Indytarheel
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RE: ACC football set up for Clemson, FSU top tier for years to come
(02-08-2016 12:25 PM)Lou_C Wrote: I do think that some people somewhat overstate the direct effects of cash differences. There always have been and always will be certain differences between programs, REGARDLESS of what conference a school is in. FSU in any scenario is not going to have Texas money, and if FSU joined the SEC it wouldn't be on the same footing with Florida. Just running at some deficit is just the way it will be, and occasionally some people might use hyperbole to overstate the doom and gloom.
HOWEVER. It is also obtuse to ignore some facts.
First, the college football "arms race" is a fairly new phenomenon. Money always mattered, but the facilities/coaching/support infrastructure was nowhere near what it is at the top of the game today. 25 years ago, there just wasn't a great deal of difference between the facilities and infrastructure supporting high and lower revenue schools, and more importantly, recruiting hadn't really gone national. In 1980, FSU was only competing really with UF, Miami, maybe UGA for kids, and there were plenty to go around...FSU wasn't defending off Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Clemson, etc in Florida. It's just silly and disingenuous to pretend the sport hasn't changed.
Second, to not be concerned is to act like there is no difference in being 25% behind someone and being 50% behind them. And more importantly, it's not just how much you trail Alabama, Texas, USC, etc by, not trying to fall too far behind them. It's also about all of a sudden schools like Ole Miss, Auburn, Mississippi State and South Carolina to catch up. Or, if you're in a different part of the country, it should bother you that a crap program like Maryland is going to be able to apply greater resources against the traditionally better programs like VT, Pitt, etc.
It's like this...let's say you are in decent shape but putting on ten pounds every year. So you're 10 pounds overweight next year, 20 pounds overweight next year. It's an overreaction to say "Oh my God, I'm 20 poinds overweight this year, and will be 30 pounds overweight next year, my life is over" and throw yourself off a bridge.
But it's incredibly stupid to say, "eh, my life isn't actually that much different now that I'm 20 pounds overweight. Sure, it's a little more exhausting to get up the stairs, and it might be a little more so next year, but no big deal. There's still some dudes that are fatter. No reason to think it will become a problem if I keep putting on ten pounds a year".
Some of the teeth-gnashing can be overstated on a short term basis. But the long term health of falling further and further behind is just not going to be without serious consequence.
I completely understand and respect everything you just pointed out. And, I am sure no one is making light of the possible long term effect, if the revenue gap grows. With cord cutting and TV models changing, I am not sure if there really will be a significant impact long term.
I am not so sure that FSU and Miami were just competing with UGa and UF for FL kids when every coach on the planet understood that FL was one of, if not, the most talent rich areas in the country for football. Bama, Penn State, tOSU, Auburn, etc all recruited the area but their success was limited. It took the retirement of Bowden and the failed hires at Miami to open the gates to FL and even then, it was cracked and not blown open. Look at the recruits that went to Bama from Dade county. Teddy Bridgewater went to U of L only because the Miami coaching situation was a joke. Miami didn't even offer those critical Bama players. That had nothing to do with funding.
As far as Maryland getting money over VaTech, they certainly have to translate that money into field success before anything. The chickens, USCe, success had more to due with Spurrier than money and yet, Clemson played for a national title. And if you think Ole Miss, Auburn, Miss State, etc have caught up to you guys, then I really don't know what to think. Regardless of funding, the name on that jersey plays a larger role than most give it credit. Bama turned around due to coaching and the name on that jersey. You will see the same thing at Michigan. You saw a quick turnaround by USC due to coaching and players wanting to play for a traditional power. Watch what happens at the U. We just saw what happened at Clemson. My friend, it isn't all about the money.
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