More P4 schools cancelling spring games… could Pitt be next?

[HailToPitt725]

Ohio State, Texas, USC, and others have decided to cancel their spring games. The main reason I’ve heard is that it conflicts with the modern transfer window (i.e., schools don’t want players entering the portal after a strong spring game performance).

It’s sad that these are going by the wayside because they’re a fun fan event when done right, and they do a great job at getting the fanbase excited for the upcoming season.

Feels like another unneeded casualty on the traditional and pageantry of college football… am I wrong?

 

[HailtoPitt]

If players are going to be paid they should be under some sort of contract and be allowed to transfer before the contract is up.

 

[cease10]

They should scrimmage against Duquesne or another area school similar to how basketball play exhibition games.

 

[ChiefJusticeMarshall]

This is not one of life's great tragedies.

 

[HailToPitt1985]

College football as it was known for the past 50 years is over. It's an obscene aberration of what it once was. That isn't good.

 

[Zeldas Open Roof]

players are transferring because of strong spring game performances? craig bokor "not pleased."

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Ohio State, Texas, USC, and others have decided to cancel their spring games. The main reason I’ve heard is that it conflicts with the modern transfer window (i.e., schools don’t want players entering the portal after a strong spring game performance).

It’s sad that these are going by the wayside because they’re a fun fan event when done right, and they do a great job at getting the fanbase excited for the upcoming season.

Feels like another unneeded casualty on the traditional and pageantry of college football… am I wrong?

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Enter my idea of playing another school instead. You would have the same issue of players transferring after a strong performance but you'd be making big-time money. 100K seats to an OSU/ND or OSU/Bama spring game at $100 each would be $10 million and this wouldn't include any TV rights.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

This is not one of life's great tragedies.

Yeah, this is one I won't miss if Pitt ever quashes it. Even when I actually knew who the players were I remember questioning my life choices at a few Spring Games.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

Enter my idea of playing another school instead. You would have the same issue of players transferring after a strong performance but you'd be making big-time money. 100K seats to an OSU/ND or OSU/Bama spring game at $100 each would be $10 million and this wouldn't include any TV rights.

No team in its right mind would dress a single meaningful player for this game that does not count and is taking place 4.5 months before the season begins. It would be about as entertaining as a Thursday night WCBB game.

 

[HailToPitt1985]

We don't even know who the players are or will be that far ahead of a season, with transfers and the portal. That's part of the reason I haven't gone to a spring game for years and years. Not worth spoiling a Saturday afternoon.

 

[Zeldas Open Roof]

i've gone to many spring games, they are not fun AT ALL. seriously, i love pitt football and they always suck.

 

[ChiefJusticeMarshall]

If Pitt cancels their spring game, what will the 63 people who go to the game do that day?

 

[TheSpecialSauce]

Yes - Cancel the Spring Game

You can invite the people who donate X amount dollars to a private practice to keep them happy.

 

[Islanderpanther]

Pitt’s spring game is a joke….may as well cancel it, Flag FB would be more entertaining.

 

[HailToPitt725]

Yes - Cancel the Spring Game

You can invite the people who donate X amount dollars to a private practice to keep them happy.

This is a great idea.

For those are don’t donate, I wonder if alternative spring events can be held to make up for a spring game? Do we even need anything in the spring?

 

[FIVE4PITT]

IF there is tampering going on with financial reward in the spring even without a spring game players will still enter the portal.

 

[ChiefJusticeMarshall]

Think about..........WHAT A CRUMMY SCUMBAG SPORT RAN BY SCUMBAGS, SUPPORTED BY RICH SCUMBAGS AND PLAYED BY SCUMBAGS/. Eff these bastards, I hope sport dies, crashes and burns and the NFL is forced to develop a true minor league and colleges go back to doing what they are supposed to do.

If you like this stuff, you are purely an idiot. A Hoopie. A Nitter. I am proud that Pitt fans are mostly indifferent and don't measure their self worth by a college football team's success and attendance. There I said it out loud. And while I am ranting this is a message to any sports writers and lawyers.

In 10 years when we have a generation of college football players now without an iota of education and get this...since they attended like 5 schools in 5 years they don't develop an alumni connection which would help take care of them once they are in the workforce without any skills, without any alumni to give them an underserving corner office.......that they are working digging ditches or homeless or worse. I. Don't. Care. You guys wanted this, with decisions comes consequences. Don't whine, don't run to ESPN on the universities failed you, or this person led you astray, no effing lawsuits cause your greed over took you.......eff you. If you kill yourself when you have no value, you do us all a favor.

Here endeth the rant!

 

[ChiefJusticeMarshall]

Think about..........WHAT A CRUMMY SCUMBAG SPORT RAN BY SCUMBAGS, SUPPORTED BY RICH SCUMBAGS AND PLAYED BY SCUMBAGS/. Eff these bastards, I hope sport dies, crashes and burns and the NFL is forced to develop a true minor league and colleges go back to doing what they are supposed to do.

If you like this stuff, you are purely an idiot. A Hoopie. A Nitter. I am proud that Pitt fans are mostly indifferent and don't measure their self worth by a college football team's success and attendance. There I said it out loud. And while I am ranting this is a message to any sports writers and lawyers.

In 10 years when we have a generation of college football players now without an iota of education and get this...since they attended like 5 schools in 5 years they don't develop an alumni connection which would help take care of them once they are in the workforce without any skills, without any alumni to give them an underserving corner office.......that they are working digging ditches or homeless or worse. I. Don't. Care. You guys wanted this, with decisions comes consequences. Don't whine, don't run to ESPN on the universities failed you, or this person led you astray, no effing lawsuits cause your greed over took you.......eff you. If you kill yourself when you have no value, you do us all a favor.

Here endeth the rant!

One thing that has gone unsaid in these poor players being taken advantage of before they became unfettered free agents and pure mercenaries that many of them who aren't going to play in the NFL, and have a remote bit of intellect and education, some rich alumni will find a cushy job and give them a nice career and living over more deserving job candidates. Just because they are part of the alumni network of jock sniffers. And that's cool. OK. But now, when you jump from school to school to school each year looking for a bigger check, you then lose this networking.

It's all short term, but that is where we are in America. Everything is about today. Getting the most I can right now, I deserve it, I'll worry about tomorrow, tomorrow. It's just not football players, it is everything, corporations, etc.....everything has to be the most we can get at this exact moment right now, screw looking into the long term effects.

 

[HailToPitt1985]

One thing that has gone unsaid in these poor players being taken advantage of before they became unfettered free agents and pure mercenaries that many of them who aren't going to play in the NFL, and have a remote bit of intellect and education, some rich alumni will find a cushy job and give them a nice career and living over more deserving job candidates. Just because they are part of the alumni network of jock sniffers. And that's cool. OK. But now, when you jump from school to school to school each year looking for a bigger check, you then lose this networking.

It's all short term, but that is where we are in America. Everything is about today. Getting the most I can right now, I deserve it, I'll worry about tomorrow, tomorrow. It's just not football players, it is everything, corporations, etc.....everything has to be the most we can get at this exact moment right now, screw looking into the long term effects.

And to add to your rant, which is all true, many (most) of these suckers who play college football with no loyalties while jumping from one program to the next every year, many will have CTE by their 40's. The emphasis on hard hitting and speed guarantees it, no matter what equipment they wear. And most (99%) will not play in the NFL. They asked for it and now they'll have no education that matters, no job that pays more than bare minimum to scrape by with, no connections to a university or alumni base, and severe head trauma that will last until they die a miserable death. This is the height of stupidity and ignorance.

 

[forbesfield]

I don't care about spring games in the least, but a lot of the football factories surely love them. It's just part of the bigger picture of how this sport, and everything that most people loved about it, is being quickly and inexorably changed because of money.

We never had much of a spring game thing here, but it's astounding to me that some schools draw 75K for spring games, and almost overnight those huge events are going to be history. All because coaches are afraid that their backup MLB might get lured away.

 

[ChiefJusticeMarshall]

I don't care about spring games in the least, but a lot of the football factories surely love them. It's just part of the bigger picture of how this sport, and everything that most people loved about it, is being quickly and inexorably changed because of money.

We never had much of a spring game thing here, but it's astounding to me that some schools draw 75K for spring games, and almost overnight those huge events are going to be history. All because coaches are afraid that their backup MLB might get lured away.

Just shows how out of control this train is.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

No team in its right mind would dress a single meaningful player for this game that does not count and is taking place 4.5 months before the season begins. It would be about as entertaining as a Thursday night WCBB game.

It would be the same players who play the regular spring game. Maybe a few star players sit out. A few others play 1 or 2 series. So it would be mostly lower-tier backups and reserves playing. And attendance would be out of this world and TV ratings 🔥 🔥 🔥

Football is the NCAA sport that only competes in 1 semester. The other 1 semester sports play exhibition games in the other semester (soccer, volleyball, baseball, etc).

 

[steelcurtain55.]

Ohio State, Texas, USC, and others have decided to cancel their spring games. The main reason I’ve heard is that it conflicts with the modern transfer window (i.e., schools don’t want players entering the portal after a strong spring game performance).

If true, I wonder if OSU/UT/USC will allow players to access practice film?

If they allow them to access practice film (like all of them do now), cancelling this game means nothing. The kids will just send out out that film. In the current climate, if these coaches ban players from access to practice film, they (coaches) will be seen as Nazi's and kids will transfer anyways.

Until these guys are bound to contracts, not much is going to keep this carousel from spinning.

 

[forbesfield]

If true, I wonder if OSU/UT/USC will allow players to access practice film?

If they allow them to access practice film (like all of them do now), cancelling this game means nothing. The kids will just send out out that film. In the current climate, if these coaches ban players from access to practice film, they (coaches) will be seen as Nazi's and kids will transfer anyways.

Until these guys are bound to contracts, not much is going to keep this carousel from spinning.

Or, just gain some control over the portal window. I don't see how having some limits on movement couldn't be legal. If you close the portal from April 1-Sept 1, that solves a lot of issues.

It makes no sense to have the portal open all the time.

Although, the playoff schools don't even really want spring practice anymore. If you finish up in January, your guys need an off-season to recover, lift, etc.

 

[HailToPitt1985]

Or, just gain some control over the portal window. I don't see how having some limits on movement couldn't be legal. If you close the portal from April 1-Sept 1, that solves a lot of issues.

It makes no sense to have the portal open all the time.

Although, the playoff schools don't even really want spring practice anymore. If you finish up in January, your guys need an off-season to recover, lift, etc.

Limiting the portal should be a no-brainer. Besides limiting its availability as you suggested for certain months, institute a limitation on how many times a player can use the portal, whether he actually transfers or not. Limit it to once during a 4 year period.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

It makes no sense to have the portal open all the time.

The portal isn't open at all times. Not even close to it. This year the transfer portal was open from December 9 to December 28. It opens again on April 16 and closes on April 25. The other 335 days of the year the portal is closed. The only exceptions to that are for grad transfers (who have always had different rules than other transfers) and when a school changes head coaches.

 

[Slick Manager of Champs]

Yes - Cancel the Spring Game

You can invite the people who donate X amount dollars to a private practice to keep them happy.

going to the spring game always seems like a good idea, until I actually get there and realize this is the most boring 2 hours spent ever. But I guess it is better than spring cleaning the yard.

 

[Ski11585]

Limiting the portal should be a no-brainer. Besides limiting its availability as you suggested for certain months, institute a limitation on how many times a player can use the portal, whether he actually transfers or not. Limit it to once during a 4 year period.

Why limit the number of transfers? Will you also put limits on coaches and their ability to take new jobs?

 

[forbesfield]

The portal isn't open at all times. Not even close to it. This year the transfer portal was open from December 9 to December 28. It opens again on April 16 and closes on April 25. The other 335 days of the year the portal is closed. The only exceptions to that are for grad transfers (who have always had different rules than other transfers) and when a school changes head coaches.

I wasn't aware of the exact dates, but seems to me if you shorten that window a few weeks, then the poaching problem is largely solved. Just don't play your spring game too early.

 

[joeydavid]

Ohio State, Texas, USC, and others have decided to cancel their spring games. The main reason I’ve heard is that it conflicts with the modern transfer window (i.e., schools don’t want players entering the portal after a strong spring game performance).

It’s sad that these are going by the wayside because they’re a fun fan event when done right, and they do a great job at getting the fanbase excited for the upcoming season.

Feels like another unneeded casualty on the traditional and pageantry of college football… am I wrong?

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If Lincoln Riley supports this, it's likely a bad idea.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

I wasn't aware of the exact dates, but seems to me if you shorten that window a few weeks, then the poaching problem is largely solved. Just don't play your spring game too early.

Which one do you want to shorten a few weeks, the one that lasts 2-1/2 weeks or the one that lasts 1-1/2 weeks?

I believe they should change the timing a little, but the portal actually isn't open very much at all.

 

[forbesfield]

Which one do you want to shorten a few weeks, the one that lasts 2-1/2 weeks or the one that lasts 1-1/2 weeks?

I believe they should change the timing a little, but the portal actually isn't open very much at all.

Just change the timing so that it all makes sense. Right now, nothing makes sense.

 

[HailToPitt725]

Why limit the number of transfers? Will you also put limits on coaches and their ability to take new jobs?

If student athletes are going to be paid to play, we need guardrails in place to prevent unlimited movement, which would be a disaster for all parties. All the major sports league have trade deadlines and signing periods in the off-seasons, and even soccer has transfer windows.

The sooner we ratify a collective bargaining agreement, in my opinion, the better.

 

[ChiefJusticeMarshall]

Why limit the number of transfers? Will you also put limits on coaches and their ability to take new jobs?

Well.........................a contract should do that. Force these coaches to sign 1-2-3 year contracts if they want to look around. Let's all sign contracts and make people hold to those contracts.

There. Everything solved.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

The sooner we ratify a collective bargaining agreement, in my opinion, the better.

It is the one thing that can solve the problem.

It is also one thing that the people running the schools will fight to their dying breath. They have no one to blame but themselves for where things are, and they have no one to blame but themselves that things aren't going to get any better any time soon.