Another point that's worth mentioning comes from me being a fan our our home-town college teams at Troy University. Troy doesn't have the rich boosters or big TV contracts to pay its players even medium-sized NIL stipends. Because of this, just about every good or proven player on Troy's team will be recruited to go play for the rich and "blue blood" programs. As they will be paid large sums of money to do this, most probably will transfer.
Also, because of scheduling changes, programs like Troy won't get as many opportunities to play prominent programs in the regular season. These games - against programs like LSU and Nebraska - not only give Troy's athletic Department a million-dollar payday, they provide an opportunity for Troy to make a splash on the national stage if they upset some of these teams - which Troy has done several times.
I think all these seismic changes in college sports are going to harm these so-called "Mid-Major" programs. Some will probably quit offering D-I sports.
The rich will get richer; the poor programs will probably become poorer.
I've researched this, only about 5 percent of the D-I, football-playing programs make a profit from their sports programs. The rest bleed money, and require massive tax-payer subsidies to fund these programs. All of the I-AA, Division II and Division III programs lose a ton of money.
Now, athletic departments are having to spend millions (?) of dollars on NIL payments to their best football and basketball players (and, probably, the ace pitchers on the girls softball teams).
That money comes from avid boosters, who used to write checks to fund a stadium expansion or a fancy new weight room or athletic complex. One of my questions is where is the facility and scholarship money going to come from now? As noted in this piece, my prediction: The "reformers" will kill the golden goose that made college sports so popular and turn-off many long-time fans.
I think another myth about college athletes is that large numbers of athletes have always been receiving payments under the table.
I can just report what my Dad told me when I quizzed him on this topic. He said none of his teammates were getting any money ... because almost all of them were poor and he would have known if they were being paid. For example, in 1958-1962, very few players had an automobile at college (Dad didn't).***
Dad arrived at UA the same year Coach Bryant was hired in 1958. Dad said in the very first team meeting Bryant had, he told the team that if anyone was getting paid by some boosters .. this better stop right that moment ... if the players knew what was best for them.
Dad said he was never paid anything and he started for 3 years and was probably one of the team's best players.
*** Since Dad didn't have a car, when he went home from school, he had to catch a ride with a teammate who did have a car. That teammate was Mal Moore, who later became a long-time assistant coach at UA and the athletic director who hired Nick Saban. Coach Moore lived in Dozier, about 30 miles south of Troy.
Some amazing trivia about Mal Moore: He had at least 10 national championship rings - he got one as a player at UA (in 1961) and then five more as an assistant coach under Coach Bryant. Then one in 1992 when he was an assistant for Gene Stallings and then three or four more when he was the athletic director when Nick Saban was coach. This is a record that will never be broken!
I am a die-hard fan of college football. I haven’t cared about the NFL for many years, except to watch and bet on the SuperBowl in Vegas with my friends. Now that college ball is pro, I no longer care. I have cancelled all my sports TV subscriptions, too. Do they care? No. But if 100 million of us do this, they will care.
You sound like me, Sumotoad. I've been a huge college football fans since I was in first grade and even I'm starting to lose interest now.
I also quit watching the NFL about 10 or 15 years ago. I might watch a game if a former Alabama quarterback is playing. I also call the NFL the "Numerous Flag League."
Count me in the same camp! Given a football at birth in Massillon, OH 1966, I find it hard to even watch it anymore. Gone are the days of Paul Brown. On a positive side, much more time to do things with my family and the church.
Excellent story Bill and a tribute to your old man. I’ve probably mentioned to you that I grew up in Waycross GA and have been a lifelong junkyard Dawg. And I remember as as a nine year old in 1960 watching UGA, defending SEC champs get their heads handed to them by the Tide in their season opener, a rivalry that was tragically stopped in 1963 when head coach Wallace Butts was caught sharing pre-game strategy secrets with Bear Bryant. The scandal led to Butts resigning and being replaced by 32 year old Auburn assistant named Vince Dooley. But the Conference honchos considered the Bama-UGA rivalry too hot to handle and they didn’t play each other again for many years. I guess championship games in recent years have made up for lost time.
Wally Butts and Coach Bryant later sued the Saturday Evening Post for that libelous story and put that magazine out of business. Butts' won his case in court and the Post settled with Bryant for $300,000, which was a lot of money in 1963.
Alabama didn't need any inside information to beat Georgia that year. They had a much better team.
Good time to be a Dog fan right now. The Dawgs are my favorites to win another natty this year. Good luck to UGA and you.
Dad played against Pat Dye and Fran Tarkington when he was at Bama.
A Paul Harvey moment. The rest of the story! I'm younger than Jeff, but older than you Bill and I remember watching the Italian Stallion, Johnny Musso on Saturdays. A few years later a good friend [big AU supporter] of my dads brought Pat Sullivan to our place and they went quail hunting. I think they did pretty good except Pat somehow managed to shoot Alabama's state bird- Yellowhammer Northern Flicker. We got a good laugh out of that. RTR
Johnny Musso was my hero when I first started following UA football. We lived in Ft. Myers, Florida when I was in first grade. Alabama played Miami in the regular season - maybe 1971. My Dad took the kids to the game, which Alabama won handily. After the game, we went into the locker room (some coaches still remembered Dad from his playing days a decade earlier) and I met Johnny Musso. He gave me his chin strap, which I kept for many years.
Three things: I don't know what the NIL market is, or what NIL stands for.
Bill, have you ever written to Jerry Rice?
And, in the Bluebonnet Bowl video, it looks like the quarterback made it into the end zone on his keeper after the Rice catch-and-run, but the officials gave Bama a bad spot.
Arne, It stands for "Name, Image and Likeness." It's the new reform that allows the best players - or any athletes - to be paid while they are in college. The cover-story is these athletes are marketing themselves or helping their marketing partners, but really these NIL slush funds are financed by big donors and boosters.
Re: that BlueBonnet Bowl highlight, I thought the exact same thing. The QB looked like he obviously scored and the running back probably crossed the plane on the next play. If they'd had instant replay back then, Alabama would have won!
I've never written to Jerry Rice, but I joke to people that he's my cousin!
Bill, I've read Tim Tebow's and Chris Speilman's books and they both lamented the lack of having any money in college. Tim Tebow spent the day after winning the national championship planting flowers for his mom. I think it was her birthday. He had no money to buy her a present but wanted to do something for her. He also was not premitted to receive any money for any reason without putting eligability in question. Chris said basically the same thing. However, the answer wasn't allowing these massive contracts to key players. Wouldn't a $1000- $10000 cap for everyone have answered that issue?
I always thought, "well, there's poor people in the world and they somehow make it through high school and college being poor." My Dad's teammates in 1961 were probably the same.
Tebow and Speilman wouldn't have qualified then, but the NCAA did later add a "cost of attendance" stipend for student athletes. And most of the players qualified for Pell Grants and got several thousands of dollars from those grants.
The big-time football and basketball schools could have easily afforded a $1,000/month for their athletes. But most athletic programs couldn't even afford that. If they pay all the football and basketball players, they'd have to pay every athlete on scholarship the same thing. So the girls cross country athlete would have to get $1,000. She works just as hard in practices. If she wasn't paid, she'd sue.
Thanks for reading this piece. For some reason, the subject interests me - but probably not most of my readers.
I didn't think anyone should pay them the $1000- $10000. I just thought at that time they could have been allowed to receive a reasonable amount as a gift, for a job, etc. (Like employees only able to receive "nominal" gifts at Christmas etc. and reasonable meals.) However, that might have been in place at one time and abused.
I understand. I'm always a contrarian and my first thought is that even well-intentioned reforms will probably backfire. Check in 20 years. My prediction is many colleges are going to either eliminate college athletics or dramatically reduce the number of sports programs and scholarships they fund - for economic reasons.
Some fans are also being increasingly turned off by these changes and no longer have the same passion for these sports as they once did. People are going to be less inclined to pay for tickets and go to games or become boosters.
This will hurt the budgets of the programs that offer college athletics.
I'm pretty sure we'll end up with, say, 60 "big-time" college football programs that do make money (largely from TV contracts). Schools like my alma mater, Troy, will become second class programs and only rarely get to play games against the blue-blood programs. This will deprive these programs of big pay-days - and hurt their programs.
We'll end up with fewer athletes getting college scholarships and fewer sports teams - which will be sad.
Another great story Bill, and I wish I had known your father. He played in a different era, a time that is now lost to history. Thanks for sharing this story and Roll Tide.
One of my alma mater, San Jose State, played at Alabama in 2010. Body bag game, blood money, call it what you want, but the payout that my Spartans made on that trip paid for Title IX sports, like girls soccer.
I used to donate to the athletic department, but since the school required covid vaccines until spring 2024, the administration can f@#k off. I still go the games, but I'm not donating.
Money us going to kill dollege sports. Take away all the scholarships and NIL, make all the sports intramurals. Play for the love of the game.
Prediction: this will ruin college sports. The free tuition ride and and social benefits (everyone - and I mean EVERYONE! - smooching your ass 24/7) is payment enough.
ROLL TIDE! How awesome that your dad played for Alabama and you have one of his great plays on video! Wishing your son well. And, don’t get me started on NIL!!
Another point that's worth mentioning comes from me being a fan our our home-town college teams at Troy University. Troy doesn't have the rich boosters or big TV contracts to pay its players even medium-sized NIL stipends. Because of this, just about every good or proven player on Troy's team will be recruited to go play for the rich and "blue blood" programs. As they will be paid large sums of money to do this, most probably will transfer.
Also, because of scheduling changes, programs like Troy won't get as many opportunities to play prominent programs in the regular season. These games - against programs like LSU and Nebraska - not only give Troy's athletic Department a million-dollar payday, they provide an opportunity for Troy to make a splash on the national stage if they upset some of these teams - which Troy has done several times.
I think all these seismic changes in college sports are going to harm these so-called "Mid-Major" programs. Some will probably quit offering D-I sports.
The rich will get richer; the poor programs will probably become poorer.
I've researched this, only about 5 percent of the D-I, football-playing programs make a profit from their sports programs. The rest bleed money, and require massive tax-payer subsidies to fund these programs. All of the I-AA, Division II and Division III programs lose a ton of money.
Now, athletic departments are having to spend millions (?) of dollars on NIL payments to their best football and basketball players (and, probably, the ace pitchers on the girls softball teams).
That money comes from avid boosters, who used to write checks to fund a stadium expansion or a fancy new weight room or athletic complex. One of my questions is where is the facility and scholarship money going to come from now? As noted in this piece, my prediction: The "reformers" will kill the golden goose that made college sports so popular and turn-off many long-time fans.
I've stopped giving, but because of the vaxx mandates here in Cali.
One of my fraternity brothers is trying to get me to donate to their NIL group, but that literally is trying to buy humans, it is crazy.
I think another myth about college athletes is that large numbers of athletes have always been receiving payments under the table.
I can just report what my Dad told me when I quizzed him on this topic. He said none of his teammates were getting any money ... because almost all of them were poor and he would have known if they were being paid. For example, in 1958-1962, very few players had an automobile at college (Dad didn't).***
Dad arrived at UA the same year Coach Bryant was hired in 1958. Dad said in the very first team meeting Bryant had, he told the team that if anyone was getting paid by some boosters .. this better stop right that moment ... if the players knew what was best for them.
Dad said he was never paid anything and he started for 3 years and was probably one of the team's best players.
*** Since Dad didn't have a car, when he went home from school, he had to catch a ride with a teammate who did have a car. That teammate was Mal Moore, who later became a long-time assistant coach at UA and the athletic director who hired Nick Saban. Coach Moore lived in Dozier, about 30 miles south of Troy.
Some amazing trivia about Mal Moore: He had at least 10 national championship rings - he got one as a player at UA (in 1961) and then five more as an assistant coach under Coach Bryant. Then one in 1992 when he was an assistant for Gene Stallings and then three or four more when he was the athletic director when Nick Saban was coach. This is a record that will never be broken!
Thank you. A welcome respite from the endless assault of insanity.
Next, the sequel about how this change will affect the non-star players and fans.
And the funding of the many non-revenue sports teams.
It will backfire. The Law of Opposite Effects will kick in again.
College football was one pastime I really enjoyed and looked forward to every fall ... and the Powers that Be are probably going to ruin the sport.
I am a die-hard fan of college football. I haven’t cared about the NFL for many years, except to watch and bet on the SuperBowl in Vegas with my friends. Now that college ball is pro, I no longer care. I have cancelled all my sports TV subscriptions, too. Do they care? No. But if 100 million of us do this, they will care.
You sound like me, Sumotoad. I've been a huge college football fans since I was in first grade and even I'm starting to lose interest now.
I also quit watching the NFL about 10 or 15 years ago. I might watch a game if a former Alabama quarterback is playing. I also call the NFL the "Numerous Flag League."
Count me in the same camp! Given a football at birth in Massillon, OH 1966, I find it hard to even watch it anymore. Gone are the days of Paul Brown. On a positive side, much more time to do things with my family and the church.
Excellent story Bill and a tribute to your old man. I’ve probably mentioned to you that I grew up in Waycross GA and have been a lifelong junkyard Dawg. And I remember as as a nine year old in 1960 watching UGA, defending SEC champs get their heads handed to them by the Tide in their season opener, a rivalry that was tragically stopped in 1963 when head coach Wallace Butts was caught sharing pre-game strategy secrets with Bear Bryant. The scandal led to Butts resigning and being replaced by 32 year old Auburn assistant named Vince Dooley. But the Conference honchos considered the Bama-UGA rivalry too hot to handle and they didn’t play each other again for many years. I guess championship games in recent years have made up for lost time.
Wally Butts and Coach Bryant later sued the Saturday Evening Post for that libelous story and put that magazine out of business. Butts' won his case in court and the Post settled with Bryant for $300,000, which was a lot of money in 1963.
Alabama didn't need any inside information to beat Georgia that year. They had a much better team.
Good time to be a Dog fan right now. The Dawgs are my favorites to win another natty this year. Good luck to UGA and you.
Dad played against Pat Dye and Fran Tarkington when he was at Bama.
A Paul Harvey moment. The rest of the story! I'm younger than Jeff, but older than you Bill and I remember watching the Italian Stallion, Johnny Musso on Saturdays. A few years later a good friend [big AU supporter] of my dads brought Pat Sullivan to our place and they went quail hunting. I think they did pretty good except Pat somehow managed to shoot Alabama's state bird- Yellowhammer Northern Flicker. We got a good laugh out of that. RTR
Johnny Musso was my hero when I first started following UA football. We lived in Ft. Myers, Florida when I was in first grade. Alabama played Miami in the regular season - maybe 1971. My Dad took the kids to the game, which Alabama won handily. After the game, we went into the locker room (some coaches still remembered Dad from his playing days a decade earlier) and I met Johnny Musso. He gave me his chin strap, which I kept for many years.
How cool were you with his chin strap!!
Three things: I don't know what the NIL market is, or what NIL stands for.
Bill, have you ever written to Jerry Rice?
And, in the Bluebonnet Bowl video, it looks like the quarterback made it into the end zone on his keeper after the Rice catch-and-run, but the officials gave Bama a bad spot.
Arne, It stands for "Name, Image and Likeness." It's the new reform that allows the best players - or any athletes - to be paid while they are in college. The cover-story is these athletes are marketing themselves or helping their marketing partners, but really these NIL slush funds are financed by big donors and boosters.
Re: that BlueBonnet Bowl highlight, I thought the exact same thing. The QB looked like he obviously scored and the running back probably crossed the plane on the next play. If they'd had instant replay back then, Alabama would have won!
I've never written to Jerry Rice, but I joke to people that he's my cousin!
I'm sorry, but with the wave of gambling interests, legalized no less, capturing via ad money, I suspect skullduggery in nearly all media sports..
That's another change - the merger with the Gambling Industry.
Bill, I've read Tim Tebow's and Chris Speilman's books and they both lamented the lack of having any money in college. Tim Tebow spent the day after winning the national championship planting flowers for his mom. I think it was her birthday. He had no money to buy her a present but wanted to do something for her. He also was not premitted to receive any money for any reason without putting eligability in question. Chris said basically the same thing. However, the answer wasn't allowing these massive contracts to key players. Wouldn't a $1000- $10000 cap for everyone have answered that issue?
I always thought, "well, there's poor people in the world and they somehow make it through high school and college being poor." My Dad's teammates in 1961 were probably the same.
Tebow and Speilman wouldn't have qualified then, but the NCAA did later add a "cost of attendance" stipend for student athletes. And most of the players qualified for Pell Grants and got several thousands of dollars from those grants.
The big-time football and basketball schools could have easily afforded a $1,000/month for their athletes. But most athletic programs couldn't even afford that. If they pay all the football and basketball players, they'd have to pay every athlete on scholarship the same thing. So the girls cross country athlete would have to get $1,000. She works just as hard in practices. If she wasn't paid, she'd sue.
Thanks for reading this piece. For some reason, the subject interests me - but probably not most of my readers.
I didn't think anyone should pay them the $1000- $10000. I just thought at that time they could have been allowed to receive a reasonable amount as a gift, for a job, etc. (Like employees only able to receive "nominal" gifts at Christmas etc. and reasonable meals.) However, that might have been in place at one time and abused.
I understand. I'm always a contrarian and my first thought is that even well-intentioned reforms will probably backfire. Check in 20 years. My prediction is many colleges are going to either eliminate college athletics or dramatically reduce the number of sports programs and scholarships they fund - for economic reasons.
Some fans are also being increasingly turned off by these changes and no longer have the same passion for these sports as they once did. People are going to be less inclined to pay for tickets and go to games or become boosters.
This will hurt the budgets of the programs that offer college athletics.
I'm pretty sure we'll end up with, say, 60 "big-time" college football programs that do make money (largely from TV contracts). Schools like my alma mater, Troy, will become second class programs and only rarely get to play games against the blue-blood programs. This will deprive these programs of big pay-days - and hurt their programs.
We'll end up with fewer athletes getting college scholarships and fewer sports teams - which will be sad.
... But I might be wrong!
I played a Div. III sport in college, but sometimes played against D1. What's my share? At least enough for a carton of eggs, I hope.... sheesh.
Good point. I bet the athletes who played below the D-I level aren't getting any compensation.
Another great story Bill, and I wish I had known your father. He played in a different era, a time that is now lost to history. Thanks for sharing this story and Roll Tide.
Thanks, Jeffrey. RTR.
One of my alma mater, San Jose State, played at Alabama in 2010. Body bag game, blood money, call it what you want, but the payout that my Spartans made on that trip paid for Title IX sports, like girls soccer.
I used to donate to the athletic department, but since the school required covid vaccines until spring 2024, the administration can f@#k off. I still go the games, but I'm not donating.
Money us going to kill dollege sports. Take away all the scholarships and NIL, make all the sports intramurals. Play for the love of the game.
Prediction: this will ruin college sports. The free tuition ride and and social benefits (everyone - and I mean EVERYONE! - smooching your ass 24/7) is payment enough.
ROLL TIDE! How awesome that your dad played for Alabama and you have one of his great plays on video! Wishing your son well. And, don’t get me started on NIL!!
Jack looks like a great kid. I would love to have seen a close up photo of your dad too 😊
Nice change of pace, and still pertinent to life today!