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Will allow athletes to compete for $$ outside of NCAA events.

I'm not kidding...there will be one in the not too distant future eliminating the need to attend classes or maintain academic requirements.

So this would mean pro sports like golf and tennis would no longer need to have any amateur championships. Everyone could go pro?

And - they will probably also sue for NCAA events to pay out prize money. If your team wins the NCAA championship you get $$$ (not just your school).

It's more than that. It will apply to a larger class.

Think an exclusive traveling paid And 1 type circuit every summer. Paid 7 on 7 events in the offseason. Baseball tournaments similar to the travel ball that they all played in HS.

When there is money involved, nature finds a way.

School collectives will likely coordinate to use as an additional unregulated enticement for recruiting that will once again benefit the blue bloods the most. We are leaning into a high dollar AIA model. No good or bad about it. It just is.

One piece of this that could have a huge impact across the upper-midwest is the current state of "semi-pro" hockey teams...

I attended Seminary in Dubuque, IA, and pretty much the only thing to do on cold winter nights was to go watch the town's semi-pro hockey team. This was made up of HS (think Juniors and Seniors) and College aged kids who would get tuition paid to attend one of the local colleges (that didn't sponsor hockey) and could play for the local franchise. Some of these kids would end up picking up hockey scholarships to places like the University of Minnesota or Wisconsin because they got to continue their physical growth and make a name in the hockey scene. The town got a relatively cheap ticket because these kids were not being "paid." They couldn't get "paid" because they needed to keep their "amateur" status in-tact in hopes of moving up to some bigger NCAA program.

There was a fairly robust number of teams in smaller cities and larger towns that could never support a "Pro" (even "minor league") structure...Places like Dubuque, Waterloo, and even cities like Des Moines and Cedar Rapids. I don't think the colleges would mind much...a hockey team brings in maybe 18 guys...but the colleges involved will never support even club hockey (too expensive).

I get it...it's part of rural life that is disappearing all over the place, but I have fond memories of packing into a small arena (think 1k-2k max) with the other local folks, drinking cheap beer, and watching guys who you might be able to say "I saw him playing back in Dubuque" someday. Like Minor League baseball...it was fun, relatively cheap...and going the way of the dinosaurs.

(03-19-2024 10:40 AM)BearcatJerry Wrote:  One piece of this that could have a huge impact across the upper-midwest is the current state of "semi-pro" hockey teams...

I attended Seminary in Dubuque, IA, and pretty much the only thing to do on cold winter nights was to go watch the town's semi-pro hockey team. This was made up of HS (think Juniors and Seniors) and College aged kids who would get tuition paid to attend one of the local colleges (that didn't sponsor hockey) and could play for the local franchise. Some of these kids would end up picking up hockey scholarships to places like the University of Minnesota or Wisconsin because they got to continue their physical growth and make a name in the hockey scene. The town got a relatively cheap ticket because these kids were not being "paid." They couldn't get "paid" because they needed to keep their "amateur" status in-tact in hopes of moving up to some bigger NCAA program.

There was a fairly robust number of teams in smaller cities and larger towns that could never support a "Pro" (even "minor league") structure...Places like Dubuque, Waterloo, and even cities like Des Moines and Cedar Rapids. I don't think the colleges would mind much...a hockey team brings in maybe 18 guys...but the colleges involved will never support even club hockey (too expensive).

I get it...it's part of rural life that is disappearing all over the place, but I have fond memories of packing into a small arena (think 1k-2k max) with the other local folks, drinking cheap beer, and watching guys who you might be able to say "I saw him playing back in Dubuque" someday. Like Minor League baseball...it was fun, relatively cheap...and going the way of the dinosaurs.

Think about baseball… instead of sending a kid to Class A or AA they could just plug them into UC or Xavier.

Isn't competing for $ technically being a... professional?

(03-19-2024 01:26 PM)Bear Catlett Wrote:  Isn't competing for $ technically being a... professional?

Unless you are an alum of some D3 school that technical gap in the road got jumped a few exits back.

Good point Rath.

I'm about checked out. I've said it all along - I'm not interested in a minor league sports franchise whose only connection to UC is that it rents out UC's facilities and uses UC's logo.

I'm gonna keep my UCats membership at the minimum level for another year or two in hopes that the NCAA figures out an antitrust exemption for all this garbage. Or that UC drops to D-3 (although I realize that won't happen). But if it keeps going in the other direction, I'm out for good.