Joe Nocera has done an incredible job researching the whole NCAA operation and has evolved in his thinking over the years as he digs deeper.
I'm still not sure where I fall on this issue. My gut says you should play for your scholarship and that's your compensation. However, the way the big time programs profit from these players really starts to stink. Pro Teams get free farm systems and the universities get insane money which always corrupts. As a result, coaches are over paid because of the crazy money bowl and sweet sixteen appearances deliver and the kids are truly exploited. In the end, money will win and the days of the amateur college athlete will be history. And there nothing anyone can do about it.
The NCAA as we know it today will be history very soon. The big money schools want the whole pie and will get it. The days of the cinderella mid major will never be seen again. A shame, but lets face the reality. There is no TV appeal for a mid major final four.
As a result, we need to prep for this reality and the future. We should stop having the delusions of grandeur that have existed the last 50 years of FU basketball and start aligning ourselves with like schools. You're not going anywhere because the system is rigged and the structure to succeed in major college BBall is over.
You will no longer have the opportunity to go to the big dance because the system will not let you. Even if you could, history has told us we cannot do this consistently.
So, that being the case, when a prospective student is on the admissions tour, whose banners do you want hanging in your gym or arena--Rider, St. Peters, Monmouth, Canisius, Iona? OR Holy Cross, Bucknell, Colgate, Army, Navy, Lafayette -- Fordham, William and Mary (in the realignment, it does not have to be the Patriot League)
I think you get my point. The actual structure of how this will look is obviously yet to be determined. But we must take off the blinders and see where it's going. The future is NOT D1 Basketball, no matter how hard we want it. It will not exist in a structure that will allow us to play. The big guys want all and we will not be able to play no matter how many great point guards or big men we recruit.
We will be restructured out.
Time to face the music and plan to steer the ship toward the new world.
Time to face the music and plan to steer the ship toward the new world.....
I often wonder what the University's plan really is for Stag Athletics and for Stag MAAC Basketball? Fordham, Holy Cross and Loyola all had a plan and left the MAAC for their own reasons. Marist Women's Basketball has a growing reputation and is a powerhouse in MAAC Basketball. There seems to be no plan for Alumni Hall or a coordinated plan for marketing Stag Basketball to our fellow alumni and students. Maybe this year will be different?
Post by stagthomas on Jun 21, 2014 11:47:31 GMT -5
Paulie - I agree that Fairfield, unfortunately, along with all the other mid major programs could be left out if an entirely new compensation structure develops. I think it would be tragic because then there would be no chance for a small school like Fairfield with limited financial benefits from athletics to ever compete with the big boys. The landscape would permanently change and I don't believe it would be for the better.
Post by Stagophile on Jun 21, 2014 11:51:11 GMT -5
Paulie74, I agree 100%. The whole college basketball system is rigged and corrupt and only getting worse putting Fairfield at a tremendous disadvantage.
An additional factor to consider is the coming collapse of the student loan bubble and inevitable shakeout in higher education. Many are making dire predictions of school closings and I would venture to guess that one, if not a few, MAAC schools could see their doors shutting in the next 10 years. This will not be the case in the Patriot League. Loyola is lucky to have hired a visionary in Fr. Linnane who had the courage to do what was best for Loyola University and to look past the misguided notion that a big time basketball program is required to elevate a school's stature and fortunes. I think Fairfield could accomplish many of the things it wants to achieve athletically while better aligning itself academically with more prestigious and financially stable institutions. It really disappoints me that Fr. Von Arx and Mark Reed have not guided Fairfield down this path which continues to diminish my opinion and enthusiasm for my alma mater.
Post by stagthomas on Jun 21, 2014 12:26:38 GMT -5
We knew the lack of vision from the first strategic plan introduced by FVA soon after his debut as president in 2004. Where has that gotten us? Was an assessment ever done of what transpired? Any benchmarks met? Alumni and fans on this board have hopes and dreams and passion, but it doesn't seem that aligns with the administration. They seem content to be forever linked and compare ourselves to 'peer' schools like St. Joe's, Loyola and Providence (all fine Catholic institutions of course) but why not try and poke your head above the crowd to get yourself to compete with Villanova, BC, etc. Have some vision! FVA is sitting on a goldmine. In finance, an activist investor would have long ago bought up stock in FU and installed a new CEO as Fairfield is a tremendously undervalued asset.
An additional factor to consider is the coming collapse of the student loan bubble and inevitable shakeout in higher education. Many are making dire predictions of school closings and I would venture to guess that one, if not a few, MAAC schools could see their doors shutting in the next 10 years.
Great point. The system will not be able to sustain itself as private loans dry up due to the risk and govt loans won't cover it.
So who will be able to attend FU? Hedge fund babies??? FU needs to be very smart in their planning.
Last Edit: Jun 21, 2014 20:50:53 GMT -5 by paulie74
The big division is between the major Football conferences and the rest of Division I. After many years of the NCAA leadership trying to establish equality among all Division I members, the new leadership is now pushing for rules that benefit the Big Football conferences and schools. In august, there will be power struggle between the 80 Football schools that generate a lot of money, and the 270 other schools.
Football has all the power, Basketball is secondary, and all other sports are non factors in this, except for the fact they are very costly.
Fairfield needs to be aligned with strong basketball conferences.
OR Holy Cross, Bucknell, Colgate, Army, Navy, Lafayette -- Fordham, William and Mary (in the realignment, it does not have to be the Patriot League)
