Will COVID-19 be the needle that finally bursts the sports bubble?

My best guess is that with luck, the NFL could have like a 10 or 8 game regular season. Without luck, they might not be starting until December. In that case, I would propose they have the all-time expanded playoff. Let all 32 in. Seed 'em by last year's record just like the draft. Chiefs play Bengals and so on. That's 16 games. Next week eight games, next four, then you have the conference title games and Super Bowl as usual. People would sure as hell watch that.

 

There are D3 schools operating some D1 sports, such as Franklin & Marshall in wrestling, Johns Hopkins in lacrosse. Is it still 1:1 for Title IX, or what? I know F&M's wrestling program is endowed by a donor. (No one says booster in the Centennial Conference, of which both schools are members.)

 

"Whew!" – Butch The Intern Jones.

 

Truthfully, the donor class is going to get hit by this thing just like everyone else. Alabama will lose some donations it would normally get... but I don't think anyone over there's gonna miss any meals.

 

It's been a weird journey, that's for sure.

Neutral, we also looked into UAB a little bit. Their out-of-state tuition REALLY went up the last two years but the merit scholarships stayed the same. Alabama does that crap as well -- they say "get a 32 ACT and tuition is free" but they increase the room and board to 16 a year...

A D1/D2 men's soccer program has about 30 players and 9.9 (I'll call it 10) scholarships to distribute.

Out of the 30...
- 3 international kids usually get full-rides.
- 10-12 get no scholarships. Strictly walk-ons.
- 13-15 then split up the remaining 7 scholarships. Some get 1/4. Some 1/3. Some 1/2. Some 2/3 or more.
The scholarships are "total cost of attendance". So, if a private school is $56,000 a year (44 + 12 room/board), then that 1/4 scholarship is worth $13,000.

New Mexico would have been free for him -- tuition, honors dorm/board -- and that could have opened a walk-on. But they dropped soccer a year ago. Played C-USA and had to fly everywhere. Too damn expensive and I understand that.

Another school (near @MileHigh) had moderate interest. COA was 53 a year -- only got 14 off that in merit. If they would have done a 1/3 scholarship, that would have taken 17 more off... knocking it down to 22 a year. That *could* have been doable.

It's such a numbers game.

Big 12... has ONE men's soccer program (West Virginia). SEC has only two (Kentucky and South Carolina). Many of the D1 programs are non-P5 and I imagine the pandemic impact will only hurt them even more.

He's committed to a D3 public school and very excited for it. However, IF there is no season in September, he's likely to just take a gap year and enroll in 2021.

 

Unless you're recruited, D3 sports are a joke. Schools have 50 kids in baseball and 70 in football, b/c they're all paying customers. The schools will put a kid on the team (JV) without a look. That's massive practice each with little or no hope of ever seeiong action in a game.

 

I haven't missed games as much as I would have 15 or 20 years ago. In the last few years, baseball was just a habit most nights, sitting outside listening to the radio while drinking a Scotch and smoking a cigar.

I did miss the NCAA Toonament's opening weekend, but that's mainly because I like to see upsets and teams I didn't bother to watch all season. I did, however, watch most of last year's Masters final round. I only saw the back 9 last year, so it was cool to see how Tigger did earlier. I didn't watch any of the other rounds.

I guess what I'm saying is, sports doesn't rule my world like it did when I last worked on a sports desk in 2006. Since then, without having the daily contact with sports, my interest across the board has waned. I'm just not the fan of the sports in general that I once was. My rooting interest is strictly for my teams and few outliers.

I will not be attending any sporting event or concert or theater this year. I doubt I'm alone.

 

Especially at private D3 schools (and even some D2 schools). I see 45 kids on a soccer roster with 6 goalies. "No thanks". A friend of mine coached at a low-level D3 for men's basketball. Kept 21 kids on the roster with a rotation of 9. "I've got twelve kids who just want to say they played college basketball and pay for it."

For him, this particular public D3 seems a good fit. Recruited him hard. Only goalkeeper recruited in this class. Got some merit aid (but not a lot).

 

I wonder what's happening with the sports groupies and the various mistresses scattered across the land. Sports dudes especially can't keep it at home.

 

Definitely. I'm thankful that he wasn't 1,500 miles away and some program just said it's done.

If there is no 2020 season and he's taking a gap year and re-opens recruiting, we'll not only look at interest but an athletic program's overall profile, school endowment, etc. In other words, how likely is the school to drop soccer in the next five years.

I feel terrible for the players at Cincinnati. Like so many student-athletes, they spent 10-12 years just getting to this level. One possible bright spot for the UC players... there are probably way too many D1 programs close by. Xavier, Northern Kentucky, Wright State isn't too far. Neither are Indiana, Butler, Ohio State, Kentucky and Louisville.

 

Send me a DM if you'd like. I may be able to help.