College Football Thread

[Stuhoo]

51 minutes ago, Hovadipo said:

Why not both?

"We're playing for the name on the front of the jersey, not the back of the jersey."

*unless she's interested

[Jeff Flabjohns]

Barry Odom is so uninspiring. Lights always seem too bright for him.  

At Media Day today he flubbed and said there’s 6,000 living Purdue Alumni. Maybe that explains their lack of football success!

[Stuhoo]

1 hour ago, Jeff Flabjohns said:

Barry Odom is so uninspiring. Lights always seem too bright for him.  

At Media Day today he flubbed and said there’s 6,000 living Purdue Alumni. Maybe that explains their lack of football success!

This the same man that opened last year's Bucket Game press conference by saying "Happy Thanksgiving, for those that celebrate it."

Please stay at Puredoo forever, Barry Odom.

[Dave from Dayton]

Federal Legislation on University Sports $$$$$$ Profit Sharing - Status Report...2B or not 2B. That is the question.

I did not know which topic thread to place this.

"The Protect College Sports Act advanced out of the Senate Commerce Committee on a 19-9 vote last month that pulled in seven Democrats. It was a hopeful moment for advocates of the Senate’s yearslong legislative push to regulate college athletics after the 2021 landmark Supreme Court decision that ultimately led to the NCAA allowing college athletes to profit off of their name, image and likeness.

"...the Big Ten and the SEC, which stand to lose the competitive edge their member schools reap from lucrative TV contracts, worry it would force them to share revenue with rival conferences — and they’re not the only ones taking issue..."    Politico*

If I read and understand correctly the below linked article, seems the Big Ten and SEC want to maintain the right to between them agree how to share post-season tournament revenues. But, that is not all.  Other conferences and universities say...what?

Senators seemed to agree to put certain clauses in the proposed legislation.  Then the latest draft of the proposed legislation does not have the changes.

"The Commerce panel has made some concessions to the conferences, including clarifying that schools can’t face litigation for declining to participate in media pooling, according to three people granted anonymity to describe private talks." *

So, really, what does that do?  A free for all again?

There seems to be a push to get this done in weeks.  But who the hell knows what will become of it if powers that be in Alabama and Indiana (heh) don't support the changes.

The Senate Majority Leader says that he will bring this legislation to the floor if it seems to have 60 votes.

As always, whomever gets the last chance to change it...voila!  By the way, legislators claim no lobbyists are talking to them.  Yeah, right.

 

  *   Inside the lobbying fight threatening Congress’ college sports overhaul - POLITICO    

[Lebowski]

2 hours ago, Dave from Dayton said:

By the way, legislators claim no lobbyists are talking to them.

That's near impossible in today's legislative branch. Probably has been that way since the 70's regardless of party control. Crap, it might have been this way since the birth of the country! I say this because they need subject matter experts to help them along the way. They always have and always will. 

For example, both the SEC and Big Ten are lobbying for a deal while the other conferences are lobbying for a different deal, correct? LOL!

[str8baller]

24 minutes ago, Lebowski said:

I say this because they need subject matter exports to help them along the way.

Bingo. Also, do people not know that IU has its own federal lobbyist, as does every major university? 
 

The major problem with this bill to start with is it received too little input from stakeholders. 

[Lebowski]

2 minutes ago, str8baller said:

Bingo. Also, do people not know that IU has its own federal lobbyist, as does every major university? 
 

The major problem with this bill to start with is it received too little input from stakeholders. 

To be fair, legislators might be referring to a different type of lobbyist. Like Disney aka ESPN or what have you. But you can bet your house they have subject matter experts (SMEs) aka lobbyist helping them with this proposal. They do for every single bill. And quite frankly, I would worry if they didn't have SMEs helping.

[Stuhoo]

As a recent buyer of Rutgers home football tickets (for the IU game in October) I apparently now have the honor of being a recipient of the annual letter from the Rutgers AD, summarizing her department's notable awesomeness. Needless to say, there is no mention of men's football, or men's or women's basketball. (I fully expect that a Pam Whitten letter would say something like "we kick everyone's @$$ in the highest profile ways imaginable.")

Year One at Rutgers

7/30/2026

Dear Rutgers Nation,

One year ago today, I proudly stood before you for the first time as your Director of Athletics. Standing behind a podium bearing the Block R during my introductory press conference, I shared with you a vision for what I believed Rutgers Athletics could become.

At that moment, my confidence wasn't rooted in experience at Rutgers. It was rooted in belief.

The belief that Rutgers had the capability to compete at the highest level. The belief that our student-athletes deserved every opportunity to succeed. The belief that our fans deserved programs they could proudly rally behind. And the belief that with the right people working together, the right resources, and with an unwavering commitment to excellence, Rutgers could achieve extraordinary things.

Over my first year, that belief has only become stronger.

Today, our confidence is no longer found in vision alone. It is supported by meaningful progress, tangible momentum, and a community that has rallied behind Rutgers in remarkable ways.

A year ago, I said to you that we would recruit and retain elite talent because championships begin with exceptional student-athletes. I shared that developing meaningful partnerships and revenue streams would be critical to our success and I believe we have fundamentally changed our trajectory by doing just that. These partnerships have opened doors that simply did not exist a year ago and have strengthened our ability to attract and retain championship-caliber talent. Moving into the new academic year, we will add an eight-figure investment into our student-athletes through name, image, and likeness (NIL) opportunities. And because of your generosity on a record-setting Giving Day, we will increase our scholarship support to help close the gap with our Big Ten peers to better position our programs to compete in this extraordinary league. 

Athletics would support the academic mission of our university was a core belief that I shared one year ago. I am thrilled that our student-athletes achieved the highest cumulative grade point average in department history this past academic year, posting a 3.423 cumulative GPA. One hundred and seventy-nine student-athletes graduated as members of the Class of 2026. While success in competition will always matter, preparing our student-athletes for meaningful lives after graduation remains one of our greatest responsibilities and will always be our number one priority.

One year ago, I noted that Rutgers Athletics would make a positive impact in our communities. Our student-athletes and staff have served throughout New Jersey with humility and purpose. I was incredibly proud in June when Rutgers Athletics was recognized with the 2026 Fiesta Bowl Community Service Award. Our student-athletes spent more than 2,000 hours this past year serving our communities, a commitment that reflects who we aspire to be, not only as competitors, but as ambassadors for our university and our state.

In addition to belief, I stood before you one year ago with clear intent. The intention to not just compete, but to win. Winning remains our expectation, and I won't pretend we're where we want to be. We know our overall competitive results must improve, and we're working every day to get there. 

I do believe our programs are moving in the right direction and we saw proof of that this past year. Wrestling recorded the best regular-season Big Ten finish in school history. Gymnastics achieved its highest final national ranking ever and advanced to the NCAA Regionals for a second straight year. Our women's lacrosse program returned to the NCAA Tournament and advanced with a first-round victory over Princeton. Rowing qualified for its seventh consecutive NCAA Championship and finished runner-up in the Big Ten. Men's golf posted the highest conference finish in program history, while track & field qualified a school-record 28 Scarlet Knights for the NCAA East First Round. Those achievements matter. They demonstrate that our foundation is strengthening and our expectations are rising.

As I conclude my first year On the Banks, there’s something I will always remember that doesn’t appear on a balance sheet or in a standings report. It won’t ever make the record books, but I am so deeply grateful for it. 

Over the past twelve months, I have had the privilege of meeting thousands of Scarlet Knights. Season ticket holders who have stood by Rutgers through every season, alumni whose pride for this university is contagious, generous donors and corporate partners investing in our future, students who bring incredible energy to our venues, and families who proudly wear scarlet.

You welcomed me and Nate with kindness, encouragement, honesty, excitement, and a sincere belief in what Rutgers can become. Your passion inspires us every single day and it reminds us why we work so hard to elevate this department.

While we've made meaningful progress, we recognize that our work is far from complete. Building a championship mentality isn't measured in months. It requires discipline, resilience, consistency, and an unwavering focus on improvement every single day.

As I begin my second year at Rutgers, my commitment to you is exactly what it was on my first day.

We will continue to pursue championships.

We will continue to invest in our student-athletes.

We will continue to support the academic mission of this great university.

We will continue to serve New Jersey with immense gratitude.

And we will continue doing everything within our power to make Rutgers Athletics a source of pride for every Scarlet Knight.

One year ago, I asked you to believe in our vision.

Today, I simply want to say thank you for believing in it with me.

 

[LIHoosier]

Oops, I marked that e-mail as spam

[Pagoda]

Rutgers:

 

They ran an insanely large $78M deficit last season… and they weren’t very good in the major sports… that’s so bad.

[Stuhoo]

2 hours ago, LIHoosier said:

Oops, I marked that e-mail as spam

I can summarize it for you:

For on field accomplishments, she leads with Rutgers Wrestling's best conference finish in their history. 

They were 5-3 in conference.

[Demo]

14 hours ago, Jeff Flabjohns said:

Barry Odom is so uninspiring. Lights always seem too bright for him.  

At Media Day today he flubbed and said there’s 6,000 living Purdue Alumni. Maybe that explains their lack of football success!

Uninspiring actually is one of the least of his issues. He’s completely unaccountable and he’s an inveterate whiner. When Mizzou fired him, ostensibly for an academic thing that was frankly not all that big a deal, despite being an alumnus there was not a soul in the Mizzou world who wanted him around anymore.

[Stuhoo]

Think of Cig as April Ludgate and Barry Odom as "Tynnyfer."

Cig: "He's the worst coach I've ever met. I want to travel the state with him."

 

 

[Demo]

1 hour ago, Pagoda said:

Rutgers:

 

They ran an insanely large $78M deficit last season… and they weren’t very good in the major sports… that’s so bad.

Can’t get over the number of people still trying to argue that the current model is sustainable when you have a top 2 conference in the country with all the accompanying revenue streams and Rutgers is losing their a$$ and Penn St isn’t even trying to be competitive in basketball and all the money problems at Maryland and yet it’s supposed to somehow just magically come together. The only solution really seems to be about a 20 school super conference and everybody else can just become Wabash.

[jermhoosierfan]

4 minutes ago, Demo said:

Can’t get over the number of people still trying to argue that the current model is sustainable when you have a top 2 conference in the country with all the accompanying revenue streams and Rutgers is losing their a$$ and Penn St isn’t even trying to be competitive in basketball and all the money problems at Maryland and yet it’s supposed to somehow just magically come together. The only solution really seems to be about a 20 school super conference and everybody else can just become Wabash.

From interviews I have read from Sen. Cruz and Cantwell, they are trying to make sure the smaller schools aren't left out also which means making the big dogs angry while trying to lift up the smaller ones.  You have to wonder if the NCAA were to do the broadcast deals for the sports under one big umbrella and not the conferences have their own, how much more or less would the big schools bring in?  You would have to probably ration it out somehow, but it would be a lot less confusing.  I am just spit balling all that.

[Jeff Flabjohns]

49 minutes ago, Demo said:

Uninspiring actually is one of the least of his issues. He’s completely unaccountable and he’s an inveterate whiner. When Mizzou fired him, ostensibly for an academic thing that was frankly not all that big a deal, despite being an alumnus there was not a soul in the Mizzou world who wanted him around anymore.

I tuned into his pre and post-game pressers for last year’s 56-3 beatdown. He came off snarky toward a few reporter questions, condescending.

Kinda similar to that Baylor player who once explained the meaning of a rebound when asked about rebounding disparity. 

Loser behavior

[Home Jersey]

5 minutes ago, Jeff Flabjohns said:

I tuned into his pre and post-game pressers for last year’s 56-3 beatdown. He came off snarky toward a few reporter questions, condescending.

Kinda similar to that Baylor player who once explained the meaning of a rebound when asked about rebounding disparity. 

Loser behavior

Haha, except Taurean Prince's snark was actually pretty funny in response to a reporter's dumb question "how does Yale out-rebound Baylor?"

Odom is just a flat out turd.

[Stuhoo]

As some of you may know, I have had a 180 turnaround on my opinion of Paul BaldTrollDumb@$$. Yes - he trolls hard. But if you pay attention his trolling is really comical and masterfully done, and when he pulls back the curtain and speaks truth, he is really funny and really perceptive.

Here is an interview from this week where he pulls back the curtain and is funny and perceptive:

 

[Pagoda]

8 minutes ago, Stuhoo said:

As some of you may know, I have had a 180 turnaround on my opinion of Paul BaldTrollDumb@$$. Yes - he trolls hard. But if you pay attention his trolling is really comical and masterfully done, and when he pulls back the curtain and speaks truth, he is really funny and really perceptive.

Here is an interview from this week where he pulls back the curtain and is funny and perceptive:

 

Yea, I don't really mind him because he clearly plays a character (Mr. SEC) that gets people to react and therefore watch.  It's an annoying character at times... but that's his schtick and no one actually cares what he says.  It's entertainment.

Personally, where I sometimes have a slight issue is with some of the people who are actually influential.  Saban has been off the deep end for the SEC lately.  And sometimes Kirk gets biased too.  ESPN has the SEC, but they also have the CFP which includes all conferences.  That's a bit annoying and unprofessional imo.

[Demo]

Forde with the kill shot. 
Not really clear how leading in 11 games and winning something like 4 of them is supposed to be considered encouraging.