Budget cuts? Not in the Big 12

[waggy]

Fox Sports strikes 13-year, $1.1 billion deal for football games (http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/fb/fbc/7520352.html)

One key quote and one I hope someone at the A10 offices reads:

“There is no question that there is upward pressure on the value of sports rights,” said Randy Freer, president of Fox Sports Networks. “Sports and college sports have been undervalued comparatively to other content in the marketplace, and this is going to create the opportunity for collegiate sports to create a better marketplace.”

[smileyy]

Pay the players already. What is it about amateurism that's so quaint and precious to sports fans?

Create a salary scale (5 players at $1M per, 25 players at $500k per, etc....along those lines) and just do it.

[Juice]

Pay the players already. What is it about amateurism that's so quaint and precious to sports fans?

Create a salary scale (5 players at $1M per, 25 players at $500k per, etc....along those lines) and just do it.

What about the sports that don't make money? It's not that easy. Plus, it's not like every D1 basketball and football program makes money.

[Xavier]

What about the sports that don't make money? It's not that easy. Plus, it's not like every D1 basketball and football program makes money.

I'm pretty sure its extremely rare for an athletic department to ever make money. I am not sure on the specific programs with in the athletic department but I imagine if its rare for them to even make some money it would be pretty difficult to pay the players. No athletic department would make money at all in that case. (Maybe Texas, I remember hearing they were getting there own TV network, much like the Big 10 network, and that would make them a whole lot of money)

[whitesox]

What about the sports that don't make money? It's not that easy. Plus, it's not like every D1 basketball and football program makes money.

Right. Even if you think it sounds good in the abstract, paying players is impossible in reality.