State of College Football

[TheColonyEagle]

2 hours ago, NT80 said:

If you had DII/III, FCS, G5 and P4 playoffs all going on at the same time, sports media and ESPN would be all about the P4 playoffs....just like they are now for the CFP.   I'm already sick of the hype for it and the blandness of it.

So then stay where we are....no coverage. Break off, no coverage. 

What do we do then? We're never going to get in that playoff. After next season, no G5 will. 

So what's the point?

 

[wardly]

57 minutes ago, BigWillie said:

I think that's his point. If you put more money into basketball, i.e. NIL, you attract better coaching/talent.

It just seems it might be a better ROI when you have 5-7 players you have to pay versus the numerous ones you would have to pay in football.

We have invested nearly 100  million dollars into football bricks and sticks and I don't see us walking away from the sport.

[NT80]

16 minutes ago, TheColonyEagle said:

So then stay where we are....no coverage. Break off, no coverage. 

What do we do then? We're never going to get in that playoff. After next season, no G5 will. 

So what's the point?

 

G5's (as part of FBS) get more media coverage and $$ than G5's not a part of FBS would ever get.

We have been on ESPN main channels more with Football this year than any other year..EVER....and we're only 6-6.

[TheColonyEagle]

6 minutes ago, NT80 said:

G5's (as part of FBS) get more media coverage and $$ than G5's not a part of FBS would ever get.

We have been on ESPN main channels more with Football this year than any other year..EVER....and we're only 6-6.

I just think it would be cool to play for a national championship

[emmitt01]

And then there's this stuff.   Like I said, just waiting for this new system to collapse under the weight of its own ridiculousness...

Ex-FSU players sue coach Leonard Hamilton over failed NIL payments - ESPN

[wardly]

1 hour ago, NT80 said:

G5's (as part of FBS) get more media coverage and $$ than G5's not a part of FBS would ever get.

We have been on ESPN main channels more with Football this year than any other year..EVER....and we're only 6-6.

Agreed, but at some point ESPN could go all in on the P4 programs and our t.v. money could go  away. Just saying, I wouldn't bet the farm that this revenue stream is going to continue as is.

[NT80]

3 hours ago, TheColonyEagle said:

I just think it would be cool to play for a national championship

If it can happen to Boise, it could happen to ........(fill in G5 name).

[NT80]

2 hours ago, wardly said:

Agreed, but at some point ESPN could go all in on the P4 programs and our t.v. money could go  away. Just saying, I wouldn't bet the farm that this revenue stream is going to continue as is.

 

The American Athletic Conference (AAC) has a 12-year media rights deal with ESPN that runs through the 2031-2032 academic year. The deal is worth $1 billion and earns the AAC an average of $83.3 million per year. 

 

The deal includes: 

 

• Football and basketball: Football, men's and women's basketball will be on ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPNU. Most basketball games and many football games will be on ESPN+.
• Other live sports: Baseball, softball, and soccer will be on ESPN+.

 

The previous seven-year contract between ESPN and the AAC paid the league a little over $20 million per year. 

[NT80]

2 hours ago, emmitt01 said:

And then there's this stuff.   Like I said, just waiting for this new system to collapse under the weight of its own ridiculousness...

Ex-FSU players sue coach Leonard Hamilton over failed NIL payments - ESPN

Good, it needs to collapse!

NIL, or the real name:  Player Salary, will have to be placed under Athletic Department's supervision with a Nationally approved binding contract to be signed by player and school (coach) including provisions for pay, play, leaving, etc.  

Combine it with a scholarship and this sounds almost like National Letters of Intent!

[emmitt01]

15 minutes ago, NT80 said:

If it can happen to Boise, it could happen to ........(fill in G5 name).

This is precisely the attitude the “power” conferences want G5 schools to have.  
 

Boise is not a true peer of the North Texas’, Arkansas States, or even Nevada’s of the world.  Sure, they play in a G5 conference but they are not treated like we would be treated by the national media and especially pollsters.  
 

Add to this, there is ALREADY movement to change the playoff bylaws to ensure that a Boise State never sees a first round bye again.  
 

It is the illusion of inclusion that keeps the G5 from making any meaningful moves. 

[NT80]

Other programs tampering with UConn's players, Mora says

Mora later wrote in response to a post that he doesn't know how to fix the tampering issue in college football, but that "we will expose any program and coach that violates" NCAA rules. He added: "I'm 100 percent against grown men cheating the rules and teaching players horrible life lessons."

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/43228675/other-programs-tampering-uconn-players-mora-says

[untjim1995]

Some of the posters on this board are extremely naive to the future of college athletics. Whether the G5s want it or not, just like some lower level P4s, the system that has been created was entirely built on the idea that it would bankrupt the programs from competing against the Top 50 schools in football and basketball, probably for baseball and softball, too. 
 

I really don’t care anymore how quickly it all falls apart, but the fact is that Texas, A&M, OU, LSU, Bama, etc…play a different game than anyone in the G5s. If you contribute to this mess, you are selling yourself a lie. I met with a local high school coach today of a 6A high school. His exact words are that everyone knows that UNT is only getting kids that are looking to make money somewhere else as soon as possible and use the AAC as exposure to the P4s. The TX HS Coaches are telling their players and parents this. And they are being contacted by the P4s to be the conduit between the player and the P4 buyer. It’s a system that North Texas or any other G5 not named Memphis can’t play in for much longer…

[CMJ]

16 hours ago, wardly said:

We have invested nearly 100  million dollars into football bricks and sticks and I don't see us walking away from the sport.

I don't think most people looking at investing more into basketball want us to drop football.  I know I don't.  But putting an extra 500K (or name your figure) of NIL into basketball goes a lot further and gives us more of a chance to compete.  With basketball if you land a star and some good complimentary guys (and a favorable draw) you can make a run in the NCAA Tournament.  Look at St. Peter's a few years back and their miracle journey to the Regional Final.  

 

Football needs so many high caliber guys to be able to compete against even mid tier power schools.

[meangreenfaninno]

3 minutes ago, CMJ said:

I don't think most people looking at investing more into basketball want us to drop football.  I know I don't.  But putting an extra 500K (or name your figure) of NIL into basketball goes a lot further and gives us more of a chance to compete.  With basketball if you land a star and some good complimentary guys (and a favorable draw) you can make a run in the NCAA Tournament.  Look at St. Peter's a few years back and their miracle journey to the Regional Final.  

 

Football needs so many high caliber guys to be able to compete against even mid tier power schools.

Totally reasonable strategy

[rcade]

The quotes from Boise State in that article make me think they're fooling themselves about their ability to stay competitive with the big dogs.

[NorthTexasWeLove]

19 hours ago, NT80 said:

"Yuuup. The only thing I have to say about this and have been saying about it is.... basketball."

It implies to me that you are advocating for basketball as "the sport" at UNT.  That either means defunding football or dropping down or eliminating it...which really is all the same.

Basketball at UNT is good now, but we are only a coaching change or injuries/transfers away from it being not good.  

Basketball IS the sport at UNT. I don't have to imply that or state it. Basketball has organically taken over the athletic department. And what about football at UNT? The coaching changes or injuries or transfers? How has all this worked out at UNT? Oh, and guess what? We've had the coaching changes and injuries and transfers on the basketball court... still humming along. UNT basketball is everything UNT football wants to be but will never happen. I know that because it has never happened at the FBS D1 stage, ever. We can all keep living in this fantasy world of "one day", but it ain't happening. Other FBS D1 football schools will start to shift their funding to avenues that makes sense and will propel their basketball programs to new heights. We need to be the one of the first in order to maintain our run of success for the next decade+. 

[NT80]

38 minutes ago, NorthTexasWeLove said:

Basketball IS the sport at UNT. I don't have to imply that or state it. Basketball has organically taken over the athletic department. And what about football at UNT? The coaching changes or injuries or transfers? How has all this worked out at UNT? Oh, and guess what? We've had the coaching changes and injuries and transfers on the basketball court... still humming along. UNT basketball is everything UNT football wants to be but will never happen. I know that because it has never happened at the FBS D1 stage, ever. We can all keep living in this fantasy world of "one day", but it ain't happening. Other FBS D1 football schools will start to shift their funding to avenues that makes sense and will propel their basketball programs to new heights. We need to be the one of the first in order to maintain our run of success for the next decade+. 

 Basketball is not always the sport at NT.  It takes a village, lol.

I saw all of these pitiful eras...

Tony Benford 62-95

Vic Trilli 20-87

Tommy Newman 24-60

Gene Robbins 36-67

Charles Johnson 36-114

https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/north-texas/men/coaches.html

 

[rcade]

1 hour ago, NorthTexasWeLove said:

Basketball IS the sport at UNT. I don't have to imply that or state it. Basketball has organically taken over the athletic department.

Basketball having a good run since 2017 isn't enough to make "the" premier sport at UNT. There would also need to be large enough fan support and media attention to demonstrate that it eclipsed football, but those haven't happened yet.

[NorthTexasWeLove]

36 minutes ago, NT80 said:

 Basketball is not always the sport at NT.  It takes a village, lol.

I saw all of these pitiful eras...

Tony Benford 62-95

Vic Trilli 20-87

Tommy Newman 24-60

Gene Robbins 36-67

Charles Johnson 36-114

https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/north-texas/men/coaches.html

 

 

8 minutes ago, rcade said:

Basketball having a good run since 2017 isn't enough to make "the" premier sport at UNT. There would also need to be large enough fan support and media attention to demonstrate that it eclipsed football, but those haven't happened yet.

 

Gentlemen, I get it. You don't agree. Now tell us about UNT football in the FBS D1 era(s). And how this football program has shined a positive light on our university. 

 

The juice isn't worth the squeeze in football. It's a numbers game. The numbers are very ugly for UNT football and like-monied programs. This isn't of opinion. It's simply a matter of fact. 

[Meangreen Fight]

20 hours ago, wardly said:

I think in 2026 the D1 football schools can add up to another 20 more scholarships. That might be a good time for the P6 programs to consider their lot in life. With about a 23% increase in scholarship costs plus NIL plus Transfer Portal whats an underfunded  middle of the road program like UNT to do?

I am beyond tired of talking about the greed madness in FBS.  FBS is on the path boxing was in the late 60 to 70s.  Sanctioning bodies, promoters, agents, and media distributers all trying to get the most money.  Making sure the best fights happened and were accessible to the average fan was barely considered.   Really successful fighters ended their career essentially broke.  Nobody with power was considering the long term health of the sport over short term self interest.  

Just a sidebar here.  Boxing has fallen so far off the WBA Cruiseweight title holder passed away 14 days after winning the title and I didn't know until I google searched WBA boxing.  He died Dec 21st.  Boxing used to be so big Dallas Cowboys Ed Too Tall Jones took a break in the middle of his career to become a professional boxer.  

FBS is different because the brands are eternal.   When there is a stagnation of competition ratings and interest decline for all the teams left out.  How long can even the the smaller brands in the P4 just maintain game attendance and viewership figures when they aren't winning at an elite level?  What do bottom half P4 teams look like with 10 consecutive years of mediocrity?  Are they tuning in to watch Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson, Texas, Michigan, and Georgia in the playoff ever year?  

They need to form a league with unified purpose like the NFL with far more teams that the NFL.  Full Scholarships should be reduced 55 per team.  Additionally the teams can  have 15 Partial scholarships (up to 65% of tutition, books, lab fees) and 15 walk-ons.  All TV money distributed equally, like the NFL.   And 25% of all revenue from the sale football specific merchandise and all merchandise sold by on-campus/stadium outlets distributed to all program.  The league should be 120 schools, 10 regional conferences.  Current independent programs don’t have to join a conference but they have produce certain revenue generation metrics to maintain that status.  This is the only way to keep the sport healthy and growing from coast to coast.

But we can’t have nice things because of greed and selfishness. 

[wardly]

Good information from NT 80 about AAC contract with ESPN. Hopefully it will continue and grow. On another note , I think UNT owes about $20 million to the NCAA as their share of the nearly $2 billion owed to past players. Assuming that I am close enough  for government work, have you heard in what time frame the money is due?

[UNTLifer]

1 hour ago, NT80 said:

 

Charles Johnson 36-114

 

And he is in our Hall of Fame.

[rcade]

1 hour ago, NorthTexasWeLove said:

Gentlemen, I get it. You don't agree. Now tell us about UNT football in the FBS D1 era(s). And how this football program has shined a positive light on our university.

We're a historic underachiever in football, but we've managed to upgrade our facilities, budget and coaching salaries, climbing up to the American, which is a respectable G5 conference. Our plight isn't so bad that we should be considering another voluntary drop from the top tier of college football.

Most of our doom and gloom is about never rising above 6-6 or achieving signature OOC or bowl wins.

We need to stay where we are and hope that when the FBS gets its shit together there's still a viable sport for the G5.

[rcade]

1 hour ago, Meangreen Fight said:

How long can even the the smaller brands in the P4 just maintain game attendance and viewership figures when they aren't winning at an elite level?

Not long, judging by the empty seats at Florida State games the last half of this season. That's a strong brand with a national championship in 2013, but even with 24,000 fewer seats due to stadium renovation, the place got cavernous. Fans stayed home instead of subjecting themselves to that disaster week after week.

Edited December 31, 2024 by rcade

[DallasGreen]

On 12/30/2024 at 12:30 PM, NT80 said:

They haven't.  I don't think it would have mattered, they will never be Gonzaga in their school support.   New arena, same minimal basketball crowd.  But they are off the media radar totally as a school during football season.   

No football in Texas= no media or fan support