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Illinois 27, Maryland 24 Postgame
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<blockquote data-quote="Illini in Italy" data-source="post: 1951899" data-attributes="member: 748568"><p>Good points RS, I'll offer the following. College sports functioned as an unofficial farm system for football and basketball not because of anything the NCAA or universities did, it was a direct result of market manipulation by the NFL and NBA who attempted to limit by corporate fiat against entry into the marketplace by college and high school athletes. </p><p></p><p>There's a reason that minor league football and basketball essentially don't exist, at least on a National scale - people don't want to watch them or attend games because the product isn't very good - everything from the quality of play to the fan experience. College football and basketball are successful because they tie alumni (mostly) to their alma mater. There was always this "belief" that the athletes had some form of affection towards the university they played for, even if at the time it wasn't true. If the athletes become employees, this belief in that affinity is lost, and then how long will it be before top level college football and basketball are a thing of the past? Most Div.1 (and some lower division) athletes in football and basketball (not all, but most) see college as their only route to the NFL and NBA, which is essentially correct. Take away the restrictions imposed on entrance into the NBA and NFL, and what would happen? An interesting scenario worthy of examination in light of NIL and the portal. . .</p><p></p><p>And for those who bemoan the scholarship athletes who couldn't enjoy a typical college lifestyle, I invite them to interview some of my classmates, one of which who carried a full engineering student workload while working two part time jobs to pay his expenses (one being a janitor/cook in a sorority house in exchange for housing). Or another who carried a full course load while working full time and being a single mom to two kids. they would have cut their arm off to receive a full ride, special housing, tutors, all meals and expenses paid, in return for only 20-25 hrs a week of outside effort. There was and is significant value to a college athletic scholarship, just ask the 43.5 million Americans who carry and average of $37,000 student load debt today (<a href="https://www.credit.com/blog/student-loan-debt-statistics/#:~:text=At%20the%20end%20of%202022,owes%20an%20average%20of%20%2437%2C787." target="_blank">(Source)</a>. I was lucky, I only had to enlist and served my first seven years in the military in exchange for the GI Bill, which enabled me to be the first in my family to graduate from college (with no college debt on top of that). </p><p></p><p>My $0.02, but I think it what we know and love as college football and basketball is on a downward slope with only one conclusion. That's not saying they won't exist, but it won't be college athletics any more.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Illini in Italy, post: 1951899, member: 748568"] Good points RS, I'll offer the following. College sports functioned as an unofficial farm system for football and basketball not because of anything the NCAA or universities did, it was a direct result of market manipulation by the NFL and NBA who attempted to limit by corporate fiat against entry into the marketplace by college and high school athletes. There's a reason that minor league football and basketball essentially don't exist, at least on a National scale - people don't want to watch them or attend games because the product isn't very good - everything from the quality of play to the fan experience. College football and basketball are successful because they tie alumni (mostly) to their alma mater. There was always this "belief" that the athletes had some form of affection towards the university they played for, even if at the time it wasn't true. If the athletes become employees, this belief in that affinity is lost, and then how long will it be before top level college football and basketball are a thing of the past? Most Div.1 (and some lower division) athletes in football and basketball (not all, but most) see college as their only route to the NFL and NBA, which is essentially correct. Take away the restrictions imposed on entrance into the NBA and NFL, and what would happen? An interesting scenario worthy of examination in light of NIL and the portal. . . And for those who bemoan the scholarship athletes who couldn't enjoy a typical college lifestyle, I invite them to interview some of my classmates, one of which who carried a full engineering student workload while working two part time jobs to pay his expenses (one being a janitor/cook in a sorority house in exchange for housing). Or another who carried a full course load while working full time and being a single mom to two kids. they would have cut their arm off to receive a full ride, special housing, tutors, all meals and expenses paid, in return for only 20-25 hrs a week of outside effort. There was and is significant value to a college athletic scholarship, just ask the 43.5 million Americans who carry and average of $37,000 student load debt today ([URL='https://www.credit.com/blog/student-loan-debt-statistics/#:~:text=At%20the%20end%20of%202022,owes%20an%20average%20of%20%2437%2C787.'](Source)[/URL]. I was lucky, I only had to enlist and served my first seven years in the military in exchange for the GI Bill, which enabled me to be the first in my family to graduate from college (with no college debt on top of that). My $0.02, but I think it what we know and love as college football and basketball is on a downward slope with only one conclusion. That's not saying they won't exist, but it won't be college athletics any more. [/QUOTE]
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