huskrs12

Thanks for the link. It's interesting to see the economics of college athletics, and the disparity between the average college and a big university such as NU. I didn't do any thorough analysis in my last post, but I was only looking at the football program since they're the cash cow. It just rubs me the wrong way that so many people are allowed to profit from their play (e.g. recruiting sites, coaches), and yet some people get up in arms when the actual players are paid anything beyond the tuition/housing expenses.

I imagine it's very difficult for the football players to support their children and families unless they have significant assistance from their parents, and/or their partner has a stable non-student income. For those of you complaining about student athlete stipends, here are some numbers to put things in perspective: From 2010-2011, the football program at UNL brought in $32,084,379 of profit (not total revenue, but profit source). Assuming 85 scholarship athletes and a total cost of tuition, fees and housing of $28,580 per year for out of staters (source), that means they pay out $2,429,300 per year. If you pay each scholarship player $1,420/mo for 12 months, then that is $17,240/player per year for a total of $1,448,400, bringing the total direct payments and education expenses to the players to $3,877,700. Bo Pelini makes more than $2,775,000 each year, plus $150k for reaching a non-BCS bowl game, bringing it to at least $2,925,000 (source) From a financial perspective, the university receives a profit of $32+ million while paying out only roughly $4 million to 85 players. That's an insane return on investment for the university, and if you add in the other expenses for medical and academic support, etc., they're still making a killing compared to what they're paying out. Even the coaches at the bottom end make several hundred thousand (or close to $3mil if you're head honcho), and if they leave the university for a better position, they face basically no fiscal repercussions themselves. Coaches can also get significant income from endorsements or other activities that are made possible by their positions as football coaches at a big university. Meanwhile the athletes get an education and maybe $17k in their pockets, but also face strict restrictions on transferring, cannot accept any endorsement deals or money that is made by using their names and numbers in marketing, video games, etc. You can come to your own conclusions, but to me I think that giving the players $17k in pocket money in addition to a free education is still not enough for what they're providing to the university. I think that to try to call it amateur athletics is a joke. Also to try to compare their low incomes to what you made as a college student seems completely irrelevant -- how much profit did you generate for the university while you were attending?

I have no doubt that Ron Brown truly cares for all his players and has good intentions, but reading some more of his quotes I have questions about the wisdom of keeping him around. I found the most disturbing quote to be: If I know that Nebraska employs a coach who believes that not allowing religious teaching in schools is in any way comparable to child molestation, there is no way I send my kid to Nebraska to play football. I doubt I'm alone in that opinion. I'd hate to see him go from a football perspective, but I absolutely disagree with his opinions and I find it difficult to believe he can keep his personal beliefs separated from his duties as an employee of the University of Nebraska.

I've never heard anything about this... can you elaborate?

It seems like a lot of folks here are selling Dennard and especially Crick a little short. CBS Sportsline mock drafts (Rang, Brugler) think Dennard will go mid 1st (#14 or #17), and Crick might get picked up at the end of the 1st (#32/NR). David won't slide past the 3rd, but I wouldn't be surprised if some team falls in love with him and picks him mid-late 2nd. I'd be shocked if Caputo went before the 6th or 7th, if at all. I think Jones will probably be highest lineman taken, but not before 6th. Yoshi probably goes undrafted but gets picked up in FA. Highly doubtful Kinnie gets drafted at all after the horrendous performance this season.

If Bo took NU to the championship game, you're right -- no one would be complaining about Bo's sideline antics. But instead we are dealing with another season where we had a legitimate chance to win but the head coach and team imploded, leading to another disappointing loss to end the season. Some people (myself included) think that Bo's temper impedes his ability to win. So do you think that Bo's attitude has NO EFFECT on the results on the field? What about recruiting... do you think national TV coverage of him unleashing his fury on Martinez helped and/or had no effect on recruiting? Also, I would imagine that many fans and certainly university officials would have a much different evaluation of the coach if his players were constantly getting arrested or failing to qualify academically, regardless of what the coach's winning % is. Luckily Bo is taking care of this aspect, save for a few exceptions (e.g. Caputo), so if he takes care of the winning this isn't an issue.

I support Bo for the most part, but I agree with the original poster and several others that the teams take on the persona of the coach to a certain extent. We have witnessed repeatedly that Bo lets things get to him when the pressure is on, and that he loses his composure as a result. It's not surprising that the players make mental errors when they see their coach going nuts on the sideline. Sure, Bo and the coaches can't execute for the players, but it's also a little hypocritical to expect them to maintain their focus when faced with adversity when the HC is incapable of doing the same. Does Bo, or anyone on the board, think that screaming explatives at the referee for the next 5 minutes after a bad call is going to positively influence the game and future calls? I am not saying that Bo's hothead persona (which is most definitely a reputation he has outside of Husker nation) single handedly results in losses, but it does contribute to the mistakes that are made. With all that said, I think Bo has already made many positive steps with this program (though not 'excellence in every area'...). To take the next steps he needs to mature a bit as a coach and realize that his passion is good in short bursts and can be an excellent motivator for players when used at the appropriate times, but when it's over the top (as it is now) it does nothing good for him or the team. I think he will learn this sooner than later, and hope that TO and the boosters aren't as reactionary as many posters here who call for his head after every loss so that he becomes the coach to lead NU back to national championship contention.

Name is way too close to Bob Stoops. We'll have to pass. touche. starl felini was my next choice.

New name, but think it is valid: Bob Shoop, Vanderbilt Defensive Coordinator. Went from 100's to top 20 in total defense, #6 in interceptions this year. not a big name, but has shown big time results with the players vanderbilt had on hand. more impressive results than JP or anyone else on the defensive coaching staff so far.

Nebraska: 45 Minnesota: 17 Rushing: 307 Passing: 146 Turner scores one, defense gets one score.

Long time lurker, recent member. Sorry to post this here but I wasn't sure where else to do this. I just moved overseas and won't be able to watch the game when it's live (+7 hours). Does anyone know where I can watch a replay so I don't have to inadvertently see the score before I watch the game? Thanks, and GBR!