...and honestly, half the white collar workers in the US don't really do anything...they send emails, go to meetings, but add absolutely zero value to the organization. There's no product that they create, there's no revenue with their name on it, etc. They do nothing but maybe, maybe try to add worthless process that you can never convince me adds any real value, everyone ignore anyway, and that's if they do anything whatsoever.

started my own business. There was/is always enormous pressure to be productive and generate revenue and profits. People were continuously being cut, even some that where incredibly successful, but they were making too much money in a down economy. Those are the saddest and hardest to deal with, but it happened a lot. It even happened to me, which is why I started my own company because I didn't want to put my destiny in someone else's hands again. That and I paid down a bunch of debt and could afford to do it. I will say this though, the income was very good, and it is the ole saying, "high risk, high reward, low risk, low reward." ** Edited by Stech at 4/24/2024, 9:32:35 PM

Some schools have close to a 1:1 ratio of administative staff to students, and a huge number have more administrators than faculty.

You should see the inside of a Fortune 50 financial company. Tons and tons of people who have to be there for regulatory reasons but don’t really do anything to help the place. For athletic departments, they are actually fairly small size as a business. I think they range from $10 million to $200 million. So small and middle size businesses. At that size they should be lean with emphasis on operations and compliance and athlete support. And companies that size should not be negotiating golden parachutes worth tens of millions of dollars for coaches who fail. That’s just stupid money management.

Personal experience in the military: There was an Army major who worked next to me in the J6 who was coordinating a communications project in the Caribbean, and she was on the phone to one of the contractors every day "holding his hand" one minute, and chewing his butt the next. One step in that job's basic planning was that all materials had to arrive at a port by a certain day in order to be loaded onto a ship that was taking everything down to be installed. If she wasn't there to "honcho" that project, it would have failed miserably. (I still don't believe he got everything there on time, and had to fly some stuff down to the island commercially at a significantly increased expense.) There are some "white collar" workers in jobs that are essential to ensure projects are completed, and they have to work with and around complete idiots to succeed. Bottom line: some are very good, and essential to completing tasks, and others are completely worthless.

was living in the Boston area. Had a job offer in Harford with an insurance company, and decided that all they do is get paid to shuffle papers. Much to my Dad's chagrin, I turned down the everlasting path to middle management, and struck out on my own. I didn't see any value in shuffling papers, and the idea of being in a cubicle was abhorrent to me. Business has always been a part of college football, but it seemed to me it was more about the football back then, and less about the business part. Today, athletic departments seem to be more about shuffling paper than football. I hope this business stuff gets settled, and we get back to football - but the money just might be too much to ever get there again.

I hate to tell you because you probably won't like it. The new big money that has just scratched the surface is GAMBLING. I know, I hate it too, but when ESPN creates the ESPN Bet channel, it's because of the numbers. People are betting real time on one play at a time. A friend went to the first round of the NCAA Basketball tournament and he said many/most had their head in the phone all the time betting things like, if the next shot went in the basket. The Networks show the fans with School/Jersey's/Colors, but he said they are dwarfed by the betting every play fans. I have decided that it is now completely entertainment that lets me escape a little bit, and nothing more. It is lot less personal for me now, and I still love watching my Hokies play! So I don't let what I don't have, ruin what I do have, a love for my school and their sports teams. PS Thus far, I have never bet on a game, but I don't hate those that do, but being a numbers guy, I know the house always wins, so I choose not to do it. ** Edited by Stech at 4/24/2024, 1:40:37 PM

that the sport is pretty much completely fixed. It's fun and I never bet more than I can easily afford.

coaching salaries that the NCAA will soon authorize. I hope the school is not paying Jimbo's buyout. That is typically the duty of the donors who demanded his head.

The conversation many times starts with, you know how you were going to donate to this? Yes. Well now I need you to redirect that to the get rid of Jimbo Fund. Not all of it, but a significant portion of it has an impact that way.

In this new order - skill sets internally to athletics could mot be transferred .you need much more branding and rights mamagement . Versus some one who doing a job mo longer relevant but been there for 20-30 years. Yes slimming the staff might mighr be needed but since college is now like the nfl for teams like huge a&m reconfiguration might be needed