Why is a Bammer 3 star different than any other? Because he signed with Bammer?
It's hard to stand up to TV money. They are running the show, I you don't believe it just look at next weeks SEC tv schedule. UK at MSU is a 3:00 PM start and non conference San Jose State at Ark is the prime time game on the "SEC" network. Protect the possible TV audience for CBS prime time game ND@UGA at all cost.
In order to get butts in seats is you have to have a winning program and one that people are excited about. To have any of those you need a competent coach and staff and you have to recruit with the big boys. In order to attract these recruits you have to have all the amenities that other big programs have. I say we start there. Start attracting the recruits.
I think the history of college football has made it clear that it's delusional to think you can accomplish this.
We haven't had a first time national champion in 26 years.
Since 1977, only 6 teams have won the SEC title.
Yes, Oregon (Nike) & Clemson (incredible staff continuity & transcendent head coach) have been able to compete nationally although not blue bloods, but that is it.
It's simply not realistic to believe we have any chance of accomplishing this, which means the system is horribly flawed.
Other sports have a draft to bring about parity but you can't do that when educations are at stake. Kids must be able to choose their school. Thus the only answer is to limit scholarships OR allow players that willingly enter a draft to be paid.
Not promote a baseball coach will little real athletics administration experience. Bring back Scott Wetherbee.
When was our last losing non-bowl season again? Ten years ago?
Even Alabama is having trouble keeping fans at the games.
It's not just about winning. College football is having to compete with comfort from home and the cost of going to games. I probably spend anywhere between 600-800 dollars a weekend all told going to Starkville. Sometimes have to re-arrange my schedule at work. Sometimes sacrifice some of my personal time. All to wake up at 5 AM to go to an 11 AM game that has a 115 degree heat index at a place with traffic headaches, is a four hour drive round trip, metal detectors that don't work, and have concessions that may or may not have people at them plus very few if any healthy concession options.
Or I could save hundreds of dollars watching the game on TV at my own convenience.
We probably need to go outside of the MSU family in all honesty. Which is what Keenum really wanted to do. But some influential MSU people disagreed and sabotaged it.
At this point I just hope that Cohen ups his game in the marketing, promotion, and gameday function arena. Which we all knew was going to be his weakness going in.
The number of teams that can compete is actually shrinking also. Look at national title winners since the 1980s and 1990s that have fallen in the last 10 years to where they are not competing for national titles for long stretches - Nebraska, Miami, FSU, USC, Texas,Tennessee, Colorado, Georgia Tech, Michigan, Penn State, Pitt, BYU. Many of those teams have gotten flat out bad, while others are still Top 25 but don't come close to competing with the Bama/Ohio State/Clemson level teams. There are some pretender teams too - like Notre Dame whoever the favorite PAC12 team of the year is (Washington??), who live off their schedules and fold against elite teams in the post season. Its killing the game.
Agree.
I think there are few reasons for this:
1. TV. Some of those teams used to be good because they were on TV & other school were not. That is no longer the case & thus it's hard to recruit outside your footprint
2. Recruiting rankings & recruiting/scouting combines have allowed the best players to get to know who their peers are, &, just like we've seen in the NBA, it produces a "super team" desire in those players. They are more & more attending the same schools together because they are friends. It used to not be that way.
It's a real issue that has to be addressed if the power that be want this sport to thrive.
How many years in a row will Bama & Clemson have to play in the national title game for things to change?
I agree with most of what you think the problems are... I don't agree with most of your solutions...
I think we just need another class division of college football... and quit pretending they're "amateurs"...
(I'm not advocating for a "P4P" deal... just sayin' if it were segregated, the sum of the parts would be greater than the whole...)