Speaking this morning at IMG Intercollegiate Athletics

9:00 AM
Athletic Directors Speak Out Part II
Chris May, Athletic Director, St. Louis University; Greg Christopher, Athletic Director, Xavier University; Mike O’Brien, Athletic Director, University of Toledo; Joe Karlgaard, Athletic Director, Rice University; and Ben Jay, Athletic Director, University of Hawaii; will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of not belonging to a Power Five conference. They will share their thoughts on the long-term implications of the new governance structure, keeping up with their conference peers, managing the unprecedented growth in college sports and challenges that come with success.

(12-11-2014 10:48 AM)grol Wrote:  Speaking this morning at IMG Intercollegiate Athletics

9:00 AM
Athletic Directors Speak Out Part II
Chris May, Athletic Director, St. Louis University; Greg Christopher, Athletic Director, Xavier University; Mike O’Brien, Athletic Director, University of Toledo; Joe Karlgaard, Athletic Director, Rice University; and Ben Jay, Athletic Director, University of Hawaii; will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of not belonging to a Power Five conference. They will share their thoughts on the long-term implications of the new governance structure, keeping up with their conference peers, managing the unprecedented growth in college sports and challenges that come with success.

Sounds interesting. I wonder if a transcript will be made available afterwards. I'd love to see what Dr. K has to say on these topics.

(12-11-2014 11:08 AM)Pimpa Wrote:  Sounds interesting. I wonder if a transcript will be made available afterwards. I'd love to see what Dr. K has to say on these topics.

I'm with you. Would be great if there was video or a transcript.

I will be more interested in what happens when the representatives from the P5 schools meet this winter. There are rumors about (1) payments to players in larger amounts than previously discussed, and (2) increasing football scholarships for P5 teams to 100+.

If these things come to fruition, it just may kill plenty of G5 football programs, and certainly will end any chance of Rice's ever returning to the top level of college athletics.

Interesting to include Ben Jay from Hawaii, since he is now out of a job.

(12-11-2014 11:42 AM)WRCisforgotten79 Wrote:  I will be more interested in what happens when the representatives from the P5 schools meet this winter. There are rumors about (1) payments to players in larger amounts than previously discussed, and (2) increasing football scholarships for P5 teams to 100+.

If these things come to fruition, it just may kill plenty of G5 football programs, and certainly will end any chance of Rice's ever returning to the top level of college athletics.

Yikes. The #1 thing that would make G5 more competitive with P5 would be to reduce the number of football scholarships. Increasing them would be terrible for G5 (and probably lead to more P5-->G5 transfers).

http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily...art-2.aspx

Am sure his schedule is booked, but wish he would have let us know - would have liked to create an event in NYC so people could meet him.

(12-11-2014 01:11 PM)Otts Wrote:  http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily...art-2.aspx

Interesting read, thanks for posting. Dr. K really is an asset for this university. Very pragmatic approach, and a very good representative for Rice. I am glad he is our Athletic Director.

(12-11-2014 11:42 AM)WRCisforgotten79 Wrote:  I will be more interested in what happens when the representatives from the P5 schools meet this winter. There are rumors about (1) payments to players in larger amounts than previously discussed, and (2) increasing football scholarships for P5 teams to 100+.

If these things come to fruition, it just may kill plenty of G5 football programs, and certainly will end any chance of Rice's ever returning to the top level of college athletics.

I can't imagine that this would come to fruition in the context of the NCAA. I wouldn't be surprised that P5 are asking for it, but it still has to be approved by presidents from a pretty big range of schools. I know P5 has gotten disproportionate power, but I can't see the NCAA continuing to exist with this as a result.

(12-11-2014 01:43 PM)NYNightOwl Wrote:  Am sure his schedule is booked, but wish he would have let us know - would have liked to create an event in NYC so people could meet him.

Agreed.

(12-11-2014 10:48 AM)grol Wrote:  Speaking this morning at IMG Intercollegiate Athletics

9:00 AM
Athletic Directors Speak Out Part II
Chris May, Athletic Director, St. Louis University; Greg Christopher, Athletic Director, Xavier University; Mike O’Brien, Athletic Director, University of Toledo; Joe Karlgaard, Athletic Director, Rice University; and Ben Jay, Athletic Director, University of Hawaii; will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of not belonging to a Power Five conference. They will share their thoughts on the long-term implications of the new governance structure, keeping up with their conference peers, managing the unprecedented growth in college sports and challenges that come with success.

Good. Way to represent

Leebron, who has some role in the NCAA decisionmaking (I'm too lazy to look it up), has been pretty supportive of the P5 efforts to pay players and to, in effect, distance themselves from middle-tier schools. Leebron's support for such measures might seem counterintuitive.

My personal theory is that he is thinking both pragmatically and strategically.

Perhaps Leebron's thinking is that the truly elite programs will get what's theirs, no matter what. The new measures that Leebron seems to support will probably put little to no strain on schools like Georgia or Oklahoma or Texas. They will put a lot of strain on the Iowas and West Virginias and the Kentuckys and the Texas Techs and the UHs. In other words, I think of the 130 or so FBS schools as being divided into (1) the truly elite, quasi-professional programs, comprising about 30 schools, (2) the truly bottom programs, comprising about 30 schools (including Rice), and (3) the vast middle majority that want to keep up as much as possible with Group (1). My guess is that the new measures throw a monkey wrench in the operations of that middle-class group. And to the extent the new measures cause some discord or fracturing and bellyaching in Group (3), and perhaps even some revolt against Group (1), maybe Leebron sees this as benefiting Rice.

Maybe the thinking is, if you're at the bottom of society, anything that upsets the status quo--even revolution--can't do anything but help.

(12-12-2014 10:31 AM)Barrett Wrote:  Leebron, who has some role in the NCAA decisionmaking (I'm too lazy to look it up), has been pretty supportive of the P5 efforts to pay players and to, in effect, distance themselves from middle-tier schools. Leebron's support for such measures might seem counterintuitive.

My personal theory is that he is thinking both pragmatically and strategically.

Perhaps Leebron's thinking is that the truly elite programs will get what's theirs, no matter what. The new measures that Leebron seems to support will probably put little to no strain on schools like Georgia or Oklahoma or Texas. They will put a lot of strain on the Iowas and West Virginias and the Kentuckys and the Texas Techs and the UHs. In other words, I think of the 130 or so FBS schools as being divided into (1) the truly elite, quasi-professional programs, comprising about 30 schools, (2) the truly bottom programs, comprising about 30 schools (including Rice), and (3) the vast middle majority that want to keep up as much as possible with Group (1). My guess is that the new measures throw a monkey wrench in the operations of that middle-class group. And to the extent the new measures cause some discord or fracturing and bellyaching in Group (3), and perhaps even some revolt against Group (1), maybe Leebron sees this as benefiting Rice.

Maybe the thinking is, if you're at the bottom of society, anything that upsets the status quo--even revolution--can't do anything but help.

I agree his stance there is a little puzzling. I think your view is optimistic but have to admit I am fairly confused about how D1 ultimately shakes out, and specifically the strategy of what's happening now.

(12-12-2014 11:00 AM)Middle Ages Wrote:  I agree his stance there is a little puzzling. I think your view is optimistic but have to admit I am fairly confused about how D1 ultimately shakes out, and specifically the strategy of what's happening now.

I think the P5 schools will one day rue the path they are ion with this. Maybe not those at the very top, but certainly the majority. I think this is what Leebron may be thinking with his support of it. If the top 30 P5 become a minor leagues of pro football, then perhaps it will leave more people for Rice to actually be competitive with. Why the NFL won't just start their own minor leagues and control the revenue themselves is the question I find harder to answer.

I think it is clear there will be numerous unintended consequences, and I think Leebron's stance counts on that fact. In my thread on paying players, I just proposed a new scenario that may be closer to what Leebron is ultimately seeking.

One article that I read indicates that the MAC has already voted to provide "cost of attendance" scholarships across their programs. CUSA and Rice will likely have to follow or be at a disadvantage in the G5. They estimated the cost at a little under $1 million per school.

The increase of scholarships is what would be the death knell of competitiveness, although that would stress all of those lower tier P5 schools.

(12-12-2014 10:31 AM)Barrett Wrote:  Leebron, who has some role in the NCAA decisionmaking (I'm too lazy to look it up), has been pretty supportive of the P5 efforts to pay players and to, in effect, distance themselves from middle-tier schools. Leebron's support for such measures might seem counterintuitive.

My personal theory is that he is thinking both pragmatically and strategically.

Perhaps Leebron's thinking is that the truly elite programs will get what's theirs, no matter what. The new measures that Leebron seems to support will probably put little to no strain on schools like Georgia or Oklahoma or Texas. They will put a lot of strain on the Iowas and West Virginias and the Kentuckys and the Texas Techs and the UHs. In other words, I think of the 130 or so FBS schools as being divided into (1) the truly elite, quasi-professional programs, comprising about 30 schools, (2) the truly bottom programs, comprising about 30 schools (including Rice), and (3) the vast middle majority that want to keep up as much as possible with Group (1). My guess is that the new measures throw a monkey wrench in the operations of that middle-class group. And to the extent the new measures cause some discord or fracturing and bellyaching in Group (3), and perhaps even some revolt against Group (1), maybe Leebron sees this as benefiting Rice.

Maybe the thinking is, if you're at the bottom of society, anything that upsets the status quo--even revolution--can't do anything but help.

In this thread in 2013, I related my exchange with President Leebron at a talk to Bay Area alumni:

Quote:He gave an excellent talk about the state of the university & challenges. Surely it was similar to those given earlier on campus. But aside from saying that he hoped we'd beat A&M in the fall's first football dame, there was no mention of athletics.

So in the Q&A, I asked him about his experiences as a member of the NCAA Div 1 Board of Directors. He said: "I went to my first board meeting recently, and it was not an inspiring experience. We voted to lift the cap on entertainment spending for athletes. The vote was 15-1. I’ll let you figure out who the '1' was. It’s not about the money; it’s about how much money."

Later, I asked him about the chances that university presidents would try to reform the system to something more equitable. He wasn't encouraging. It clearly seemed that this was a battle with such a low chance of winning that it wasn't worth fighting.

It would be interesting to learn his current views. I suspect that he's counting the days until his term is up. (If it's a two-year term, he has very little time left on the NCAA D-1 BOD.)

(12-12-2014 11:29 AM)GoodOwl Wrote:  

(12-12-2014 11:00 AM)Middle Ages Wrote:  I agree his stance there is a little puzzling. I think your view is optimistic but have to admit I am fairly confused about how D1 ultimately shakes out, and specifically the strategy of what's happening now.

I think the P5 schools will one day rue the path they are ion with this. Maybe not those at the very top, but certainly the majority. I think this is what Leebron may be thinking with his support of it. If the top 30 P5 become a minor leagues of pro football, then perhaps it will leave more people for Rice to actually be competitive with. Why the NFL won't just start their own minor leagues and control the revenue themselves is the question I find harder to answer.

I think it is clear there will be numerous unintended consequences, and I think Leebron's stance counts on that fact. In my thread on paying players, I just proposed a new scenario that may be closer to what Leebron is ultimately seeking.

Perhaps someone should ask McNair his opinion on the NFL starting a minor league since he has close ties to Rice. Maybe we can lobby MK to do an article or series of articles on the subject since I doubt anyone else in the Houston media wants to do it (too lazy and too scared to lose their coziness with the Texans).

Personally I think unless something major happens there is no interest from the NFL as it would increase costs to not only keep more players under contract but would add additional people to the front office. The NFL is way too interested in making and keeeping all the money it can...check into the requirements to bid on a Super Bowl if you want proof.

(12-14-2014 07:52 AM)Tiki Owl Wrote:  

(12-12-2014 11:29 AM)GoodOwl Wrote:  

(12-12-2014 11:00 AM)Middle Ages Wrote:  I agree his stance there is a little puzzling. I think your view is optimistic but have to admit I am fairly confused about how D1 ultimately shakes out, and specifically the strategy of what's happening now.

I think the P5 schools will one day rue the path they are ion with this. Maybe not those at the very top, but certainly the majority. I think this is what Leebron may be thinking with his support of it. If the top 30 P5 become a minor leagues of pro football, then perhaps it will leave more people for Rice to actually be competitive with. Why the NFL won't just start their own minor leagues and control the revenue themselves is the question I find harder to answer.

I think it is clear there will be numerous unintended consequences, and I think Leebron's stance counts on that fact. In my thread on paying players, I just proposed a new scenario that may be closer to what Leebron is ultimately seeking.

Perhaps someone should ask McNair his opinion on the NFL starting a minor league since he has close ties to Rice. Maybe we can lobby MK to do an article or series of articles on the subject since I doubt anyone else in the Houston media wants to do it (too lazy and too scared to lose their coziness with the Texans).

Personally I think unless something major happens there is no interest from the NFL as it would increase costs to not only keep more players under contract but would add additional people to the front office. The NFL is way too interested in making and keeeping all the money it can...check into the requirements to bid on a Super Bowl if you want proof.

Also the NFL does not want to greatly expand their liability for concussions to all those extra players, combined with less uniform or rigidly applied monitoring protocols

(12-14-2014 07:52 AM)Tiki Owl Wrote:  Perhaps someone should ask McNair his opinion on the NFL starting a minor league since he has close ties to Rice. Maybe we can lobby MK to do an article or series of articles on the subject since I doubt anyone else in the Houston media wants to do it (too lazy and too scared to lose their coziness with the Texans).

OT: I think I confused McNair and Oliver Luck a few weeks ago when I posted that Luck was on the BoT...