Protectionism: it's Alive and well

[Harry]

So it appears King Dodds as well as Baylor and Tech have already poopooed any chances of TCU being added to the Big 12. Now hearing from the Big East that their member schools and TCU are doing the same thing. So to clarify, it's not just about who the best and most deserving candidates are but more importantly they want schools that don't represent a geographical threat to member schools.

Here is an excerpt and link to the article:

Why? Because the Big East doesn’t want to look beyond states where conference members already reside. Case in point: South Florida president Judy Genshaft, who spoke in front of the Hillsborough County legislative delegation today, and said the Big East is looking to get away from states like Florida and Texas when it comes to inviting new members.

“I am not stopping any university from coming in,” Genshaft said about the rumor USF was blocking UCF’s entry into the Big East. “What is happening is the league, or the conference, now is looking at schools and they have looked very much at schools that are not in any of the states that are represented by the Big East schools right now. The ones that they’re looking at right now, they do not sit in any state that the Big East schools currently are in.”

http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/09/27/big-east-not-looking-to-expand-into-footprint-states-right-away/

[MeanGreenHoops]

So basically they all want to be their own little NFL.

[NorthTexan95]

The greed is just sickening.

[pastorgrant]

The greed is just sickening.

Will probably get -1s for this, but while I understand this viewpoint, there's one thing I don't think a lot of folks take into account is that these schools are non-profit entities and the profits from football goes to bettering the universities. I know a few people make really big salaries, but the people who make these decisions aren't typically the ones whose salaries depend on sports making lots of money. They may be greedy, but its for new science buildings and libraries for their schools, not yachts and big bank accounts.

[GrandGreen]

Will probably get -1s for this, but while I understand this viewpoint, there's one thing I don't think a lot of folks take into account is that these schools are non-profit entities and the profits from football goes to bettering the universities. I know a few people make really big salaries, but the people who make these decisions aren't typically the ones whose salaries depend on sports making lots of money. They may be greedy, but its for new science buildings and libraries for their schools, not yachts and big bank accounts.

Very little money from the athletic department is ever directed to the rest of the school, it is overwhelmingly the other way. It is true that athletic departments are non-profit entities but the few schools that do generate high levels of revenues tend to make sure they have high levels of costs to offset. I wager that no school in decades has had any academic buildings even partially funded by athletics.

[pastorgrant]

Very little money from the athletic department is ever directed to the rest of the school, it is overwhelmingly the other way. It is true that athletic departments are non-profit entities but the few schools that do generate high levels of revenues tend to make sure they have high levels of costs to offset. I wager that no school in decades has had any academic buildings even partially funded by athletics.

I don't know the statistics, but it's hard to imagine that UT spends $68 million a year on athletics facilities (that $68 million is profit after all football costs are paid, including the ridiculous coaching salaries). They don't build a new Apogee-like facility every year. It's entirely possible I'm missing something in the equation, but it doesn't make a lot of sense. Maybe someone knows how to find the data, though I'm not sure that it would be possible since it's likely that the money from profitable programs goes directly into the general fund and isn't tracked as if it's a donation. Most likely it allows them to hire more faculty/staff, produce research, and keep the tuition down (though it's still too high).

And even if every dime gets eaten up by athletics, it still goes to bettering the university. I know we all appreciate the new Athletics complex and Apogee Stadium. It helps with the prestige and atmosphere of the university. Plus, you can't properly account for the fact that successful sports programs increase applications which allows the school to grow while also increasing admissions standards. TCU applications were up something like 20% after winning the Rose Bowl.

Universities are out for themselves, but "themselves" includes the students and I don't want to judge them for that.

[Green Oracle]

Add to this the notion that tuition continues to rise every fiscal year in Texas, and there's no legislation to regulate tuition costs. UT is one of the richest schools in the nation...the greed is sickening. Make sure your kids work hard now to get some sort of scholarship or financial aide, or else you're going to be broke by the time junior gets out of college.

[Green Mean]

The greed is just sickening.

It's sickening until UNT is in one of the drivers seat right?

[NorthTexan95]

Will probably get -1s for this, but while I understand this viewpoint, there's one thing I don't think a lot of folks take into account is that these schools are non-profit entities and the profits from football goes to bettering the universities. I know a few people make really big salaries, but the people who make these decisions aren't typically the ones whose salaries depend on sports making lots of money. They may be greedy, but its for new science buildings and libraries for their schools, not yachts and big bank accounts.

I agree with what you are saying. For the most part the money goes into facilities or for university needs. It just that the big universities are getting it by pushing down on the smaller universities and then limiting the opportunity of the "smaller" universities to move up.

It's sickening until UNT is in one of the drivers seat right?

If UNT was in one of the drivers seat it would be "dissappointing" and not "sickening".

[untjim1995]

So it appears King Dodds as well as Baylor and Tech have already poopooed any chances of TCU being added to the Big 12. Now hearing from the Big East that their member schools and TCU are doing the same thing. So to clarify, it's not just about who the best and most deserving candidates are but more importantly they want schools that don't represent a geographical threat to member schools.

Here is an excerpt and link to the article:

Why? Because the Big East doesn’t want to look beyond states where conference members already reside. Case in point: South Florida president Judy Genshaft, who spoke in front of the Hillsborough County legislative delegation today, and said the Big East is looking to get away from states like Florida and Texas when it comes to inviting new members.

“I am not stopping any university from coming in,” Genshaft said about the rumor USF was blocking UCF’s entry into the Big East. “What is happening is the league, or the conference, now is looking at schools and they have looked very much at schools that are not in any of the states that are represented by the Big East schools right now. The ones that they’re looking at right now, they do not sit in any state that the Big East schools currently are in.”

http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/09/27/big-east-not-looking-to-expand-into-footprint-states-right-away/

This is exactly why we should do whatever we can to get into the MWC. That conference needs Texas exposure, we provide them an institution that looks just like every other current member of the MWC, and we get to also have our name in new markets, too. Plus, TCU showed how a Texas team can make it far in this world in that conference of non-Texan programs--we could copy that plan very easily with the facilities and coaching we now have in place here in Denton.

In the end, CUSA is no different than the Bevo 9 or the Big East. It has become all about TV markets. The entire Bevo 9, even the North schools, don't want another Texas team to battle for recruiting or on the playing field. Now, it wouldn't surprise me if the Big East did try to get Houston, since that is far enough away from DFW to really hurt TCU. But SMU isn't going to get a look from either of those AQ conferences, which is why we won't get an invite from CUSA anytime soon.