Should the SEC take steps to equalize all football programs?

[ckDOG]

SEC already does a nice job splitting the TV and bowl money. Actually, it does such a nice job that I'm surprised the largest programs haven't publicly bitched to have it changed.

Anyhow, if the SEC were to attempt to collect ticket sales and alumni contributions for redistribution, the SEC would cease to exist at that very moment. The largest budget programs would withdraw from the conference and create a new one with other schools that would be more than happy to comply with the former arrangement.

[hacker]

I actually think we are about to enter into an age of more parody.

haha, that's an ironic misspelling

[Quaoarsking]

Do all the people who don't like this hate the NFL? None of those ideas are anymore "socialist" than what the NFL, NBA, NHL, etc., already do, and all of those leagues are more popular, lucrative, and universally competitive than their NCAA counterparts.

[ckDOG]

Do all the people who don't like this hate the NFL? None of those ideas are anymore "socialist" than what the NFL, NBA, NHL, etc., already do, and all of those leagues are more popular, lucrative, and universally competitive than their NCAA counterparts.

You can't compare the two. The NFL is professional football. It's play be their rules or shut down your business. The SEC is part of many competing entities of college football. Schools that don't like the NFL system implemented in the SEC would just join another conference or create their own. Your ideas would have to be implemented at the NCAA level for it to work and that would never get done with so many institutions affected.

ETA: For full disclosure, I don't disagree with your competition assertions. These leagues are more competitive because of the regulations they have. It's a much smaller group of teams that have to agree to it and the bulk of their budgets are financed by ticket sales, merchandise, and TV. Fans will always pay regardless of revenue sharing because they go to a game, buy crap, etc. for self satisfaction. Do you think John Richbooster will donate $1M to his Alma Mater if he knows it's going to get divided up 14 ways? Negative.

[LiterallyPolice]

Doing this would obviously lower the ceiling and raise the floor of the league, and the SEC will always want to beat other conferences on the field. So the only way this would work is if other conferences did the same thing, or if the SEC grew so dominant that there is no way other conferences could ever compete with the SEC in terms of top talent.

Also, Coach34 touched on it - the big 6 have a vested interest in remaining the big 6, so it'll probably never happen.

And lastly - say what you like about the tenets of National Socialism, but at least it's an ethos.

[SignalToNoise]

Well the league/conference is supposed to promote some sort of equal footing, for lack of better words.


Look at the way the NFL is setup. Salary caps, draft order, scheduling. Doesn't guarantee at all that bottom feeders become competitors in one year but it makes things "fair". You want that in a sports league.

But like everyone else is saying, the current powers like it just the way it is and would never sign off on anything.

[Ronny]

Socialism doesn't work at any level.

Works wonderfully when it comes to the SEC's distribution of wealth policy, when all 14 SEC teams receive a cut of the SEC bowl earnings.

I think you need to go to dictionary.com & look up the mean of socialism.

Having said that, I think an affirmative action program for the SEC's lower-tier teams would not work. So I'm not for "fair & balanced equality between all SEC programs."

[dawgs]

Works wonderfully when it comes to the SEC's distribution of wealth policy, when all 14 SEC teams receive a cut of the SEC bowl earnings.

I think you need to go to dictionary.com & look up the mean of socialism.

Having said that, I think an affirmative action program for the SEC's lower-tier teams would not work. So I'm not for "fair & balanced equality between all SEC programs."

hell, things like scholarship limits, penalties for illegally paying or providing benefits to players, and limits on recruiting visits and what not are a form of socialism by attempting to place everyone on a more equal footing. bama can't have 125 players on scholarship anymore.

[scottycameron]

The best way to establish an equal playing field in the SEC is to get rid of the programs who can't compete financially and replace them with programs that can. That's what conferences are all about in the first place, grouping peers together to compete.
Now that we covered that, I say we nix the welfare discussions and be happy where we are. I'm sure the SEC wouldn't have a big problem with us evening the playing field (taking a hike). Life is good where we are.

[MidTNDawg]

I assume you are a big fan of Karl Marx. The next thing after equalizing the SEC would be to start sharing with other conferences. After all it is not fair for them in the Nat'l Championship chase. And then maybe the men's programs S/B sharing more with the women's programs. I mean fair is fair. Or we could just move to the Sunbelt Conf. and be the Big Dawg.