Truly sad for us old timers, but  exactly where we were headed.  Next step is unionization and collective bargaining.  Not sure how you’d make this binding on future athletes in the absence of a CBA. Of course, a CBA may be an opportunity to restore some eligibility rules and transfer restrictions.

TV, gambling, and cannabis revenue will keep this going for a while—but I’m pretty much done as even just a semi-serious fan.  I’ve got better things to do and that are expected of me.

Last edited by Merrick (5/23/2024 8:47 pm)

The days of gathering in letterman sweaters in front of the fire at the University dinner club to sing barbarshop songs about "dear ol' alma mater fair" the night before the big homecoming game are over. But there are corporate hospitality tents and sponsor "experience" and "special access" packages available, if you have the cash.
On the plus side, the way I read this it might mean that after all those decades Ohio $tate and U$C might actually have to abide by a salary cap.
As for the GW's, AU's and W&M's of the world, there are plenty of clubs like Wrexham out there that have not become TV darlings and that plod along at a lower level with occasional flashes of glory, and their fanbases are contented enough even if most people around town wear Real Madrid and Liverpool shirts.
Time to stop thinking about "how can GW compete with MegaCorporateTeam University?" and time to start thinking about "how can sports teams help the University profile without bankrupting the school (financially or morally)?". GW is not going to win a bidding war for a power forawrd with outside range, but few A10 schools would.
Shame on the adults who were so seduced by money that they took the good idea of intercollegiate competition and turned it in to a multi-billion dollar professional industry that did not pay the performers. Shame on the TV execs and advertisers who prostituted this good idea. Shame on the coaches who were eager to become the highest paid University employees but reluctant to emphasize graduation rates. Shame on the consumers who clamoured for more (bigger NCAA field, football championship, expanded schedules, 24 hour TV coverage, etc...) without caring about the "college" part of college athletics.

Funny that GWAA mentioned Wrexham, as I was just thinking that the only way to fix this mess would be to eliminate the conferences, which have become a geographic and historical joke anyway, and divide D1 MBB (would work for football as well) into 4 or 5 hierarchical subdivisions with annual relegations and promotions.

Gwmayhem wrote:

GW0509 wrote:

Gwmayhem wrote:

Smaller non-FBS Division 1 conferences have been fruitlessly arguing that a disproportionate amount of the settlement will come at their expense.

...

So just to recap, the power conference school athletes are about to get richer perhaps as early as next season (and this does not even account for their burgeoning NIL collectives) while the mid-majors and low-majors not only will not partake in any extra compensation from the NCAA but they will be responsible for a hefty amount of the settlement via reduced NCAA tournament revenue.  Talk about taking it on both ends.

To play devil's advocate a bit, the small schools that are complaining now were more than happy to make the move to D1 or stay in D1 and collect their share of NCAA revenue over the years.  Schools like Bellarmine, Lindenwood, Stonewood (basically all past or future GW OOC opponenets lol) moved to D1 thinking there was only upside and no downside.

From what I gather, the settlement money is apportioned based on future tournament allotments.  So, while it is true that the reduction in tournament revenue may be a bigger hit to the NEC representative's budget, it's not the case they are paying any *more* than the P4 conferences since so many D1 conferences are one-bid leagues whereas the B12 sends 7-8 teams annually.  

After all, these are the same schools (and I'm including the A10 in this) that say they should have more spots in March Madness than the P4 schools.  If small conferences want to get more slices of the revenue pie, then they can't get upset if and when a bill comes due. 

I'd say the counterargument to this is that roughly 60% of the settlement (excluding NCAA reserves) with be the result of paying mid-major and low-major schools less, while the vast majority of these funds will be going to power conference football and men's basketball players.  This literally amounts to GW earning less so that football players at the University of Texas can receive funds beyond their own NIL collective.   It's true that a number of schools have made the shift to D1 to collect NCAA tournament revenue.  However, these schools are almost always playing in a one-bid league so their share of the revenue has always been substantially less than even the worst athletic programs at power conferences. 

This is way worse than the realization that GW can't outbid the big guys.  This is about Jun and Jacoi inevitably playing their way to a P5 school while at the same time, realizing that a future Tyler Cavanaugh who was playing around 20 minutes a game at Wake Forest could conceivably transfer but it's not going to be to a GW.  The only P5 players who may transfer down to a GW will be players who are out of the rotation and are hardly playing at their P5 school.  I am afraid that this will be the new reality.
 

I could write a book on this nonsense (NIL, NCAA, P5 etc.) and just may. Gwmayhem, the new reality already was the reality the minute unlimited transfers and unfettered NIL $$$ became the norm. This was where we were headed all along but nobody wanted to listen. I had hoped to be wrong but I've told you all time and time again here - we are headed to a lower level of competition. It was always a matter of time not if. Those of us old enough to remember the heady days of 1993 and years after that will have seen the golden era of GW basketball. What comes next is either a slow decline or a rapid pulling of the plug. Knowing how slow academic institutions are to adjust to change, it is probably the former until someone just cries "no mas".

The NCAA rolled over and as a result, I doubt it will be in existence much longer in its present format. The idea that student-athletes should be treated differently from other students is outrageous. No one is compelled to play a sport at college. Most athletic departments LOSE money every year. The notion that everyone is making millions is false. Yes, some schools are raking in money. So find a way for them to give it back to benefit all student. 
One fair thing to do with the money moving forward could be to have it revert back to a pot to be shared by all students attending the institution in the form of tuition reduction. if as a student-athlete you don't like that ... simple ... don't play or go pro. We have truly jumped the shark now.

 

Last edited by GWRising (5/24/2024 2:43 pm)

The 'Nobody wanted to listen" comes from the refrain of a few posters (not you) who scoffed at the notion of Patriot League or D3 every time it's been brought up. I guess they can continue to scoff right up until the time we start playing Colgate and Lafayette twice a year or worse yet, Catholic or Carnegie Mellon. It's coming boys - maybe not today or tomorrow but sooner than you think.

FredD wrote:

GWRising wrote:

The 'Nobody wanted to listen" comes from the refrain of a few posters (not you) who scoffed at the notion of Patriot League or D3 every time it's been brought up. I guess they can continue to scoff right up until the time we start playing Colgate and Lafayette twice a year or worse yet, Catholic or Carnegie Mellon. It's coming boys - maybe not today or tomorrow but sooner than you think.

Rising I see the future much the way you do rising.
I think it will take some deep Pocket miracles to remain competitive in the A10.

My understanding is that Hartford when they dropped from D1 is not going to save that much money. If this is correct what level is the correct level for GWs Athletic Budget?

What I do feel comfortable saying is the days of set it and forget are over. Raising big dollars or cutting dollars and program are going to require presidential leadership and attention.

I am hoping that the 100+ year history of GWU BBall works against dropping to Div II. But I do believe the program is at the crossroads.  The fundamental nature of the game has changed due to unlimited transfers coupled with NIL.  Players are now looking to get paid, regardless of the name of the jersey.

GWU has not been competitive in the A-10 since the winning NIT year and is unlikely to be so without a major cash influx to "purchase" higher level talent.  And that is no guarantee of winning as everyone else is also purchasing talent.   The only certainty is that you will lose without buying talent.

The best move may be to move to a lower 1-bid conference where GWU - with its current NIL budget - can dominate and have a great chance at winning the sole NCAA Autobid.

I do not know enough to pick that conference.  But some options include CAA, Patriot, and American East.  Look for some feelers in terms of scheduling some of the local teams in those conferences - American, Loyola, UMBC, as well as local HBCU buy games including Coppin State, Morgan State, Hampton, NCA&T, and Howard.

And I hope that GWU doesn't schedule any D2 teams.

I hope Joe transfers again just to really hammer home the absurdity of it all

Am I missing something? To my knowledge, Joe has never sat out a full year so this coming season should be his final year of eligibility (unless the NCAA passes something regarding unlimited eligibility). Then again, the language used for this stuff feels almost intentionally confusing.

At least the Ivy league guys complaining that they didn't get to play for whatever few games during the COVID season (Chris Ledlum, Jordan Dingle, Idan Tretout, August Mahoney, etc.) had their appeal denied in court. It was never five years of eligibility, just that the 2020-21 season did not count whether the player's school participated or not. While a change in years of eligibility will likely still be called into question again in the future at least that verdict keeps things the same for now.
 

So, if Joe plays his cards right, he could play for 6 different college teams over a 6 year period?   This is good for college basketball?

Could form an all-school all-star team with Bamisile and Brayon Freeman.
Don't know if Bamisile hit 8 schools w/high school, but we know Freeman had 4 high schools in 4 years.
So at least a dozen teams between them.
The absurdity of this is stunning. 
Would personally petition the NCAA to extend the portal deadline for people like Bamisile, just
for the sheer amusement of it.