With All the Jumping Around.....

84lion

All-Conference
Oct 7, 2021
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Cal is something at times, but a lot of truth in this statement.

Calipari is right on, but there will be no reform. Too much money being thrown around, and people other than the athletes benefiting from it.
Interesting odds listed on making the league , etc.

Exactly. But so many people play the lottery because they think they're going to win the big prize.
Banning gambling (especially sports gambling) would go a long way towards righting the ship. Unfortunately, sports betting has taken hold, and it's a "race to the bottom."
 
Dec 14, 2021
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You forgot that Spud Webb played in the NBA.
True story - Valvano hadn't met Spud Webb. An assistant was pushing the recruitment hard. Valvano was standing next to the assistant as Webb walked towards them. Valvano turned to the assistant and told him, "If he doesn't grow by the time he gets to us, you're fired."
 
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Warlerski

Sophomore
Jun 23, 2016
137
169
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Its a joke. My son plays high school baseball, so I see what's going on. Some of these baseball kids who aren't going pro or anything go to 3 or 4 schools. Totally insane. The sport is more important than the degree.
The NIL money is in football and basketball. My son played college baseball. I told him when he started to pick a major that leads to a job, MLB probably not happening. It didn't and he got a degree that led to as good career.
 
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May 20, 2005
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Interesting odds listed on making the league , etc.

I don't think NFL is what is causing this... most of these kids probably know these college years are key to making as much as they can BEFORE they have to go into the world and get a real job. That is why $300k at school A is so much better than $150k at school B. Imagine getting a free education/degree and graduating with $500k in the bank.
 

PSUForever

All-Conference
Feb 17, 2007
1,332
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True story - Valvano hadn't met Spud Webb. An assistant was pushing the recruitment hard. Valvano was standing next to the assistant as Webb walked towards them. Valvano turned to the assistant and told him, "If he doesn't grow by the time he gets to us, you're fired."
That story literally made me laugh out loud! Such a funny story!
 

Catch1lion

All-American
Oct 12, 2021
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I don't think NFL is what is causing this... most of these kids probably know these college years are key to making as much as they can BEFORE they have to go into the world and get a real job. That is why $300k at school A is so much better than $150k at school B. Imagine getting a free education/degree and graduating with $500k in the bank.
I think you are giving the 20 yr old mind too much credit . The players vision is further clouded by parents , friends , influencers, and social media .
Your approach is rational, but kids often think the money train won’t end and saving isn’t the sexy way to go . The list is endless of pro athletes who have burnt through millions and are financially stressed .
A quick Chat GPT search came back with 50% D-1 players thinking they would make the NFL. Over 50% didn’t know they had to pay taxes on the monies .
 
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PSUFTG

All-Conference
Nov 1, 2021
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Cal is something at times, but a lot of truth in this statement.

I think his broad-brush concerns are valid - but he is 90% missing the boat talking about "graduation".
And, the truth is, it is generally coaches who are among the greatest hypocrites in the "education" propaganda. (And, you can resolve much more than 70% of the issues - the number Cal stated - AND you can do it without even anything as substantive as requiring "sit outs" for multiple transfer kids. It ain't even that hard - but Cal, and the coaches, and everyone else involved in college sports "leadership" is too self-interested)

WRT "Graduation":
You'd be amazed at some of the guys who "graduate".

This certainly happens all over the country, but just one local "for instance" that will ring a bell with Penn Staters:
Micah Parsons was at PSU for 2 1/2 years - the last year "here" he spent not at PSU, but jetting around the country to avoid COVID :rolleyes:
And yet, he left PSU with some kind of degree.
Not even an unusual scenario anymore - at PSU and elsewhere.

There are guys who didn't see the inside of a classroom - for years - who graduated.

It would be hard to claim one had a meaningful academic career WITHOUT at least graduating.... I think that would be a fair take.
I think it would also be a fair take to say that any kid who plays D1 sports (especially the $ sports) and leaves school with a meaningful education, really achieved something that is not easy to do - and very admirable.
But the idea that, in the current environment, "graduating" alone actually means anything (including that one realized any meaningful level of education)? Nope. It has, in many instances, become a joke - and just another bit of fodder for propo pieces put out by the various schools.
 
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Big_O

All-Conference
Jun 28, 2001
1,522
2,488
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I think his broad-brush concerns are valid - but he is 90% missing the boat talking about "graduation".
And, the truth is, it is generally coaches who are among the greatest hypocrites in the "education" propaganda. (And, you can resolve much more than 70% of the issues - the number Cal stated - AND you can do it without even anything as substantive as requiring "sit outs" for multiple transfer kids. It ain't even that hard - but Cal, and the coaches, and everyone else involved in college sports "leadership" is too self-interested)

WRT "Graduation":
You'd be amazed at some of the guys who "graduate".

This certainly happens all over the country, but just one local "for instance" that will ring a bell with Penn Staters:
Micah Parsons was at PSU for 2 1/2 years - the last year "here" he spent not at PSU, but jetting around the country to avoid COVID :rolleyes:
And yet, he left PSU with some kind of degree.
Not even an unusual scenario anymore - at PSU and elsewhere.

There are guys who didn't see the inside of a classroom - for years - who graduated.

It would be hard to claim one had a meaningful academic career WITHOUT at least graduating.... I think that would be a fair take.
I think it would also be a fair take to say that any kid who plays D1 sports (especially the $ sports) and leaves school with a meaningful education, really achieved something that is not easy to do - and very admirable.
But the idea that, in the current environment, "graduating" alone actually means anything (including that one realized any meaningful level of education)? Nope. It has, in many instances, become a joke - and just another bit of fodder for propo pieces put out by the various schools.
This is why a degree from Penn State (and most other universities) isn’t worth what it was 30-40 years ago. You may be better off attending a trade school. Even professional schools are not what they used to be.
 

sr108

Freshman
Jan 13, 2004
10,722
56
36
This is why a degree from Penn State (and most other universities) isn’t worth what it was 30-40 years ago. You may be better off attending a trade school. Even professional schools are not what they used to be.
At least the scholarship players who do graduate with what may be a worthless degree are not buried in a mountain of debt.
 

Catch1lion

All-American
Oct 12, 2021
3,925
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This is why a degree from Penn State (and most other universities) isn’t worth what it was 30-40 years ago. You may be better off attending a trade school. Even professional schools are not what they used to be.
WSJ has almost an article a month promoting the benefits of trades as a career.
For example :
The Hottest HS in Mass. are Trade Schools. Some with waiting lists in the thousands . Link may be pay walled .
 

PSUFTG

All-Conference
Nov 1, 2021
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At least the scholarship players who do graduate with what may be a worthless degree are not buried in a mountain of debt.
No doubt.

But far too many have no real education to take with them either - even when they have the "paper".
 

gmen6981

Freshman
Nov 17, 2008
19
59
13
"We didn't come here to play no school!" CJ
The thing about Jones' tweet was it got taken completely out of context, ( that never happens right?) It was a stupid thing to put out there, and Cardale owned it, but the reason he said it was because he got a 'B" on a biology exam and he felt he should have received a better grade.
He was actually a pretty good student and went on to get his degree. He even made fun of himself at his Graduation Ceremony by writing 'I played School" on top of his mortarboard. After that incredible run to the Natty, he turned down a boatload of NFL money to come back for the 2015 season because he said he wanted to be the first person in his family to get a college degree. As we all know waiting that extra year cost him and it didn't work out for him in the League. Fortunately he put his degree to work for himself and has a couple successful businesses in the Columbus and Cleveland areas, is involved with one of OSU's NIL collectives and does a lot of charity work working with underprivileged kids.
 
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PSUFTG

All-Conference
Nov 1, 2021
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That is sad. As sad as 50% of D1 players thinking they are going to make it in the NFL when the reality is 1.6%. Time to put college back into college football.
College was taken out of college football a long time ago - and it wasn't taken out by the players/students.

Spoiler: It ain't coming back either.
 
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m.knox

All-Conference
Aug 20, 2003
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College was taken out of college football a long time ago - and it wasn't taken out by the players/students.

Spoiler: It ain't coming back either.

Like so many things, once the Genie is out of the bottle, it ain't going back in. That said, there is room for improvement for all involved.
 
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Midnighter

Heisman
Jan 22, 2021
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That is sad. As sad as 50% of D1 players thinking they are going to make it in the NFL when the reality is 1.6%. Time to put college back into college football.

It starts well before that - I saw something like 40% of parents believe their kids will get an athletic scholarship; reality is closer to 2%. The amount of money and time dedicated to various travel sports is mindboggling. And now that youth sports are a $40 billion dollar business, its' getting worse...and more expensive.


 

m.knox

All-Conference
Aug 20, 2003
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It starts well before that - I saw something like 40% of parents believe their kids will get an athletic scholarship; reality is closer to 2%. The amount of money and time dedicated to various travel sports is mindboggling. And now that youth sports are a $40 billion dollar business, its' getting worse...and more expensive.



No argument here. Here are our three money pits in raising our kids. In order.

1.) Daycare
2.) Travel sports
3.) Car insurance

I would add college, but thankfully we saved for that, and had it covered.
 

Midnighter

Heisman
Jan 22, 2021
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No argument here. Here are our three money pits in raising our kids. In order.

1.) Daycare
2.) Travel sports
3.) Car insurance

I would add college, but thankfully we saved for that, and had it covered.

Car insurance is wildly out of control (all insurance really). I have two cars - one a 2024 SUV (Volvo), and a 2012 Prius (commuting car). My insurance has gone from about $180.00 a month (this back when I had a much more expensive Range Rover) to $330.00 a month. And, it just keeps going up despite zero accidents. Then, when you do have an accident, your rate goes up much more. And this is USAA where I've been a member for 25 years.

One of the reasons we opted for private school was that we were already paying almost $5k a month for two kids in daycare/preschool. Of course, private school is about double that now, but still - insane costs. This is a very nice daycare/preschool and yeah, there are cheaper options, but we didn't want to go for one of these 'in-house' neighborhood daycares or a nanny. Sadly, a close family friend of ours used a nanny (who would watch multiple kids at a time) who left their less than one year old in a car seat in a car while she took other kids to a park and the infant died (suffocation) while she was in the park. It made headlines in Bucks Co.

I refuse the travel sport nonsense if and until one of my kids shows they are a prodigy.