arian foster

[clyde_carbon]

But here you are going by assumption. From my experience the meal plan that I had was Monday through Saturday because they want people to pay for the final day in order to be able to eat. You walk around with the bare bones money wise and have empty pockets all the time. There is barely enough to get by on and when you are burning well over 1,000 calories a practice, there is no way that you can get by on just eating those three meals. Again that is just my experience from my playing days. It may be easy to be skeptical from an outside perspective but you have to walk a mile in their shoes.

Wait. So what does marketability have to do with how much a football player eats? Does Johnny Manziel eat more than an OL? I doubt it, so should the OL get more $$$ than Johnny Manziel?

Their housing, their school, their food/water (3 meals a day as you say) are paid for. How much more money would you estimate would be sufficient?

 

[CalamityX11]

Bullshit to the bold. If there was no NCAA football there would be a different program for elite 19-23 year old football players that would lead to the NFL. Up until just a few years ago the NCAA wasn't necessary for the NBA, and many European players will tell you it still isn't.

NCAA hockey is far from necessary to play in the NHL. I'd be willing to bet there are more former CHL players in the NHL than NCAA. Probably more who came through Euro systems as well.

NCAA baseball isn't necessary to play in the MLB either.

If NCAA football were gone then someone(s), possibly the NFL, would start some sort of minor league/development program for those guys to play in.

I wonder how no NCAA football would affect the cash flow of major university athletic departments? How would USC athletics do if they didn't have a football team?

NCAA football is the fast track on getting players molded and exposed to the next level of football. Where is an alternative?

Basketball is a global sport, that's why the NCAA is no longer the only viable path to the draft. Like Baseball, soccer, hockey... the global sports have more alternatives due the popularity outside the US. My comment of the NCAA was directly at football.

I wasn't advocating banishing the NCAA football, but for Arian, if he wanted to pursue his NFL dream, he had to go through a NCAA football program until there's a major swing in kids leaving HS to play in the CFL? like some Basketball players do(europe, asia etc..)

Again i wasn't implying the end of NCAA football, the schools would suffer big time without it. The school needs the players as the players needs the schools...

 

[imac_21]

I agree that it's not an apples to apples comparison. However, I also don't think it's fair to say the athletes are the only ones with struggles and challenges. And I'm not saying that's your position.

I absolutely agree on the cost comment you made above. It's insane what I paid versus my children. That's a big discussion all by itself.

I'm not saying athletes are the only ones with struggles and challenges. I'm saying athletes are the only ones that the NCAA actively tries to prevent from addressing their struggles and challenges.

Students not involved in athletics (or not on athletic scholarship) have 0 restrictions in who they can interact with and who they can accept "gifts" from.

Student athletes (at least those on scholarship) have remarkably strict restrictions on who they can accept assistance from and what that assistance is.

Why did Reggie Bush lose his Heisman? If Reggie Bush was an up and coming rocket scientist on scholarship would there have been repercussions if NASA was helping him?

 

[Dodub]

Dub, just for everyone's sake here, can you remind everyone why you seem to have insider information here.

I was a two sport athlete in college, I played football and did track and field. Also I have several friends who played college sports and they had the same complaints. Keep in mind that we weren't as incredibly poor as some of the other students so we could just get money from home, I couldn't imagine not having that option.

 

[clyde_carbon]

Most places I have heard of get meals (usually not the entire week), bus passes and like $100 month but I can't speak for every single school.

I'm just speaking from my personal experiences and the experiences of my friends who were also student athletes.

And I knew a bunch of student athletes at SJSU. You know what they wanted to spend their $$$ on? Going to bars and clubs.

 

[CalamityX11]

I don't like the "free ride" thing that you are throwing out there, the universities make much more money off of athletes (especially football players) than they do your regular student.

generally, and i know your speaking of experience being of a former athlete(and i mean no disrespect, please know that), the "free ride" would be the free board, tuition covered(most?), scholarships, books, extra assistance etc...

that's more than the regular joe smith student would ever see.

 

[Dodub]

So not only do you want college athletes to compete in the classrooms and on the fields, but you always want them to compete for who can be more marketable so they can get a big pay check? How do you measure marketability and put it into figures for the athletes?

There's a 20 practice hours a week rule in college. Granted a lot don't follow that rule, but if the NCAA enforces it fully, there shouldn't be a problem for players to get a 15 hour a week job to pay for their every day expenses.

It definitely wouldn't be easy to measure marketability I would give you that but those are things that would have to be figured out.

I don't know how many schools follow that rule. Is that rule only for when school starts? Because we had three a days for the two and a half weeks prior to school starting and would have nearly doubled that amount of practice. Also do they consider film as practice when determining the 20 hours? Because we had film every day. I agree it would be possible to get a 15 hour a week job, but there are a few questions as to would employers hire such a limited worker, how would that effect academics and would the coaches allow it.

 

[imac_21]

Almost everyone struggles financially at school, and have been since forever. Get the hell over it. I sure didn't live comfortably while I was in school, and I didn't even have a scholarship.

If someone came up to you on the street and offered to by you dinner, what was your school going to do about it? Because if someone offers to take AJ McCarron to dinner, he might lose his eligibility.

What was the WRs name that went to Colorado about 8 years ago who was an Olympic skiier as well? I believe he was drafted by the Eagles. Jeremy something-or-other.

If he accepted any form of pay as a skiier he would lose his scholarship as a football player.

Would he have lost an academic scholarship if he were there to get a history degree and wasn't a student-athlete?

NCAA athletes that win medals in the Olympics are not allowed to accept the financial benefits that come with it (including the payout from the US government) because they will lose their eligibility.

There are restrictions on student-athletes that no other adults in the free world have to deal with. There are people here arguing that that situation is not only okay, but proper.

Wouldn't it be incredibly stupid if someone on an academic scholarship getting an English degree lost his or her scholarship if he or she had an article published in a newspaper or magazine? Hell, they'd probably lose their scholarship if they had a blog according to NCAA rules.

 

[imac_21]

Again, I can't vouche for all schools, but they must have a meal plan like a standard $500-?? to spend(per semester?) on school related products such as food, merchandise, equipment etc... thats not counted against the meal plan...

I would think the major universities would have this. Now if we're talking about ordering out, well, then thats' on them on when and how often.

You can't vouch for all schools, but which one's can you vouch for with this? Because Dodub played Div 1 football. What he is saying, comes from his personal experience at a division 1 school.

 

[Dodub]

Wait. So what does marketability have to do with how much a football player eats? Does Johnny Manziel eat more than an OL? I doubt it, so should the OL get more $$$ than Johnny Manziel?

Their housing, their school, their food/water (3 meals a day as you say) are paid for. How much more money would you estimate would be sufficient?

When discussing marketability that was speaking towards the amount each player gets after graduation, not their monthly expenses such as food.

I think if a player go $200 a month for food and pocket money that would be sufficient. Again I don't have all the answers on the logistics I'm just saying that would be a great help.

 

[gohusk]

What a tearjerker. So while in college, Foster was really hungry at one point and the fridge was empty. Welcome to just about every Thursday night when I was going to school and waiting to get paid on Friday. I'm pretty sure that the UT athletic department knows these guys need a lot of calories per day and make sure they're provided for. He just blew off the cafeteria hours or something.

 

[CalamityX11]

I think it's safe to assume that the college athletes, particularly the football and basketball players, tend to bring in more revenue than Joe Regular-Student getting his BA in English as well.

Joe Regular-Student is allowed to accept assistance from anyone he wants.

Joe Football-Player risks getting in trouble if he allows his uncle to buy him lunch.

Joe Football-Player risks losing his eligibility if he hangs out with a former teammate. If Denard Robinson took Devan Gardner to lunch Gardner risks being suspended. It doesn't matter that they were teammates for a few years.

There were people who actually wanted Manziel suspended for the season because he had the audacity to accept money for a service he provided. Are you fucking kidding me? One nice thing that came out of that is that the NCAA apparently decided to stop selling jerseys after enough people pointed out that the NCAA made millions selling Manziel jerseys and was considering suspending him for the season (suspending him for the Bama game would have essentially been the same thing) was massively hypocritical.

Maybe paying players isn't the solution. How about the NCAA treats them like regular people though? If Manziel can make a few thousand dollars in a weekend by signing some footballs and jerseys, LET HIM FUCKING DO IT. If LaMichael James wants to take Marcus Marriota for lunch when Oregon plays Stanford, let LMJ pay for the man's meal.

I agree with what your saying above, i'm talking on "paying" the student athletes. I'm much more for education as a student athlete, I feel that's a real gift and reward however not all student athletes feel the same and thus the urge to make the money or get that paper.

I will say players should get royalties(if not already) from the EA sports, jersey sales... I don't think that's paying them, I interpet paying them something else after all the accomendations they are given. But royalties are something different IMO and i'm not backtracking with the royalties comment if some thought I was.

 

[Dodub]

And I knew a bunch of student athletes at SJSU. You know what they wanted to spend their $$$ on? Going to bars and clubs.

That is also a problem. Again I don't have all the answers on this.

 

[tomikcon1971]

Curious.....do walk-ons who pay their own way have the same financial restrictions? I have to believe they are somewhat less bounded than full scholarship athletes. If so, why not go that route? I'm sure Julio Jones could have walked on at Alabama. Could he have then got student loans? Gone to dinner with friends? etc. Not trying to be a smart aleck but looking for a creative solution.

 

[imac_21]

So not only do you want college athletes to compete in the classrooms and on the fields, but you always want them to compete for who can be more marketable so they can get a big pay check? How do you measure marketability and put it into figures for the athletes?

There's a 20 practice hours a week rule in college. Granted a lot don't follow that rule, but if the NCAA enforces it fully, there shouldn't be a problem for players to get a 15 hour a week job to pay for their every day expenses.

Let the market dictate who's worth what. It's the American Way.

What's included in the 20 hour practice rule?

 

[Dodub]

generally, and i know your speaking of experience being of a former athlete(and i mean no disrespect, please know that), the "free ride" would be the free board, tuition covered(most?), scholarships, books, extra assistance etc...

that's more than the regular joe smith student would ever see.

I get what you are saying, but it isn't really free though considering the amount of money that the football team brings in each year. They only get paid because their contributions in sports, immediately bring money back to the school.

 

[spacedoodoopistol]

Its a messed-up issue because obviously there are a lot of people making money on the backs of these players. But I don't see how you pay them, because I don't know how you justify paying a football player but not a volleyball or water polo player.

Now, you could say that the football players have a greater time requirement, but you could also say the school is basically subsidizing their training and auditions for the pro level. Of course that only applies to the top-notch talent, but in general its the top notch talent that is putting in crazy hours and is unable to get a job on the side. Someone like Arian Foster had an institution that not only gave him a free education, but use of training facilities, coaches, staff and support to prepare him for a lucrative career, that has to count for something.

Players who are getting scholarships and room and board are getting a good return for their time spent. Any player that is going hungry (or hungrier than the average college student, I should say) might not be in the right place, if you can't maintain even minimal support for yourself it hard to expect others to do it for you. I would say the schools and NCAA should probably use the (obscene) profits to make sure any medical issues acquired while playing sports are taken care of after the players are gone. Its complex, I don't know what I'm talking about, but I don't see how you can give them cash.

 

[CalamityX11]

You can't vouch for all schools, but which one's can you vouch for with this? Because Dodub played Div 1 football. What he is saying, comes from his personal experience at a division 1 school.

my school was not a division 1 program but the "system" they had wasn't exactly rocket science either.

I'm sure the major football programs offer similar plans if not BETTER due to the higher establishment it is.

I'm not saying Dodub is wrong at all, I'm listening to what he said, all schools are different. How long ago was he playing? All schools are different.

We students had a cash system which we put into at any point of the year and with this "school-cash" we were allowed to purchase(on campus or any outlets in coherence) food, products, equipments, books, etc.. nothing different than using straight cash but something I couldn't believe the big football programs couldn't set up for their student athletes.

 

[imac_21]

In all fairness, yes it should apply to all. I think the NCAA should reevaluate how they view extra benefits. How they see someone taking a kid to lunch as a violation is beyond me.

This is the big issue. I bet a lot of the noise about paying college athletes would disappear if the NCAA backed off on the restrictions. If it was okay for the athletes to accept gifts, there wouldn't be an outcry for them to get some form of compensation in addition to the education.


I think it can easily be argued that the value of a college degree has decreased exponentially in the last 20 years.

 

[Dodub]

Curious.....do walk-ons who pay their own way have the same financial restrictions? I have to believe they are somewhat less bounded than full scholarship athletes. If so, why not go that route? I'm sure Julio Jones could have walked on at Alabama. Could he have then got student loans? Gone to dinner with friends? etc. Not trying to be a smart aleck but looking for a creative solution.

Being a walk on is incredibly hard. They aren't getting the financial assistance that scholarship athletes get and at practice they start immediately on the totem pole. It is easy for coaches to simply overlook these guys as people who won't make the team or automatic redshirts. Plus if you can't afford to be a walk on then that is not an option.