Mark Cuban has thrown quite a missile into the stupidhappy world of American football. He predicts the greedy NFL, which seems to be moving toward 24/7 televised football games (and what a noble physical spectacle football is; one player, anticipating yet another weekday game being added, says that for him it would be like “getting in a car wreck Sunday then getting hit by a train Thursday.”), will implode in ten years via saturation bombing.
And what (ahem!) are the implications of this possibility for American universities – many of whom are already largely given over, financially and academically, to the game? I mean, in all the responses to Cuban’s argument, no one mentions that it’s not only national saturation via professional football. Most of the people staring at NFL games are also staring at university games… SO much football, my fellow Americans…
Before UD offers an analysis of the higher ed implications of Cuban’s thing, she reminds you that attendance at university games (as well as professional) is down across the country and will probably decline more over the next few years. Even the state god of Alabama has warned the little people they’d better start showing up at games (and staying at games – these university things are televised too, and it looks pathetic when after the first half the stands are empty) or else. Add to this picture continuing huge expenditures for bigger stadiums (Take the University of New Hampshire for a sample of the sort of thinking university administrators are doing on this issue. Its spokesperson explains that “it attracts about 750 students to [its current stadium], which seats about 6,500 but would grow to 10,000 under the new plan. UNH said a new stadium would attract more students to games and to the university as a whole.”), continued high-profile team criminality (Cuban talks about this as a factor in the decline of NFL too), continued reputational damage due to cheating scandals, etc.
Okay, so what should universities do at this point, if Cuban is in any way correct in his description of the future of the game?
If the NFL implodes, someone’s gonna have to be there to pick up the shards of what’s left. When American public opinion is so disgusted with the corruption and greed of professional football that people abandon it, there sits the sweet innocent university, ready to give our people the true unadulterated game again! Football played by uncompensated scholars who play for the love of the game… Who play whenever their academic schedules permit… It’s inspiring, it’s about clean-living, it’s what this country very badly needs. It’s a winner.
March 28th, 2014 at 1:30PM
Yes, unless unionization derails the college sports gravy train. Consider, for starters, that if university athletics become a business, there is no longer a charitable tax deduction for alumni contributions, including the seat licenses and preferred parking spots.
March 28th, 2014 at 2:10PM
Stephen: Seeing the end of that luxury seating tax break will be sad.
March 28th, 2014 at 9:01PM
I don’t have much love lost on the NFL, but I laughed out loud to read Cuban’s accusations of criminal behavior. NBA vs. NFL? Black kettle vs. black pot?