NCAA and Power 5 Agree to Allow Schools to Pay Players

[CHROMEBIRD]

5 minutes ago, Wrestleknownothing said:

To unionize, be subject to right to work, and at-will employment the athletes would have to become employees first. This is something the NCAA has fought against successfully....so far.

I believe independent contractors can unionize, though they can't collectively bargain and or benefit from NLRA and other protections, though states could (unlikely) pass legislation to allow it. OTOH, if athletes are treated as contractors instead of employees, it could grant them degrees of latitude that they don't currently have, like the ability to concurrently work (compete) for other clients (athletic departments) or to subcontract a portion of their work. I'm being hyperbolic and this is way out of my wheelhouse, but it does seem like slippery slopes abound.

[NM1965]

On 5/27/2024 at 5:11 PM, feet2back said:

The Schools that will benefit the most..IMO

PSU

Iowa

Ohio State

Iowa State

Rutgers

Oklahoma State

Oklahoma

Virginia Tech

Missouri

 

 

I think you overestimate the effect this will have on certain teams. I agree that some schools will benefit tremendously because they have both a good-sized warchest AND a dedication to wrestling. Those teams are, obviously, the Big 10 schools. A couple Big 12 schools have demonstrated the will as well. OSU has demonstrated they intend to compete at the highest level with their hiring of Taylor and his new staff, and ISU is building new facilities that Joel Osteen would be proud of. 

I'm not going to comment on all schools you listed, but OU....I don't think so. While OU has a wildly successful tradition in college athletics and runs a wealthy athletic department, OU hasn't demonstrated a will to compete at the highest levels in college wrestling. They wrestle in a shoebox worse than some 4A high schools have, hardly any fans show up anymore, and OU hired a guy who nobody but wrestling wonks know anything about (Kish). No offense to Kish, but he's not going to get the job done. OU needs a lot more help than he can give them in recruiting, money, and coaching.  I know he's just a guy trying to make a living, but handing a disaster like OU's program over to Kish is like handing a shovel to a guy and asking him to fill the Grand Canyon.  I know OU has a long, storied tradition in wrestling, but they've been rancid for a long, long time now and AD Joe Castiglione doesn't seem to give a damn. I'd love to see OU demonstrate a desire to come back and make the necessary changes to be competitive, but it just ain't happening. 

Edited May 29 by NM1965

[NM1965]

On 5/27/2024 at 2:04 AM, Wrestleknownothing said:

That was a brutally bad article to read.

It's amazing how poorly "professionals" write sometimes, isn't it? If you really want to wince read some Yahoo researched articles! 

[NM1965]

On 5/28/2024 at 2:04 AM, billyhoyle said:

The Olympics never made sense to be for amateur athletes only-they are about seeing the best athletes around the world compete against each other.  NCAA athletics does make sense to keep for amateur athletes only because Universities shouldn't have professional teams attached to them-their focus should be on education....And there already are professional leagues where athletes can go and make money.  

It wouldn't have been THAT difficult to avoid the level of greed that has brought us to this point, but the SEC has never cared about anything but $$$ and has brought the other conferences along with them.

I remember when the Olympics allowed professionals from the USSR and Soviet bloc to compete and westerners were held to strict amateur standards. The Soviet hockey team never did anything but play hockey. Their wrestlers never did anything but wrestle, and so on. But the Russians have always been cheaters. Allowing American "professional" athletes to compete just levels the playing ground. 

Regarding paying athletes, I'm fine with it. They bring revenue to the school, after all, and the schools have been using athletes as "slave labor" since forever, offering them only scholarships which cost the school literally nothing while profiting handsomely off the athletes.  Let's face the facts, 99% of kids coming out of HS aren't worth paying to wrestle anyway, and won't be paid anything beyond a full scholarship. I'm just wondering if the ridiculous 9.0 scholarship limitation is going to be lifted now, that's long gnawed at my soul. 

[fishbane]

6 minutes ago, NM1965 said:

Let's face the facts, 99% of kids coming out of HS aren't worth paying to wrestle anyway, and won't be paid anything beyond a full scholarship. I'm just wondering if the ridiculous 9.0 scholarship limitation is going to be lifted now, that's long gnawed at my soul. 

The scholarship limit is 9.9 which was a 20% reduction from the old limit of 11.  The settlement removes scholarship limits but imparts roster limits.  Not sure what that will be in wrestling.

[NM1965]

Just now, fishbane said:

The scholarship limit is 9.9 which was a 20% reduction from the old limit of 11.  The settlement removes scholarship limits but imparts roster limits.  Not sure what that will be in wrestling.

That's superb news. I always thought a guy should win at least a 1/2 scholly even if he just makes the team as a walkon. My bad on the 9.0, as I was writing that I was thinking "wait, is it 9.0 or 9.9?". All starters, obviously, should get a full scholly. 

I could understand roster limits to keep schools from trying to hoard as many wrestlers as possible. Remember the 1970s when some football teams had well over a hundred guys on the team? That's because they were trying to hoard as many guys as possible. There were maybe a half dozen teams with a realistic chance to win the national title back in those days!

[MPhillips]

7 minutes ago, NM1965 said:

There were maybe a half dozen teams with a realistic chance to win the national title back in those days!

Glory Days...