Another good print guy heads online...

Besides Low and Olin Buchanan are there any other examples of legit beat writers jumping to rivals? And does anyone know if rivals will pay for these guys to travel to road games?

 

I don't think you hire a guy like Low only to leave him at home when the football Vols travel to the Swamp. Basketball, however, is likely another issue. I'll be surprised if he travels to Baton Rouge or Fayetteville for a midweek hoops game -- or even a weekend game, for that matter. Other than the likes of UK, UNC or Duke, I'm guessing hoops coverage doesn't mean a whole lot to their bottom line. Probably goes football recruiting, football team and everything else is a distant third.

I'm sure travel budget is a problem for some, but I would think credentialing is still the biggest obstacle for most sites. I know more and more Scout and Rivals sites are getting access, though.

 

I think you're underestimating what Pearl has done.

They were fourth in the country in attendance last year with 19,661 per game. Only UK, Syracuse and UNC had more.

With the way Pearl's recruiting, the transfers coming in and the improvements to the arena ... Fulmer better be careful. He's not bulletproof. Ask Delmonico ... three Omaha appearances in 10 years, and he's looking for a job.

 

Could be, but I'd venture to guess that if you went over there right now their football to basketball story ratio is something like 10:1. Donovan saga aside, I'd say the same for online coverage of the back-to-back hoops champs.

 

For a lot of these guys, travel is covered. It has to be justified, of course - they're not going to send the Fresno State writer to cover basketball games, because there's just not that many fans. But have you ever seen the lists of people that are on the message boards at some of the SEC schools? The Florida site has a record of 2,321 people on the football board at once, 8,500 at Florida State, 7,908 on South Carolina, etc.

I also know a couple of guys who have a lot of their costs covered at a base salary, a multi-year deal and get a percentage of the subscription cut as well. Plus, they like the guys to be mobile - if you succeed at one site, they have no problem bumping you up to something else (say, Cincinnati to Arkansas). It's mostly a good deal all around, but many of the contracts are based on content quotas, which are sometimes hard to get during the summer at a basketball site when the seasons aren't in full swing and recruiting is essentially at a standstill, save for the tournament here or there.

 

Anybody seriously think Chris Low will be the last major-college beat guy from the southeastern quadrant to get poached during the offseason?

 

I wish someone would poach me, but only if they're offering more money for less work. That's the kind of deal I'm looking for.

 

You have learned the key words, grasshopper.

 

From what I'm hearing, I doubt it.

 

Mullen's in the mix and will take the UT beat if it is offered.

 

Any more changes after Mullen moved over to UT?