. We don't exist in the money market that many of the SEC and those schools in major television markets reside in. If our ability to pay and keep recruits at VT were based on the loyalty of our fan base we'd probably be in the top tier of college football. Until something drastically changes the rich will get richer and the rest will be left to pick the bones of college sports. What many don't understand is that football is the engine that drives athletic departments and provides resources for the others. When football fails...the ability to fund other athletic projects and interests fall with it over time.

It's all about show me the money...

I've been coming to Lane Stadium and Bowl games with my father, other family members, and our loyal group of tailgaters since the late 80s when Beamer took over. Now I'm bringing my own kids and hoping to give them an experience that has been shared by our family for decades. The game day experience doesn't just happen. There's planning, travel, food, and ultimately money that is spent multiple weekends during the fall in Blacksburg. At the very least we have to try and come close to the hype that surrounded this past season. I just don't see that happening and there will be multiple empty seats in Lane next fall as a result. The casual fan isn't going to show up unless it's a solid matchup. I hope I'm wrong.

Something has to be put into place whether that's binding contracts or some type of incentive to stay for more than one year. Graduates who have given their time to the program is one thing, but those leaving to chase the money is another. I don't blame them at all. It's the wild west and only the richest universities and donors will survive. VT is not among that clientele and never will be. Tech fans? We're gonna have to adjust our eyes and our expectations. This gets worse before it gets better all over the country. This doesn't have a thing to do with coaching. It's who has the deepest pockets. Unless you're a multimillionaire, no amount of money you send/spend coming to games, buying season tickets, and/or merchandise is going to change who we are at VT. We are a mid major money market here. I despise what college athletics have become.

Posted the same thing in comments on Andy's story. Our LBs were nowhere near the ball carrier on so many 1st down running plays. When they did catch up it was 7-8 yards down the field getting sealed on the edge a lot of the time.