Talent and coaching matter; so does $$

[Chairman Moe]

If we can all agree that College sports (and I'll focus on football for the sake of this board) is now "all about the Benjamins", is the NCAA at a tipping point to either

a) pay the players [as opposed to NIL deals] and maybe establish a spending "cap" so that all P4 programs can compete on a mostly level playing field?

-- or --

b) continue to allow programs to run rampant with their boosters without any control or consequences?

For those who followed the recent flip (our DB recruit and LSU's QB recruit) of highly touted players to Michigan, of course $ matters. Probably the biggest reason for Pitt.

But if a program like Michigan can outspend LSU you then got to wonder if it's the money or the coach? I'd think the Wolverines and Tigers would each have unlimited assets to make sure a 5 star prospect stays committed. Did that QB not want to play for Brian Kelly, maybe?

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

If we can all agree that College sports (and I'll focus on football for the sake of this board) is now "all about the Benjamins", is the NCAA at a tipping point to either

a) pay the players [as opposed to NIL deals] and maybe establish a spending "cap" so that all P4 programs can compete on a mostly level playing field?

-- or --

b) continue to allow programs to run rampant with their boosters without any control or consequences?

For those who followed the recent flip (our DB recruit and LSU's QB recruit) of highly touted players to Michigan, of course $ matters. Probably the biggest reason for Pitt.

But if a program like Michigan can outspend LSU you then got to wonder if it's the money or the coach? I'd think the Wolverines and Tigers would each have unlimited assets to make sure a 5 star prospect stays committed. Did that QB not want to play for Brian Kelly, maybe?

Pitt isn't competing with programs where money matters. Pitt is not at a disadvantage in the ACC except maybe vs Clem, SMU, FSU and we dont play them every year. The ACC is poor like us. We should be able to beat UVa, BC, Lou, etc.

 

[forbesfield]

Academically LSU and Michigan are apples and oranges. NFL-wise, they are equal. Football-wise, they are equal, at best, since Michigan at least is the defending champs. Networking, in the professional non-athletic world, there is no comparison.

I think that us, here, would say that all other things being equal, we'd send our kid to Michigan over LSU. And not think twice.

If the money is what they say it is, then really there is no decision to be made.

 

[TheSpecialSauce]

The college game is 3/4 Acquiring the Talent and 1/4 Developing and Coaching the Talent. NIL $ is huge.

 

[Chairman Moe]

Academically LSU and Michigan are apples and oranges. NFL-wise, they are equal. Football-wise, they are equal, at best, since Michigan at least is the defending champs. Networking, in the professional non-athletic world, there is no comparison.

I think that us, here, would say that all other things being equal, we'd send our kid to Michigan over LSU. And not think twice.

If the money is what they say it is, then really there is no decision to be made.

I respectfully disagree with you on the point about sending our kids to Michigan vs LSU. My daughter graduated from LSU and is now a full professor at UGA. The environment there (Baton Rouge) was very positive

That said, we both (my daughter and I) feel that Brian Kelly was the wrong choice for HC. He certainly has the connections to recruit and the talent (NFL) that LSU has produced is unmatched; certainly no worse than Michigan. But Kelly has always seemed to find a way to lose the big games. Something that Les Miles and to some extent Ogeron did when they had the talent. LSU has 3 NC's this decade and probably should have had more with a better coach

 

[TD_6082]

If we can all agree that College sports (and I'll focus on football for the sake of this board) is now "all about the Benjamins", is the NCAA at a tipping point to either

a) pay the players [as opposed to NIL deals] and maybe establish a spending "cap" so that all P4 programs can compete on a mostly level playing field?

-- or --

b) continue to allow programs to run rampant with their boosters without any control or consequences?

For those who followed the recent flip (our DB recruit and LSU's QB recruit) of highly touted players to Michigan, of course $ matters. Probably the biggest reason for Pitt.

But if a program like Michigan can outspend LSU you then got to wonder if it's the money or the coach? I'd think the Wolverines and Tigers would each have unlimited assets to make sure a 5 star prospect stays committed. Did that QB not want to play for Brian Kelly, maybe?

Just me spitballing, but I think some of your boosters didn't want to outbid Michigan for Bryce Underwood to play for Brian Kelly. For one, the price tag is insane for a highschooler. and two, I think everybody down there is tired of Brian Kelly. Kelly's buyout is $60 million & they are still paying O, so they are either stuck with him for a while, or they can make life miserable for him.

Once some of the SEC fan bases turn against a coach for reasons that go well beyond wins and losses, it's almost impossible to win them back.

 

[cashisking884]

If we can all agree that College sports (and I'll focus on football for the sake of this board) is now "all about the Benjamins", is the NCAA at a tipping point to either

a) pay the players [as opposed to NIL deals] and maybe establish a spending "cap" so that all P4 programs can compete on a mostly level playing field?

-- or --

b) continue to allow programs to run rampant with their boosters without any control or consequences?

For those who followed the recent flip (our DB recruit and LSU's QB recruit) of highly touted players to Michigan, of course $ matters. Probably the biggest reason for Pitt.

But if a program like Michigan can outspend LSU you then got to wonder if it's the money or the coach? I'd think the Wolverines and Tigers would each have unlimited assets to make sure a 5 star prospect stays committed. Did that QB not want to play for Brian Kelly, maybe?

The QB is from Michigan.

On average, it’s always easier to convince a player to stay home than it is to convince him to go 1.2k miles away.

 

[forbesfield]

I respectfully disagree with you on the point about sending our kids to Michigan vs LSU. My daughter graduated from LSU and is now a full professor at UGA. The environment there (Baton Rouge) was very positive

That said, we both (my daughter and I) feel that Brian Kelly was the wrong choice for HC. He certainly has the connections to recruit and the talent (NFL) that LSU has produced is unmatched; certainly no worse than Michigan. But Kelly has always seemed to find a way to lose the big games. Something that Les Miles and to some extent Ogeron did when they had the talent. LSU has 3 NC's this decade and probably should have had more with a better coach

I, too, have a friend whose daughter is in an LSU PhD program, and they are quite satisfied with her experience. But top to bottom, I would still maintain that there is no comparison. Michigan is one of the true public Ivies.

No argument on the Kelly stuff. He was always a phony that would eventually get exposed, but then again, a lot of college football coaches are. When he is dumped in a year or two, though, he is going to have a shit-ton of money in the bank.

 

[CrazyPaco]

I, too, have a friend whose daughter is in an LSU PhD program, and they are quite satisfied with her experience. But top to bottom, I would still maintain that there is no comparison. Michigan is one of the true public Ivies.

No argument on the Kelly stuff. He was always a phony that would eventually get exposed, but then again, a lot of college football coaches are. When he is dumped in a year or two, though, he is going to have a shit-ton of money in the bank.

There is absolutely no academic competition between Michigan and LSU. It is equivalent to a 72-0 blowout. Not that it has anything to do with football.

 

[Chairman Moe]

The QB is from Michigan.

On average, it’s always easier to convince a player to stay home than it is to convince him to go 1.2k miles away.

How does that argument "age" when you apply it to a Malik Thomas in basketball, e.g.? As I have always said, "money talks and bull$hit walks"

 

[Chairman Moe]

There is absolutely no academic competition between Michigan and LSU. It is equivalent to a 72-0 blowout. Not that it has anything to do with football.

Exactly has nothing to do with football. I'd venture to say that with the exception of the Ivies, Stanford, Duke, and a dozen or so other top universities, football players are going to college to play football. We all know that less than 1% of them ever make it to the next level (NFL), but now that NIL is a part of the "deal" (room and board/tuition) their choices might come down to which one offers the most $$

 

[cashisking884]

How does that argument "age" when you apply it to a Malik Thomas in basketball, e.g.? As I have always said, "money talks and bull$hit walks"

How does what what?

 

[pittmeister]

The college game is 3/4 Acquiring the Talent and 1/4 Developing and Coaching the Talent. NIL $ is huge.

THIS!

 

[pittmeister]

Just me spitballing, but I think some of your boosters didn't want to outbid Michigan for Bryce Underwood to play for Brian Kelly. For one, the price tag is insane for a highschooler. and two, I think everybody down there is tired of Brian Kelly. Kelly's buyout is $60 million & they are still paying O, so they are either stuck with him for a while, or they can make life miserable for him.

Once some of the SEC fan bases turn against a coach for reasons that go well beyond wins and losses, it's almost impossible to win them back.

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As I said in another thread, there are a lot of unhappy fan bases. Pitt is just one of them. LSU fans shouldn’t piss and moan. They’ve had recent success. Now Texas A&M has a lot to bitch about. Last National Championship: 1939.

 

[Chairman Moe]

How does what what?

The statement you made that it is easier to convince a player to stay home than travel 1.2k miles to play. Malik Thomas (Pittsburgh native) commits to Arkansas when he could have played with his HS buddy Beebah @ Pitt.

Pretty similar comparison with the QB and DB who flipped from LSU and Pitt to stay home and play @ Michigan.

Where PITT failed is obviously not providing Malik enough $ to stay closer to home, nor providing Dotson with enough $ to travel here.

And please don't use the argument that Calipari could coach up Thomas any better than Capel, given Capel's recent success with Bub. And the NFL is littered with Pitt grads who play DB

It's about the $ with these 4 and 5 star recruits. Period

 

[Chairman Moe]

As I said in another thread, there are a lot of unhappy fan bases. Pitt is just one of them. LSU fans shouldn’t piss and moan. They’ve had recent success. Now Texas A&M has a lot to bitch about. Last National Championship: 1939.

During my four years as an LSU dad, I got to see first-hand the ferocity of the Tiger fans when it came to winning - especially rivalry games. My daughter was there when Nick Saban was the HC. When he left and then returned to Bama it was pretty deflating. Granted, the Tigers did win two additional NC's under Miles and Ogeron. They must have thought that Kelly was going to be more "Saban-like" when they hired him

Regarding Texas A&M, I totally get it and their fans' bitching. Talk about some weird HC hires and their failures (given the salaries paid). I was unaware that the Aggies have not won a NC since 1939. 85 years? Ouch!