e0y2e3 wrote:This all from one of the Wired Editors:
Jason Fagone @jfagone
To anyone talking about a "death penalty" for Penn State football, here are some of the consequences.
First, all other sports die. All. Other. Sports. Because PSU football subsidizes the rest. All women's sports, particularly, go away.
The only sports at PSU that make money are football and men's basketball. And men's basketball only makes $$$ b/c of Big Ten contract.
At that point, Penn State has to drop out of the Big Ten. That's a big deal. B/c membership in Big Ten has been huge for PSU.
Not just athletically but academically. When PSU first joined the Big Ten, it had to compare the rest of the univ. to Big Ten schools.
Major academic powerhouses: Michigan, Wisconsin, Northwestern. PSU didn't measure up. So huge academic investments were made.
This is the point I was trying to make earlier: it's not just the $40 million football economy that goes. It's academics.
There's a tangible risk of decreased state appropriations; legislators go to football games, get free tix. That's 14 % of total budget.
Applications go down; academic research suggests that more students apply to schools w/winning fb teams.
More applications allows for a greater selectivity of incoming freshman classes = a greater quality of PSU student.
Mr. @MRBIGSPORTSWRITER brought up SMU and Boston College earlier. Ha ha ha ha ha ha.
It was actually Boston University, and the BU program was LOSING money, and the students weren't attending games. (e0: TRUTH)
In fact, according to Globe, the B.U. fb team was so unpopular that students were “more likely to have attended an opera than a fb game.”
In 2009, Northeastern University made the same decision, after watching its football team rack up 5 straight losing seasons. (e0: TRUTH: they tried to recruit me... SMH)
And good on them. But Boston is a great city! Lots of other stuff to do. State College is in the middle of nowhere.
Now, I understand that people sincerely believe -- and I believe @BIGSPORTSWRITER sincerely believes -- that the crime is monstrous.
And yes, it is a monstrous crime. I was fucking heartbroken today. It was such a difficult day.
I cannot understand how every adult -- EVERY FUCKING ADULT -- failed to do anything. Except, arguably, maybe, McQueary. MAYBE.
And I feel a great sense of shame and confusion and anger and sadness. Seriously, it was a really hard day.
And I never cared that much about football. I went to like 2 football games as a student. But today was hard anyway.
But here is the thing: I thought that the conversation I was having with @BIGSPORTSWRITER was one about a punishment and a crime.
And the question is, re: the death penalty for PSU football -- does that punishment fit the (uniquely monstrous) crime?
And I was trying to point out: you can't even answer that question if you don't know, or care, about the dimensions of the punishment.
And the punishment, I would argue, would also be quite unique. In fact, unique in all of the history of higher education.
SMU was different. SMU was not a school where the social glue was football.
Finally, I get that some people will still feel like the death penalty is appropriate. And I hear you and I respect that.
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This shit has been going on and will go on all night, just some food for thought.
All the stuff from your post is exactly why something must be done and it should be the university. Football is the GLUE of the community. It is everything. It is the power in that hamlet, on that campus and in the institution. It is not unlike Columbus with one significant difference, Columbus is a city; Happy Valley is not. There isn't anything going on there except football.
When you read the quoted stuff above it feels clear that people don't get it. The school needs to de-emphasize the football program (this coming from a guy that where Buckeye gear everywhere) or subject itself to the same corruption within the institution. PSU should gracefully bow out of NCAAF this year "to get their priorities straight" and the NCAA should let them, allow their players to transfer if they so desire (without penalty). The NCAA should then stay out and let this thing die. I don't know if anyone will be able to root for that school this year.
Coming from a Wolverine, we're the football equivalent of a formerly abused wife of a meth addict who just remarried the safe nice guy. We're just glad we have someone who's aware that it's a rivalry and that tackling on defense is integral. Baby steps.
-Kingpin74