Future of College Lacrosse

[youthathletics]

https://footballscoop.com/news/byu-inks ... uY8Dqfcclc

[Farfromgeneva]

https://footballscoop.com/news/byu-inks ... uY8Dqfcclc

From walk on to Heisman as a FR. The way the game is changing.

[OSVAlacrosse]

https://mobile.twitter.com/sportscenter ... 79492?s=21

College sports are about to look very different.

[Farfromgeneva]

Recall some dismissal of Amazon and Apple as players in sports broadcasting so thought I’d drop this piece in here

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cnbc.c ... urces.html

[youthathletics]

uh-oh........its baaaaack: Brown starting Sh_t again. https://twitter.com/mtracey/status/1437633432838983680

[wgdsr]

uh-oh........its baaaaack: Brown starting Sh_t again. https://twitter.com/mtracey/status/1437633432838983680

didn't see the football games cancelled yet. must be an oversight.

[Farfromgeneva]

Good morning. Since July, the National Collegiate Athletic Association has allowed athletes to make money from autograph signings, personal appearances, endorsements and their social media platforms. In today’s newsletter, Joe Nocera — who has covered the debate around paying student-athletes for more than a decade — looks at what the success of such deals means for the future of college sports.

(Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up here.)


From left, Nebraska’s Lexi Sun, Florida’s Anthony Richardson and Fresno State’s Hanna Cavinder are among the college athletes who have pursued partnerships with brands.Illustration by The New York Times; photos, from left, by Kenneth Ferriera/Lincoln Journal Star, Matthew Hinton/Associated Press, Isaac Brekken/Associated Press
No ‘amateurism,’ no problem
Author Headshot
By Joe Nocera
We’re halfway through the college football season, and business sure is booming. All the big football powers are packing them in just like they did before the pandemic. Television ratings are higher than they had been in years. The money is pouring in. Network executives, advertisers, athletic directors — and fans — are very happy.

If you had been listening to the National Collegiate Athletic Association for the past, oh, 50 years or so, you could be forgiven for wondering why college football hasn’t collapsed this season. It was supposed to, now that athletes are allowed to sign endorsement deals.

After all, the N.C.A.A. has long claimed that the essence of college sports is “amateurism” — its euphemism for not paying the players.

While the coaches, conference commissioners and athletic directors all reap the financial rewards that flow from the multibillion-dollar business of college sports, the athletes themselves do not. According to the N.C.A.A.’s creed, players must be viewed as students first, with sports merely an extracurricular activity, something they do for the love of their school. Mark Emmert, the president of the N.C.A.A., has said many times that if the players were paid, they would be employees rather than students and that this would change everything.

Continue reading the main story
ADVERTISEMENT


The N.C.A.A.’s amateurism rules aren’t just rooted in the supposed ideal of the “student-athlete” (a term, by the way, popularized in the mid-1950s to prevent injured players from getting workers' compensation). During the past dozen years, as the association has been hit with a series of antitrust lawsuits, it has stressed a business rationale as well.

It goes like this: Amateurism is college sports’ secret sauce — that is, it’s what makes the product unique. Fans want to believe that the players on the field are all students. And they want to believe that the players have the same loyalty to the university that they do. Paying players would destroy that illusion, the N.C.A.A. believes. What’s more, if college athletes were paid, the distinction between college and professional sports would be erased — and fans would suddenly realize how inferior teenagers playing for their universities were compared with the pros.

Here’s how Mr. Emmert put it in 2014, testifying in an antitrust case: “Fans appreciate the fact that these are indeed college athletes. They recognize that they are students. They recognize that they are not the greatest athletes.” He added, “To convert college sports into professional sports would be tantamount to converting it into a minor-league sport. And we know, in the United States, minor-league sports are not particularly successful.”

Until now, there was no way to test this thesis. Antitrust economists like Andy Schwarz, who played a key behind-the-scenes role in bringing the lawsuits against the association — may have scoffed at the N.C.A.A.’s arguments. But during the various antitrust trials, the plaintiffs’ economists went to court with models showing that paying players would have no effect, while the N.C.A.A. had models showing the opposite. Who could say for sure?

Continue reading the main story
ADVERTISEMENT


Starting in 2019, however, state legislatures began passing laws forbidding universities to punish athletes who took endorsement fees or cut licensing deals — “name, image and likeness,” or N.I.L., deals. The N.C.A.A. tried to grab control of the N.I.L. phenomenon but failed miserably. With a July 2021 deadline fast approaching, the association finally decided to allow college athletes to accept N.I.L. money without fear of losing their athletic eligibility.

Three months in, the results have been nothing short of remarkable. First, it turns out that a lot of companies were eager to sign deals with college athletes. High-profile football players landed deals almost immediately. The Alabama quarterback Bryce Young is said to have deals worth close to $1 million. Auburn’s Bo Nix and Alabama’s Malachi Moore are both endorsing Milo’s Tea, an Alabama company. A moving company based in Tampa, Fla., College Hunks Hauling Junk, signed two members of the Miami Hurricanes football team.

But it’s not just football players — and it’s not just male athletes in the “revenue sports.” The Connecticut basketball star Paige Bueckers trademarked her nickname, Paige Buckets, with the expectation of a branded product sometime down the line. Lexi Sun, a Nebraska volleyball player and Instagram influencer, started her own clothing brand. She also signed a deal with Borsheims, the Omaha jewelry store owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway. Boost Mobile, a wireless provider, said it was signing “hundreds of N.C.A.A. athletes across a wide variety of sports and universities.” And on and on.

Before N.I.L. payments were allowed, athletic administrators expressed fear that the deals would create dissension on teams between those who had them and those who didn’t. It hasn’t happened; instead many athletes seem to view N.I.L. deals as something any of them can land with enough initiative.

Continue reading the main story
ADVERTISEMENT


Another fear was that universities would use N.I.L. deals as a tool to lure talented high school athletes. In fact, that has been happening. The University of Nebraska, for example, has set up a program that will “position all Husker student-athletes for success in N.I.L.,” according to its athletic director. And when Alabama’s football coach, Nick Saban, let it be known that Bryce Young was getting rich from his N.I.L. contracts, he was sending a message to every athlete he hopes to recruit.

As the economist and N.C.A.A. critic Ted Tatos put it on Twitter: “It’s fascinating to watch schools go from ‘NIL will end college sports’ to ‘pick our school because we offer the best NIL opportunities.’ It’s almost as though they always knew their previous position was utter nonsense.”

Of course, the most important consequence of players’ making outside income is that it has had zero effect on the business of college football — or any other sport. As Mr. Schwarz predicted, fans love college football just as much today as they did before players were able to earn money. The popularity of college sports, it turns out, does not depend on “amateurism.”

Eleven years ago, when I first started writing about the N.C.A.A. in the pages of this newspaper, I often felt I was whistling in the wind. The N.C.A.A. was utterly unyielding. Some athletic directors said they would drop a sport rather than pay a player. Most fans were against the idea. It was hard to imagine that one day Lexi Sun would be selling her own branded T-shirts online.

But here we are. Everyone can see now that college athletes making deals for themselves is just capitalism, nothing more or less. Even Mr. Emmert now acknowledges that allowing players to reap outside income through endorsements and the like has been a net plus.

And yet the N.C.A.A. still maintains that paying players an actual salary would bring about the ruination of college sports. No one believes it anymore. Which leads to the final question: When will the work force in this multibillion-dollar business finally be compensated for its efforts? Based on recent experience, it could be soon.

What do you think? Should college athletes be paid? Let us know: [email protected].

[PizzaSnake]

Good morning. Since July, the National Collegiate Athletic Association has allowed athletes to make money from autograph signings, personal appearances, endorsements and their social media platforms. In today’s newsletter, Joe Nocera — who has covered the debate around paying student-athletes for more than a decade — looks at what the success of such deals means for the future of college sports.

(Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up here.)


From left, Nebraska’s Lexi Sun, Florida’s Anthony Richardson and Fresno State’s Hanna Cavinder are among the college athletes who have pursued partnerships with brands.Illustration by The New York Times; photos, from left, by Kenneth Ferriera/Lincoln Journal Star, Matthew Hinton/Associated Press, Isaac Brekken/Associated Press
No ‘amateurism,’ no problem
Author Headshot
By Joe Nocera
We’re halfway through the college football season, and business sure is booming. All the big football powers are packing them in just like they did before the pandemic. Television ratings are higher than they had been in years. The money is pouring in. Network executives, advertisers, athletic directors — and fans — are very happy.

If you had been listening to the National Collegiate Athletic Association for the past, oh, 50 years or so, you could be forgiven for wondering why college football hasn’t collapsed this season. It was supposed to, now that athletes are allowed to sign endorsement deals.

After all, the N.C.A.A. has long claimed that the essence of college sports is “amateurism” — its euphemism for not paying the players.

While the coaches, conference commissioners and athletic directors all reap the financial rewards that flow from the multibillion-dollar business of college sports, the athletes themselves do not. According to the N.C.A.A.’s creed, players must be viewed as students first, with sports merely an extracurricular activity, something they do for the love of their school. Mark Emmert, the president of the N.C.A.A., has said many times that if the players were paid, they would be employees rather than students and that this would change everything.

Continue reading the main story
ADVERTISEMENT


The N.C.A.A.’s amateurism rules aren’t just rooted in the supposed ideal of the “student-athlete” (a term, by the way, popularized in the mid-1950s to prevent injured players from getting workers' compensation). During the past dozen years, as the association has been hit with a series of antitrust lawsuits, it has stressed a business rationale as well.

It goes like this: Amateurism is college sports’ secret sauce — that is, it’s what makes the product unique. Fans want to believe that the players on the field are all students. And they want to believe that the players have the same loyalty to the university that they do. Paying players would destroy that illusion, the N.C.A.A. believes. What’s more, if college athletes were paid, the distinction between college and professional sports would be erased — and fans would suddenly realize how inferior teenagers playing for their universities were compared with the pros.

Here’s how Mr. Emmert put it in 2014, testifying in an antitrust case: “Fans appreciate the fact that these are indeed college athletes. They recognize that they are students. They recognize that they are not the greatest athletes.” He added, “To convert college sports into professional sports would be tantamount to converting it into a minor-league sport. And we know, in the United States, minor-league sports are not particularly successful.”

Until now, there was no way to test this thesis. Antitrust economists like Andy Schwarz, who played a key behind-the-scenes role in bringing the lawsuits against the association — may have scoffed at the N.C.A.A.’s arguments. But during the various antitrust trials, the plaintiffs’ economists went to court with models showing that paying players would have no effect, while the N.C.A.A. had models showing the opposite. Who could say for sure?

Continue reading the main story
ADVERTISEMENT


Starting in 2019, however, state legislatures began passing laws forbidding universities to punish athletes who took endorsement fees or cut licensing deals — “name, image and likeness,” or N.I.L., deals. The N.C.A.A. tried to grab control of the N.I.L. phenomenon but failed miserably. With a July 2021 deadline fast approaching, the association finally decided to allow college athletes to accept N.I.L. money without fear of losing their athletic eligibility.

Three months in, the results have been nothing short of remarkable. First, it turns out that a lot of companies were eager to sign deals with college athletes. High-profile football players landed deals almost immediately. The Alabama quarterback Bryce Young is said to have deals worth close to $1 million. Auburn’s Bo Nix and Alabama’s Malachi Moore are both endorsing Milo’s Tea, an Alabama company. A moving company based in Tampa, Fla., College Hunks Hauling Junk, signed two members of the Miami Hurricanes football team.

But it’s not just football players — and it’s not just male athletes in the “revenue sports.” The Connecticut basketball star Paige Bueckers trademarked her nickname, Paige Buckets, with the expectation of a branded product sometime down the line. Lexi Sun, a Nebraska volleyball player and Instagram influencer, started her own clothing brand. She also signed a deal with Borsheims, the Omaha jewelry store owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway. Boost Mobile, a wireless provider, said it was signing “hundreds of N.C.A.A. athletes across a wide variety of sports and universities.” And on and on.

Before N.I.L. payments were allowed, athletic administrators expressed fear that the deals would create dissension on teams between those who had them and those who didn’t. It hasn’t happened; instead many athletes seem to view N.I.L. deals as something any of them can land with enough initiative.

Continue reading the main story
ADVERTISEMENT


Another fear was that universities would use N.I.L. deals as a tool to lure talented high school athletes. In fact, that has been happening. The University of Nebraska, for example, has set up a program that will “position all Husker student-athletes for success in N.I.L.,” according to its athletic director. And when Alabama’s football coach, Nick Saban, let it be known that Bryce Young was getting rich from his N.I.L. contracts, he was sending a message to every athlete he hopes to recruit.

As the economist and N.C.A.A. critic Ted Tatos put it on Twitter: “It’s fascinating to watch schools go from ‘NIL will end college sports’ to ‘pick our school because we offer the best NIL opportunities.’ It’s almost as though they always knew their previous position was utter nonsense.”

Of course, the most important consequence of players’ making outside income is that it has had zero effect on the business of college football — or any other sport. As Mr. Schwarz predicted, fans love college football just as much today as they did before players were able to earn money. The popularity of college sports, it turns out, does not depend on “amateurism.”

Eleven years ago, when I first started writing about the N.C.A.A. in the pages of this newspaper, I often felt I was whistling in the wind. The N.C.A.A. was utterly unyielding. Some athletic directors said they would drop a sport rather than pay a player. Most fans were against the idea. It was hard to imagine that one day Lexi Sun would be selling her own branded T-shirts online.

But here we are. Everyone can see now that college athletes making deals for themselves is just capitalism, nothing more or less. Even Mr. Emmert now acknowledges that allowing players to reap outside income through endorsements and the like has been a net plus.

And yet the N.C.A.A. still maintains that paying players an actual salary would bring about the ruination of college sports. No one believes it anymore. Which leads to the final question: When will the work force in this multibillion-dollar business finally be compensated for its efforts? Based on recent experience, it could be soon.

What do you think? Should college athletes be paid? Let us know: [email protected].

“ its euphemism for not paying the players.”

Quite the business model — chattel slavery.

Always called it the gridiron plantation.

[Typical Lax Dad]

Good morning. Since July, the National Collegiate Athletic Association has allowed athletes to make money from autograph signings, personal appearances, endorsements and their social media platforms. In today’s newsletter, Joe Nocera — who has covered the debate around paying student-athletes for more than a decade — looks at what the success of such deals means for the future of college sports.

(Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up here.)


From left, Nebraska’s Lexi Sun, Florida’s Anthony Richardson and Fresno State’s Hanna Cavinder are among the college athletes who have pursued partnerships with brands.Illustration by The New York Times; photos, from left, by Kenneth Ferriera/Lincoln Journal Star, Matthew Hinton/Associated Press, Isaac Brekken/Associated Press
No ‘amateurism,’ no problem
Author Headshot
By Joe Nocera
We’re halfway through the college football season, and business sure is booming. All the big football powers are packing them in just like they did before the pandemic. Television ratings are higher than they had been in years. The money is pouring in. Network executives, advertisers, athletic directors — and fans — are very happy.

If you had been listening to the National Collegiate Athletic Association for the past, oh, 50 years or so, you could be forgiven for wondering why college football hasn’t collapsed this season. It was supposed to, now that athletes are allowed to sign endorsement deals.

After all, the N.C.A.A. has long claimed that the essence of college sports is “amateurism” — its euphemism for not paying the players.

While the coaches, conference commissioners and athletic directors all reap the financial rewards that flow from the multibillion-dollar business of college sports, the athletes themselves do not. According to the N.C.A.A.’s creed, players must be viewed as students first, with sports merely an extracurricular activity, something they do for the love of their school. Mark Emmert, the president of the N.C.A.A., has said many times that if the players were paid, they would be employees rather than students and that this would change everything.

Continue reading the main story
ADVERTISEMENT


The N.C.A.A.’s amateurism rules aren’t just rooted in the supposed ideal of the “student-athlete” (a term, by the way, popularized in the mid-1950s to prevent injured players from getting workers' compensation). During the past dozen years, as the association has been hit with a series of antitrust lawsuits, it has stressed a business rationale as well.

It goes like this: Amateurism is college sports’ secret sauce — that is, it’s what makes the product unique. Fans want to believe that the players on the field are all students. And they want to believe that the players have the same loyalty to the university that they do. Paying players would destroy that illusion, the N.C.A.A. believes. What’s more, if college athletes were paid, the distinction between college and professional sports would be erased — and fans would suddenly realize how inferior teenagers playing for their universities were compared with the pros.

Here’s how Mr. Emmert put it in 2014, testifying in an antitrust case: “Fans appreciate the fact that these are indeed college athletes. They recognize that they are students. They recognize that they are not the greatest athletes.” He added, “To convert college sports into professional sports would be tantamount to converting it into a minor-league sport. And we know, in the United States, minor-league sports are not particularly successful.”

Until now, there was no way to test this thesis. Antitrust economists like Andy Schwarz, who played a key behind-the-scenes role in bringing the lawsuits against the association — may have scoffed at the N.C.A.A.’s arguments. But during the various antitrust trials, the plaintiffs’ economists went to court with models showing that paying players would have no effect, while the N.C.A.A. had models showing the opposite. Who could say for sure?

Continue reading the main story
ADVERTISEMENT


Starting in 2019, however, state legislatures began passing laws forbidding universities to punish athletes who took endorsement fees or cut licensing deals — “name, image and likeness,” or N.I.L., deals. The N.C.A.A. tried to grab control of the N.I.L. phenomenon but failed miserably. With a July 2021 deadline fast approaching, the association finally decided to allow college athletes to accept N.I.L. money without fear of losing their athletic eligibility.

Three months in, the results have been nothing short of remarkable. First, it turns out that a lot of companies were eager to sign deals with college athletes. High-profile football players landed deals almost immediately. The Alabama quarterback Bryce Young is said to have deals worth close to $1 million. Auburn’s Bo Nix and Alabama’s Malachi Moore are both endorsing Milo’s Tea, an Alabama company. A moving company based in Tampa, Fla., College Hunks Hauling Junk, signed two members of the Miami Hurricanes football team.

But it’s not just football players — and it’s not just male athletes in the “revenue sports.” The Connecticut basketball star Paige Bueckers trademarked her nickname, Paige Buckets, with the expectation of a branded product sometime down the line. Lexi Sun, a Nebraska volleyball player and Instagram influencer, started her own clothing brand. She also signed a deal with Borsheims, the Omaha jewelry store owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway. Boost Mobile, a wireless provider, said it was signing “hundreds of N.C.A.A. athletes across a wide variety of sports and universities.” And on and on.

Before N.I.L. payments were allowed, athletic administrators expressed fear that the deals would create dissension on teams between those who had them and those who didn’t. It hasn’t happened; instead many athletes seem to view N.I.L. deals as something any of them can land with enough initiative.

Continue reading the main story
ADVERTISEMENT


Another fear was that universities would use N.I.L. deals as a tool to lure talented high school athletes. In fact, that has been happening. The University of Nebraska, for example, has set up a program that will “position all Husker student-athletes for success in N.I.L.,” according to its athletic director. And when Alabama’s football coach, Nick Saban, let it be known that Bryce Young was getting rich from his N.I.L. contracts, he was sending a message to every athlete he hopes to recruit.

As the economist and N.C.A.A. critic Ted Tatos put it on Twitter: “It’s fascinating to watch schools go from ‘NIL will end college sports’ to ‘pick our school because we offer the best NIL opportunities.’ It’s almost as though they always knew their previous position was utter nonsense.”

Of course, the most important consequence of players’ making outside income is that it has had zero effect on the business of college football — or any other sport. As Mr. Schwarz predicted, fans love college football just as much today as they did before players were able to earn money. The popularity of college sports, it turns out, does not depend on “amateurism.”

Eleven years ago, when I first started writing about the N.C.A.A. in the pages of this newspaper, I often felt I was whistling in the wind. The N.C.A.A. was utterly unyielding. Some athletic directors said they would drop a sport rather than pay a player. Most fans were against the idea. It was hard to imagine that one day Lexi Sun would be selling her own branded T-shirts online.

But here we are. Everyone can see now that college athletes making deals for themselves is just capitalism, nothing more or less. Even Mr. Emmert now acknowledges that allowing players to reap outside income through endorsements and the like has been a net plus.

And yet the N.C.A.A. still maintains that paying players an actual salary would bring about the ruination of college sports. No one believes it anymore. Which leads to the final question: When will the work force in this multibillion-dollar business finally be compensated for its efforts? Based on recent experience, it could be soon.

What do you think? Should college athletes be paid? Let us know: [email protected].

“ its euphemism for not paying the players.”

Quite the business model — chattel slavery.

Always called it the gridiron plantation.

NFL should fund its own development league. Let the air out of the balloon. Pay a stipend, set up a post graduation fund and lifetime free tuition (conference wide) and call it a day. Not enough, go play in a professional league.

[Farfromgeneva]

Good morning. Since July, the National Collegiate Athletic Association has allowed athletes to make money from autograph signings, personal appearances, endorsements and their social media platforms. In today’s newsletter, Joe Nocera — who has covered the debate around paying student-athletes for more than a decade — looks at what the success of such deals means for the future of college sports.

(Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up here.)


From left, Nebraska’s Lexi Sun, Florida’s Anthony Richardson and Fresno State’s Hanna Cavinder are among the college athletes who have pursued partnerships with brands.Illustration by The New York Times; photos, from left, by Kenneth Ferriera/Lincoln Journal Star, Matthew Hinton/Associated Press, Isaac Brekken/Associated Press
No ‘amateurism,’ no problem
Author Headshot
By Joe Nocera
We’re halfway through the college football season, and business sure is booming. All the big football powers are packing them in just like they did before the pandemic. Television ratings are higher than they had been in years. The money is pouring in. Network executives, advertisers, athletic directors — and fans — are very happy.

If you had been listening to the National Collegiate Athletic Association for the past, oh, 50 years or so, you could be forgiven for wondering why college football hasn’t collapsed this season. It was supposed to, now that athletes are allowed to sign endorsement deals.

After all, the N.C.A.A. has long claimed that the essence of college sports is “amateurism” — its euphemism for not paying the players.

While the coaches, conference commissioners and athletic directors all reap the financial rewards that flow from the multibillion-dollar business of college sports, the athletes themselves do not. According to the N.C.A.A.’s creed, players must be viewed as students first, with sports merely an extracurricular activity, something they do for the love of their school. Mark Emmert, the president of the N.C.A.A., has said many times that if the players were paid, they would be employees rather than students and that this would change everything.

Continue reading the main story
ADVERTISEMENT


The N.C.A.A.’s amateurism rules aren’t just rooted in the supposed ideal of the “student-athlete” (a term, by the way, popularized in the mid-1950s to prevent injured players from getting workers' compensation). During the past dozen years, as the association has been hit with a series of antitrust lawsuits, it has stressed a business rationale as well.

It goes like this: Amateurism is college sports’ secret sauce — that is, it’s what makes the product unique. Fans want to believe that the players on the field are all students. And they want to believe that the players have the same loyalty to the university that they do. Paying players would destroy that illusion, the N.C.A.A. believes. What’s more, if college athletes were paid, the distinction between college and professional sports would be erased — and fans would suddenly realize how inferior teenagers playing for their universities were compared with the pros.

Here’s how Mr. Emmert put it in 2014, testifying in an antitrust case: “Fans appreciate the fact that these are indeed college athletes. They recognize that they are students. They recognize that they are not the greatest athletes.” He added, “To convert college sports into professional sports would be tantamount to converting it into a minor-league sport. And we know, in the United States, minor-league sports are not particularly successful.”

Until now, there was no way to test this thesis. Antitrust economists like Andy Schwarz, who played a key behind-the-scenes role in bringing the lawsuits against the association — may have scoffed at the N.C.A.A.’s arguments. But during the various antitrust trials, the plaintiffs’ economists went to court with models showing that paying players would have no effect, while the N.C.A.A. had models showing the opposite. Who could say for sure?

Continue reading the main story
ADVERTISEMENT


Starting in 2019, however, state legislatures began passing laws forbidding universities to punish athletes who took endorsement fees or cut licensing deals — “name, image and likeness,” or N.I.L., deals. The N.C.A.A. tried to grab control of the N.I.L. phenomenon but failed miserably. With a July 2021 deadline fast approaching, the association finally decided to allow college athletes to accept N.I.L. money without fear of losing their athletic eligibility.

Three months in, the results have been nothing short of remarkable. First, it turns out that a lot of companies were eager to sign deals with college athletes. High-profile football players landed deals almost immediately. The Alabama quarterback Bryce Young is said to have deals worth close to $1 million. Auburn’s Bo Nix and Alabama’s Malachi Moore are both endorsing Milo’s Tea, an Alabama company. A moving company based in Tampa, Fla., College Hunks Hauling Junk, signed two members of the Miami Hurricanes football team.

But it’s not just football players — and it’s not just male athletes in the “revenue sports.” The Connecticut basketball star Paige Bueckers trademarked her nickname, Paige Buckets, with the expectation of a branded product sometime down the line. Lexi Sun, a Nebraska volleyball player and Instagram influencer, started her own clothing brand. She also signed a deal with Borsheims, the Omaha jewelry store owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway. Boost Mobile, a wireless provider, said it was signing “hundreds of N.C.A.A. athletes across a wide variety of sports and universities.” And on and on.

Before N.I.L. payments were allowed, athletic administrators expressed fear that the deals would create dissension on teams between those who had them and those who didn’t. It hasn’t happened; instead many athletes seem to view N.I.L. deals as something any of them can land with enough initiative.

Continue reading the main story
ADVERTISEMENT


Another fear was that universities would use N.I.L. deals as a tool to lure talented high school athletes. In fact, that has been happening. The University of Nebraska, for example, has set up a program that will “position all Husker student-athletes for success in N.I.L.,” according to its athletic director. And when Alabama’s football coach, Nick Saban, let it be known that Bryce Young was getting rich from his N.I.L. contracts, he was sending a message to every athlete he hopes to recruit.

As the economist and N.C.A.A. critic Ted Tatos put it on Twitter: “It’s fascinating to watch schools go from ‘NIL will end college sports’ to ‘pick our school because we offer the best NIL opportunities.’ It’s almost as though they always knew their previous position was utter nonsense.”

Of course, the most important consequence of players’ making outside income is that it has had zero effect on the business of college football — or any other sport. As Mr. Schwarz predicted, fans love college football just as much today as they did before players were able to earn money. The popularity of college sports, it turns out, does not depend on “amateurism.”

Eleven years ago, when I first started writing about the N.C.A.A. in the pages of this newspaper, I often felt I was whistling in the wind. The N.C.A.A. was utterly unyielding. Some athletic directors said they would drop a sport rather than pay a player. Most fans were against the idea. It was hard to imagine that one day Lexi Sun would be selling her own branded T-shirts online.

But here we are. Everyone can see now that college athletes making deals for themselves is just capitalism, nothing more or less. Even Mr. Emmert now acknowledges that allowing players to reap outside income through endorsements and the like has been a net plus.

And yet the N.C.A.A. still maintains that paying players an actual salary would bring about the ruination of college sports. No one believes it anymore. Which leads to the final question: When will the work force in this multibillion-dollar business finally be compensated for its efforts? Based on recent experience, it could be soon.

What do you think? Should college athletes be paid? Let us know: [email protected].

“ its euphemism for not paying the players.”

Quite the business model — chattel slavery.

Always called it the gridiron plantation.

NFL should fund its own development league. Let the air out of the balloon. Pay a stipend, set up a post graduation fund and lifetime free tuition (conference wide) and call it a day. Not enough, go play in a professional league.

Word!

[Farfromgeneva]

Good morning. Since July, the National Collegiate Athletic Association has allowed athletes to make money from autograph signings, personal appearances, endorsements and their social media platforms. In today’s newsletter, Joe Nocera — who has covered the debate around paying student-athletes for more than a decade — looks at what the success of such deals means for the future of college sports.

(Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up here.)


From left, Nebraska’s Lexi Sun, Florida’s Anthony Richardson and Fresno State’s Hanna Cavinder are among the college athletes who have pursued partnerships with brands.Illustration by The New York Times; photos, from left, by Kenneth Ferriera/Lincoln Journal Star, Matthew Hinton/Associated Press, Isaac Brekken/Associated Press
No ‘amateurism,’ no problem
Author Headshot
By Joe Nocera
We’re halfway through the college football season, and business sure is booming. All the big football powers are packing them in just like they did before the pandemic. Television ratings are higher than they had been in years. The money is pouring in. Network executives, advertisers, athletic directors — and fans — are very happy.

If you had been listening to the National Collegiate Athletic Association for the past, oh, 50 years or so, you could be forgiven for wondering why college football hasn’t collapsed this season. It was supposed to, now that athletes are allowed to sign endorsement deals.

After all, the N.C.A.A. has long claimed that the essence of college sports is “amateurism” — its euphemism for not paying the players.

While the coaches, conference commissioners and athletic directors all reap the financial rewards that flow from the multibillion-dollar business of college sports, the athletes themselves do not. According to the N.C.A.A.’s creed, players must be viewed as students first, with sports merely an extracurricular activity, something they do for the love of their school. Mark Emmert, the president of the N.C.A.A., has said many times that if the players were paid, they would be employees rather than students and that this would change everything.

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The N.C.A.A.’s amateurism rules aren’t just rooted in the supposed ideal of the “student-athlete” (a term, by the way, popularized in the mid-1950s to prevent injured players from getting workers' compensation). During the past dozen years, as the association has been hit with a series of antitrust lawsuits, it has stressed a business rationale as well.

It goes like this: Amateurism is college sports’ secret sauce — that is, it’s what makes the product unique. Fans want to believe that the players on the field are all students. And they want to believe that the players have the same loyalty to the university that they do. Paying players would destroy that illusion, the N.C.A.A. believes. What’s more, if college athletes were paid, the distinction between college and professional sports would be erased — and fans would suddenly realize how inferior teenagers playing for their universities were compared with the pros.

Here’s how Mr. Emmert put it in 2014, testifying in an antitrust case: “Fans appreciate the fact that these are indeed college athletes. They recognize that they are students. They recognize that they are not the greatest athletes.” He added, “To convert college sports into professional sports would be tantamount to converting it into a minor-league sport. And we know, in the United States, minor-league sports are not particularly successful.”

Until now, there was no way to test this thesis. Antitrust economists like Andy Schwarz, who played a key behind-the-scenes role in bringing the lawsuits against the association — may have scoffed at the N.C.A.A.’s arguments. But during the various antitrust trials, the plaintiffs’ economists went to court with models showing that paying players would have no effect, while the N.C.A.A. had models showing the opposite. Who could say for sure?

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Starting in 2019, however, state legislatures began passing laws forbidding universities to punish athletes who took endorsement fees or cut licensing deals — “name, image and likeness,” or N.I.L., deals. The N.C.A.A. tried to grab control of the N.I.L. phenomenon but failed miserably. With a July 2021 deadline fast approaching, the association finally decided to allow college athletes to accept N.I.L. money without fear of losing their athletic eligibility.

Three months in, the results have been nothing short of remarkable. First, it turns out that a lot of companies were eager to sign deals with college athletes. High-profile football players landed deals almost immediately. The Alabama quarterback Bryce Young is said to have deals worth close to $1 million. Auburn’s Bo Nix and Alabama’s Malachi Moore are both endorsing Milo’s Tea, an Alabama company. A moving company based in Tampa, Fla., College Hunks Hauling Junk, signed two members of the Miami Hurricanes football team.

But it’s not just football players — and it’s not just male athletes in the “revenue sports.” The Connecticut basketball star Paige Bueckers trademarked her nickname, Paige Buckets, with the expectation of a branded product sometime down the line. Lexi Sun, a Nebraska volleyball player and Instagram influencer, started her own clothing brand. She also signed a deal with Borsheims, the Omaha jewelry store owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway. Boost Mobile, a wireless provider, said it was signing “hundreds of N.C.A.A. athletes across a wide variety of sports and universities.” And on and on.

Before N.I.L. payments were allowed, athletic administrators expressed fear that the deals would create dissension on teams between those who had them and those who didn’t. It hasn’t happened; instead many athletes seem to view N.I.L. deals as something any of them can land with enough initiative.

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Another fear was that universities would use N.I.L. deals as a tool to lure talented high school athletes. In fact, that has been happening. The University of Nebraska, for example, has set up a program that will “position all Husker student-athletes for success in N.I.L.,” according to its athletic director. And when Alabama’s football coach, Nick Saban, let it be known that Bryce Young was getting rich from his N.I.L. contracts, he was sending a message to every athlete he hopes to recruit.

As the economist and N.C.A.A. critic Ted Tatos put it on Twitter: “It’s fascinating to watch schools go from ‘NIL will end college sports’ to ‘pick our school because we offer the best NIL opportunities.’ It’s almost as though they always knew their previous position was utter nonsense.”

Of course, the most important consequence of players’ making outside income is that it has had zero effect on the business of college football — or any other sport. As Mr. Schwarz predicted, fans love college football just as much today as they did before players were able to earn money. The popularity of college sports, it turns out, does not depend on “amateurism.”

Eleven years ago, when I first started writing about the N.C.A.A. in the pages of this newspaper, I often felt I was whistling in the wind. The N.C.A.A. was utterly unyielding. Some athletic directors said they would drop a sport rather than pay a player. Most fans were against the idea. It was hard to imagine that one day Lexi Sun would be selling her own branded T-shirts online.

But here we are. Everyone can see now that college athletes making deals for themselves is just capitalism, nothing more or less. Even Mr. Emmert now acknowledges that allowing players to reap outside income through endorsements and the like has been a net plus.

And yet the N.C.A.A. still maintains that paying players an actual salary would bring about the ruination of college sports. No one believes it anymore. Which leads to the final question: When will the work force in this multibillion-dollar business finally be compensated for its efforts? Based on recent experience, it could be soon.

What do you think? Should college athletes be paid? Let us know: [email protected].

“ its euphemism for not paying the players.”

Quite the business model — chattel slavery.

Always called it the gridiron plantation.

Pizza, think I’ve shared this before but Cartman illustrates it best.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZB0qsJuRDo

[Farfromgeneva]

But wait…he’s not done!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CCagkaLoAfg

[Farfromgeneva]

In the D3 model and “heads for beds” aspect of this discussion I thought this story was interesting to share if about football.



D-III football returning to Louisiana
Nov 10, 2021

Centenary hasn't fielded a football team since before the U.S. entered World War II, but the Gents aim to return in 2024.

Football is making its return to Centenary College, president Christopher L. Holman announced Wednesday, Nov. 10.

The school is the third current member of Division III to announce a new program in the past two months, following Eastern and Hilbert, which are both planning to play games in 2022. Centenary is aiming to start play in 2024.

Centenary has just 535 full-time undergraduates as of its most recent filing with the U.S. Department of Education and would be among the smallest of schools sponsoring Division III football.

"For more than 120 years, athletics has been an important part of the student experience at Centenary College," said Holoman at a morning event at the college's Mayo Field. "We haven't played football here for quite some time, but the wait is over. Today, I am so excited and proud to announce that Centenary will be bringing college football back to Shreveport-Bossier City."

Centenary's previous football history began with the Gents' first game in the fall of 1894 and ended in November 1941, with a brief attempted revival in the 1960s. More than 50 years later, the decision has been made to bring the sport back with an expected initial season set for the fall of 2024. Applications to join a conference will begin immediately and the search for a head coach is underway. A hire is expected to be made in early 2022.

"With the growing enrollment within the department of athletics, we have an opportunity to add college football to the arsenal of athletic programs and expand the reach of supporting successful opportunities for future Centenary student-athletes," said athletic director David Orr. "Additionally, this is an opportunity to engage the Shreveport-Bossier City community with Centenary College, through arguably the most community-engaged sport: football."

Centenary is currently a member of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference for all sports except women's gymnastics (Midwest Independent Conference) and men's lacrosse (Heartland Collegiate Lacrosse Conference). The athletic department features 19 varsity squads.

Board of Trustees chairman Archer Frierson spoke about the board's support for this new initiative.

"We are very excited about the future and believe that this decision will result in positive growth all across the college, not only in athletics," said Frierson. "As a former college football player, I understand that having a football team playing on campus generates excitement and brings the community together. I am grateful for the work of the football feasibility study led by my fellow trustee Ross Barrett, that examined the question from all angles and did due diligence with regard to finances and other resources."

On Wednesday, Holoman announced that Centenary has already received gifts of more than $1.25 million to support the re-establishment of football. Improvements will be made to Mayo Field, current home of the Ladies and Gents soccer teams and the Gents lacrosse team, in preparation for the facility to also host the new football team. In conjunction with the school's upcoming bicentennial in 2025, Centenary will be embarking on a number of capital and curricular projects to support students, professors, and programs.

"Today represents one of the final steps in a careful process rooted in our current strategic plan that, along other initiatives, calls for exploring new athletic opportunities," said Holoman. "I am so grateful for the enthusiastic support that we have received from the Shreveport-Bossier City community and we look forward to hosting exciting college football Saturdays right here in the heart of the city."

[Farfromgeneva]

In the D3 model and “heads for beds” aspect of this discussion I thought this story was interesting to share if about football.



D-III football returning to Louisiana
Nov 10, 2021

Centenary hasn't fielded a football team since before the U.S. entered World War II, but the Gents aim to return in 2024.

Football is making its return to Centenary College, president Christopher L. Holman announced Wednesday, Nov. 10.

The school is the third current member of Division III to announce a new program in the past two months, following Eastern and Hilbert, which are both planning to play games in 2022. Centenary is aiming to start play in 2024.

Centenary has just 535 full-time undergraduates as of its most recent filing with the U.S. Department of Education and would be among the smallest of schools sponsoring Division III football.

"For more than 120 years, athletics has been an important part of the student experience at Centenary College," said Holoman at a morning event at the college's Mayo Field. "We haven't played football here for quite some time, but the wait is over. Today, I am so excited and proud to announce that Centenary will be bringing college football back to Shreveport-Bossier City."

Centenary's previous football history began with the Gents' first game in the fall of 1894 and ended in November 1941, with a brief attempted revival in the 1960s. More than 50 years later, the decision has been made to bring the sport back with an expected initial season set for the fall of 2024. Applications to join a conference will begin immediately and the search for a head coach is underway. A hire is expected to be made in early 2022.

"With the growing enrollment within the department of athletics, we have an opportunity to add college football to the arsenal of athletic programs and expand the reach of supporting successful opportunities for future Centenary student-athletes," said athletic director David Orr. "Additionally, this is an opportunity to engage the Shreveport-Bossier City community with Centenary College, through arguably the most community-engaged sport: football."

Centenary is currently a member of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference for all sports except women's gymnastics (Midwest Independent Conference) and men's lacrosse (Heartland Collegiate Lacrosse Conference). The athletic department features 19 varsity squads.

Board of Trustees chairman Archer Frierson spoke about the board's support for this new initiative.

"We are very excited about the future and believe that this decision will result in positive growth all across the college, not only in athletics," said Frierson. "As a former college football player, I understand that having a football team playing on campus generates excitement and brings the community together. I am grateful for the work of the football feasibility study led by my fellow trustee Ross Barrett, that examined the question from all angles and did due diligence with regard to finances and other resources."

On Wednesday, Holoman announced that Centenary has already received gifts of more than $1.25 million to support the re-establishment of football. Improvements will be made to Mayo Field, current home of the Ladies and Gents soccer teams and the Gents lacrosse team, in preparation for the facility to also host the new football team. In conjunction with the school's upcoming bicentennial in 2025, Centenary will be embarking on a number of capital and curricular projects to support students, professors, and programs.

"Today represents one of the final steps in a careful process rooted in our current strategic plan that, along other initiatives, calls for exploring new athletic opportunities," said Holoman. "I am so grateful for the enthusiastic support that we have received from the Shreveport-Bossier City community and we look forward to hosting exciting college football Saturdays right here in the heart of the city."

[Farfromgeneva]

In the D3 model and “heads for beds” aspect of this discussion I thought this story was interesting to share if about football.



D-III football returning to Louisiana
Nov 10, 2021

Centenary hasn't fielded a football team since before the U.S. entered World War II, but the Gents aim to return in 2024.

Football is making its return to Centenary College, president Christopher L. Holman announced Wednesday, Nov. 10.

The school is the third current member of Division III to announce a new program in the past two months, following Eastern and Hilbert, which are both planning to play games in 2022. Centenary is aiming to start play in 2024.

Centenary has just 535 full-time undergraduates as of its most recent filing with the U.S. Department of Education and would be among the smallest of schools sponsoring Division III football.

"For more than 120 years, athletics has been an important part of the student experience at Centenary College," said Holoman at a morning event at the college's Mayo Field. "We haven't played football here for quite some time, but the wait is over. Today, I am so excited and proud to announce that Centenary will be bringing college football back to Shreveport-Bossier City."

Centenary's previous football history began with the Gents' first game in the fall of 1894 and ended in November 1941, with a brief attempted revival in the 1960s. More than 50 years later, the decision has been made to bring the sport back with an expected initial season set for the fall of 2024. Applications to join a conference will begin immediately and the search for a head coach is underway. A hire is expected to be made in early 2022.

"With the growing enrollment within the department of athletics, we have an opportunity to add college football to the arsenal of athletic programs and expand the reach of supporting successful opportunities for future Centenary student-athletes," said athletic director David Orr. "Additionally, this is an opportunity to engage the Shreveport-Bossier City community with Centenary College, through arguably the most community-engaged sport: football."

Centenary is currently a member of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference for all sports except women's gymnastics (Midwest Independent Conference) and men's lacrosse (Heartland Collegiate Lacrosse Conference). The athletic department features 19 varsity squads.

Board of Trustees chairman Archer Frierson spoke about the board's support for this new initiative.

"We are very excited about the future and believe that this decision will result in positive growth all across the college, not only in athletics," said Frierson. "As a former college football player, I understand that having a football team playing on campus generates excitement and brings the community together. I am grateful for the work of the football feasibility study led by my fellow trustee Ross Barrett, that examined the question from all angles and did due diligence with regard to finances and other resources."

On Wednesday, Holoman announced that Centenary has already received gifts of more than $1.25 million to support the re-establishment of football. Improvements will be made to Mayo Field, current home of the Ladies and Gents soccer teams and the Gents lacrosse team, in preparation for the facility to also host the new football team. In conjunction with the school's upcoming bicentennial in 2025, Centenary will be embarking on a number of capital and curricular projects to support students, professors, and programs.

"Today represents one of the final steps in a careful process rooted in our current strategic plan that, along other initiatives, calls for exploring new athletic opportunities," said Holoman. "I am so grateful for the enthusiastic support that we have received from the Shreveport-Bossier City community and we look forward to hosting exciting college football Saturdays right here in the heart of the city."

On the same topic and why we have Queens and Lindenwood picking up lacrosse

Hilbert gets its team on the field
More news about: Hilbert
Sep 13, 2022



After just 20 practices, Jeremiah Caviness stepped in at quarterback for Hilbert in the program's first Division III football game.
Hilbert athletics photo

By Joe Sager
D3sports.com

If it wasn’t real already for Hilbert College, it certainly became so Saturday.

The Hawks played in their first game that counts. Though they dropped a 63-0 decision to Denison, just stepping on the field for actual game action 310 days after they announced they were going to add the sport this academic year was a major victory for the program.

While most schools give themselves an extra year to plan, bring in a recruiting class that first year and train and scrimmage before beginning game action, the Hawks wanted to get right after it and play an independent schedule their first year.

Nov. 4, 2021: Hilbert adding four sports, including football
Nov. 10, 2021: Hilbert hires program's first coach
Sept. 9, 2021: After long wait, Keystone takes field for first game
“When I was hired in November, the plan was to field this team and play this team this year. There wasn’t any other idea. It was a goal that we had set,” Hilbert coach Jim Kubiak said. “We went out and recruited 90-plus players and brought them to Hilbert College and that is a great accomplishment as well. We targeted an area in western New York that’s an area we feel is very under recruited. We were excited to recruit those players.”

The Hawks were excited to jump right into game action and not have to wait an entire year.


“It was a challenge, but something I feel needed to be done,” quarterback Jeremiah Caviness said. “It’s nice to get that experience now and, going forward, we can be ready for anything coming our way.”


It was a busy preseason for Hilbert, which had roughly 20 practices before it had to face an established program like Denison.

“Playing Denison, what a fantastic program. They have an awesome coaching staff and great players. There’s a huge gap between what they’re doing and what we’re doing,” Kubiak said. “It’s good to play a team like that, for the players to see what this is going to be like and what adjustments we need to make.

“I think our effort is there. Denison did a fantastic job, but I was really happy with our effort,” he continued. “Those guys played and did their very best. The execution wasn’t there and we were outmatched, but the effort was there. That’s really important in a situation like this.”

“We learned a lot from that game,” Caviness said. “I feel like in watching film, we learned even more. It was a big learning experience.”

There has been a lot of learning going on for the Hawks. Most of the players on the roster are freshmen. So, they’ve had to adjust to doing things at a higher level and at a high pace.

“The game is much faster than high school. It takes a little to get adjusted to,” Caviness said. “Things are kind of busy. I wouldn’t say it’s overwhelming. Our coaches keep a good, level head for us. They have been through it and they let us know how they handled it and that keeps everybody grounded.”

Except, not everyone can say he is part of a brand-new program.

“It certainly has been a challenge. Sometimes, I think when you get into a situation like this, you don’t account for some of the simpler things getting up and running like other programs have,” Kubiak said. “There are a lot of challenges, for sure. There are a lot of young players who haven’t had that NCAA structure with classes and weightlifting and meetings. It’s about getting guys in the right places in the right times with their notebooks. We’re pushing forward. We’re creating this program. Our real goal here is to get a little bit better every week with our attendance, our classes and our understanding of what we’re doing on the field and being a little better at practice.

“So far, the kids have responded. We’re excited about our opportunity this coming week.”

Coaching a team mostly of freshmen can be challenging – not just from a lack of experience, but in fundamentals, too.

“As coaches with a professional background or higher-level backgrounds, there is an anticipation players would have basic understanding of gaps and techniques and coverages. There was very little of that,” said Kubiak, who is the Naval Academy’s all-time leading passer. “Our beginning point is a little further back than what we anticipated. But, I think the kids have embraced the amount of time and effort we’ve tried to put in to lay the foundation. We’ve gone back to 101. Less is more; we’re finding out. You come in with an idea of what you’d like to do. But, you also have to realize what you can do. We’re paring it down and doing less. We’re focusing on being able to do things that the players can absorb and execute.

“As we move through the year, there is a better understanding and execution of those things. That’s what we’re shooting for,” he continued. “Next year, the value of a spring football – being in classroom situations and being able to get lined up – will be incredibly helpful.”

The Hawks knew they’d take their lumps this season. But, having a chance to play right away and build something together over four years under experienced coaches was a big selling point.

“The coaching staff was the biggest draw for me. There’s a lot of NFL experience on our staff. I want to be a sponge and learn a lot from them,” Caviness said. “The coaches all said that freshmen will have an opportunity to play. They told the truth. A lot of freshmen are playing and taking advantage of their opportunities.”

For now, the team plays its games at St. Francis High School’s Polian Family Field. Hilbert has plans to break ground by 2023 on an on-campus multipurpose facility for its football and men’s and women’s track and field teams, which were started this year as well. Currently, the squad practices at an on-campus grass field. Hilbert, which started women’s ice hockey this year also, saw an enrollment burst that of 399 new students this fall. Its enrollment went from 750 last fall to 901 now.

“From a planning standpoint, the college is excited,” Kubiak said. “This is the largest class Hilbert has ever had. Really, the idea is to make Hilbert a destination and the kind of programs players would want to come and make an immediate impact.”

Kubiak and his coaches will keep coaching. They just hope their players keep learning.

“All in all, you may go in with a plan that has worked in the past, but doesn’t fit necessarily what you’re doing all the time and you have to adjust things. That’s been sometimes challenging,” he said. “We’re trying to find the answer. We’re trying to get it all the time. Sometimes, we miss and we have to adjust.

“It’s been very exciting. We’ve had great support from the college. There is a lot of excitement surrounding the program.

“When you come into a situation like this, you have to expect some bumps in the road and just try to keep an open mind every day.”

[44WeWantMore]

In the D3 model and “heads for beds” aspect of this discussion I thought this story was interesting to share if about football.



D-III football returning to Louisiana
Nov 10, 2021

Centenary hasn't fielded a football team since before the U.S. entered World War II, but the Gents aim to return in 2024.

Football is making its return to Centenary College, president Christopher L. Holman announced Wednesday, Nov. 10.

The school is the third current member of Division III to announce a new program in the past two months, following Eastern and Hilbert, which are both planning to play games in 2022. Centenary is aiming to start play in 2024.

Centenary has just 535 full-time undergraduates as of its most recent filing with the U.S. Department of Education and would be among the smallest of schools sponsoring Division III football.

"For more than 120 years, athletics has been an important part of the student experience at Centenary College," said Holoman at a morning event at the college's Mayo Field. "We haven't played football here for quite some time, but the wait is over. Today, I am so excited and proud to announce that Centenary will be bringing college football back to Shreveport-Bossier City."

Centenary's previous football history began with the Gents' first game in the fall of 1894 and ended in November 1941, with a brief attempted revival in the 1960s. More than 50 years later, the decision has been made to bring the sport back with an expected initial season set for the fall of 2024. Applications to join a conference will begin immediately and the search for a head coach is underway. A hire is expected to be made in early 2022.

"With the growing enrollment within the department of athletics, we have an opportunity to add college football to the arsenal of athletic programs and expand the reach of supporting successful opportunities for future Centenary student-athletes," said athletic director David Orr. "Additionally, this is an opportunity to engage the Shreveport-Bossier City community with Centenary College, through arguably the most community-engaged sport: football."

Centenary is currently a member of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference for all sports except women's gymnastics (Midwest Independent Conference) and men's lacrosse (Heartland Collegiate Lacrosse Conference). The athletic department features 19 varsity squads.

Board of Trustees chairman Archer Frierson spoke about the board's support for this new initiative.

"We are very excited about the future and believe that this decision will result in positive growth all across the college, not only in athletics," said Frierson. "As a former college football player, I understand that having a football team playing on campus generates excitement and brings the community together. I am grateful for the work of the football feasibility study led by my fellow trustee Ross Barrett, that examined the question from all angles and did due diligence with regard to finances and other resources."

On Wednesday, Holoman announced that Centenary has already received gifts of more than $1.25 million to support the re-establishment of football. Improvements will be made to Mayo Field, current home of the Ladies and Gents soccer teams and the Gents lacrosse team, in preparation for the facility to also host the new football team. In conjunction with the school's upcoming bicentennial in 2025, Centenary will be embarking on a number of capital and curricular projects to support students, professors, and programs.

"Today represents one of the final steps in a careful process rooted in our current strategic plan that, along other initiatives, calls for exploring new athletic opportunities," said Holoman. "I am so grateful for the enthusiastic support that we have received from the Shreveport-Bossier City community and we look forward to hosting exciting college football Saturdays right here in the heart of the city."

19 varsity sports for a class of 535 undergraduates sounds amazing. Drawing on my memory I counted roughly 21 at JHU (excluding JV Lax and Riflery) for just under 2000 undergraduates.

[Farfromgeneva]

In the D3 model and “heads for beds” aspect of this discussion I thought this story was interesting to share if about football.



D-III football returning to Louisiana
Nov 10, 2021

Centenary hasn't fielded a football team since before the U.S. entered World War II, but the Gents aim to return in 2024.

Football is making its return to Centenary College, president Christopher L. Holman announced Wednesday, Nov. 10.

The school is the third current member of Division III to announce a new program in the past two months, following Eastern and Hilbert, which are both planning to play games in 2022. Centenary is aiming to start play in 2024.

Centenary has just 535 full-time undergraduates as of its most recent filing with the U.S. Department of Education and would be among the smallest of schools sponsoring Division III football.

"For more than 120 years, athletics has been an important part of the student experience at Centenary College," said Holoman at a morning event at the college's Mayo Field. "We haven't played football here for quite some time, but the wait is over. Today, I am so excited and proud to announce that Centenary will be bringing college football back to Shreveport-Bossier City."

Centenary's previous football history began with the Gents' first game in the fall of 1894 and ended in November 1941, with a brief attempted revival in the 1960s. More than 50 years later, the decision has been made to bring the sport back with an expected initial season set for the fall of 2024. Applications to join a conference will begin immediately and the search for a head coach is underway. A hire is expected to be made in early 2022.

"With the growing enrollment within the department of athletics, we have an opportunity to add college football to the arsenal of athletic programs and expand the reach of supporting successful opportunities for future Centenary student-athletes," said athletic director David Orr. "Additionally, this is an opportunity to engage the Shreveport-Bossier City community with Centenary College, through arguably the most community-engaged sport: football."

Centenary is currently a member of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference for all sports except women's gymnastics (Midwest Independent Conference) and men's lacrosse (Heartland Collegiate Lacrosse Conference). The athletic department features 19 varsity squads.

Board of Trustees chairman Archer Frierson spoke about the board's support for this new initiative.

"We are very excited about the future and believe that this decision will result in positive growth all across the college, not only in athletics," said Frierson. "As a former college football player, I understand that having a football team playing on campus generates excitement and brings the community together. I am grateful for the work of the football feasibility study led by my fellow trustee Ross Barrett, that examined the question from all angles and did due diligence with regard to finances and other resources."

On Wednesday, Holoman announced that Centenary has already received gifts of more than $1.25 million to support the re-establishment of football. Improvements will be made to Mayo Field, current home of the Ladies and Gents soccer teams and the Gents lacrosse team, in preparation for the facility to also host the new football team. In conjunction with the school's upcoming bicentennial in 2025, Centenary will be embarking on a number of capital and curricular projects to support students, professors, and programs.

"Today represents one of the final steps in a careful process rooted in our current strategic plan that, along other initiatives, calls for exploring new athletic opportunities," said Holoman. "I am so grateful for the enthusiastic support that we have received from the Shreveport-Bossier City community and we look forward to hosting exciting college football Saturdays right here in the heart of the city."

19 varsity sports for a class of 535 undergraduates sounds amazing. Drawing on my memory I counted roughly 21 at JHU (excluding JV Lax and Riflery) for just under 2000 undergraduates.

The football won’t be very good. Every top 50 program in the 240 or so have 100kid rosters where the third string isn’t that far off the starters.

[LongIslandLacks]

uh-oh........its baaaaack: Brown starting Sh_t again. https://twitter.com/mtracey/status/1437633432838983680

Brown is a hopeless institution. I say this notwithstanding that I have had family members graduate from Brown. God bless them.

[Can Opener]

uh-oh........its baaaaack: Brown starting Sh_t again. https://twitter.com/mtracey/status/1437633432838983680

Brown is a hopeless institution. I say this notwithstanding that I have had family members graduate from Brown. God bless them.

Mom and I have told you not to drink and post.

[livelovelax]

Brown University…………truly embarrassing. God save us. Follow the science?