2023-24 Razorback basketball

[Corn Pop]

That's the side that most of the "pay the players" people don't want to acknowledge.  They want to have it both ways...the salary without the commitment.

I agree. In addition, they never thought it through. Can we set up a system whereby we can pay the players and not kill the goose that laid the golden egg? Maybe it will all turn out all right but the early results are not encouraging.

[DrMongoose]

bigger question for schools like Arkansas where the NIL pot is only so big - not sure it's enough to be a player in all sports so how do you divide the pie and then what is a realistic expectation for each sport? Not sure we have money to be competitive in the big 3 - seems like basketball would easily have the best chance for return on investment with the smaller roster. 

[TC]

I agree. In addition, they never thought it through. Can we set up a system whereby we can pay the players and not kill the goose that laid the golden egg? Maybe it will all turn out all right but the early results are not encouraging.

Even with it's shortcomings, it's still light years better than the old way with bag men and rampant cheating. Still lots of room for improvement though.

[Corn Pop]

Even with it's shortcomings, it's still light years better than the old way with bag men and rampant cheating. Still lots of room for improvement though.

We still have bag men. They've just been legalized. Kinda like betsaracen putting the bookies out of business.

Meet the new bag man, same as the old bag man.

Except now we no longer have amateur sports.

[Elblancodiablo]

We still have bag men. They've just been legalized. Kinda like betsaracen putting the bookies out of business.

Meet the new bag man, same as the old bag man.

Except now we no longer have amateur sports.

And the university has zero say in the process, it is a complete free-for-all. Pay for play with none of the controls pro sports have. How much longer will it be before we see guys just up and quit mid-season because they think the money is not worth it?

[Too Big Pig]

How much longer will it be before we see guys just up and quit mid-season because they think the money is not worth it?

Isn't that what we have been watching the last two months?

[Elblancodiablo]

Isn't that what we have been watching the last two months?

Not quite to the extreme I am talking about.

[TC]

We still have bag men. They've just been legalized. Kinda like betsaracen putting the bookies out of business.

Meet the new bag man, same as the old bag man.

Except now we no longer have amateur sports.

Sooo, not a bag man then. One was illegal, the other is not.

If you cant afford it, well maybe thats a You of A problem. My guess is this is what has Hog fans mad.

They want to spend YOUR money, not theirs.

And as far as Amateur status, that ship sailed 30+ years ago. The Admins and PTB pick and choose whats Amateur and what isnt, going back to the Dream Team.

[Corn Pop]

Sooo, not a bag man then. One was illegal, the other is not.

If you cant afford it, well maybe thats a You of A problem. My guess is this is what has Hog fans mad.

They want to spend YOUR money, not theirs.

And as far as Amateur status, that ship sailed 30+ years ago. The Admins and PTB pick and choose whats Amateur and what isnt, going back to the Dream Team.

New laws were passed to make formerly illegal conduct legal, but the conduct is the same. Bookie=Betsaracen. No difference.

Giving a college athlete free tuition, free room and board, and a license to walk around campus with the entire student body worshipping the ground you walk on is not "abuse." If they don't want to come play sports in college under those conditions, fine, they don't have to. There are plenty of others who will sign up for the "abuse." And people who love amateur athletics will pay good money to see them come and play.

Show me a workable solution for paying college athletes and still having a product that people will fill the stadiums for and I will take your position more seriously.

I don't think it's doable.

For all its flaws I think the old system will prove over time to have been better for all concerned.

Time will tell.

[TC]

New laws were passed to make formerly illegal conduct legal, but the conduct is the same. Bookie=Betsaracen. No difference.

Giving a college athlete free tuition, free room and board, and a license to walk around campus with the entire student body worshipping the ground you walk on is not "abuse." If they don't want to come play sports in college under those conditions, fine, they don't have to. There are plenty of others who will sign up for the "abuse." And people who love amateur athletics will pay good money to see them come and play.

Show me a workable solution for paying college athletes and still having a product that people will fill the stadiums for and I will take your position more seriously.

I don't think it's doable.

For all its flaws I think the old system will prove over time to have been better for all concerned.

Time will tell.

Ah, yes, the old system. Where Auburn bought a natty for 250k. Those were the good old days!

[buff2.0]

Best case we go 3-4 in the final games.  Unless we win a couple in the SECT this is going to end up as a losing season.  Should have raised funds for the arena upgrade last year.

[Elblancodiablo]

Ah, yes, the old system. Where Auburn bought a natty for 250k. Those were the good old days!

If it only cost 250k for a natty and we didn't buy several, then every swinging dick in the ath dept and the foundation should be beat with a rubber hose and fired

[buff2.0]

If it only cost 250k for a natty and we didn't buy several, then every swinging dick in the ath dept and the foundation should be beat with a rubber hose and fired

Sir, we do things the right way around here. It's all about the hashtags to reach out to today's kids. #Integrity #WinAsOneRazorback #ThrowTheA

[Trigger7672]

Look at our 2007 football season. I hated Nutt so much at that point the only reason I was going to games is because I couldn't pass up opportunities to see Mcfadden play for us in person (and to a slightly lesser extent Felix and Hillis). Every kid was wearing a DMAC jersey, he's generating millions of dollars for the university, but the guy everyone hates (Nutt) is the one making millions of dollars.

These days every coach is making an insane amount of money. Pittman isn't even close to being worth what he is getting paid but you have a guy like Saban who, even though he was getting paid a ton was realistically worth 10x that amount to Alabama.

I hate the way the current system is set up but it also feels like some commie bullshit to whine about it because this is just the free market at work. The genie isn't going back into the bottle anyway. Adapt or die.

[HughJasole]

Look at our 2007 football season. I hated Nutt so much at that point the only reason I was going to games is because I couldn't pass up opportunities to see Mcfadden play for us in person (and to a slightly lesser extent Felix and Hillis). Every kid was wearing a DMAC jersey, he's generating millions of dollars for the university, but the guy everyone hates (Nutt) is the one making millions of dollars.

These days every coach is making an insane amount of money. Pittman isn't even close to being worth what he is getting paid but you have a guy like Saban who, even though he was getting paid a ton was realistically worth 10x that amount to Alabama.

I hate the way the current system is set up but it also feels like some commie bullshit to whine about it because this is just the free market at work. The genie isn't going back into the bottle anyway. Adapt or die.

That was my freshman year on the Hill. What a waste of talent. If we'd had a better defense, we could've won the natty. I'll never forget Michael Smith fumbling right before the half against Kentucky and knowing it cost us the game.

[DirkPiggler]

We still have bag men. They've just been legalized. Kinda like betsaracen putting the bookies out of business.

Meet the new bag man, same as the old bag man.

Except now we no longer have amateur sports.

The bookies aren't out of business.  Some probably are, but the ones who deal in large denominations are doing just fine.

One explained it to me like this.  They deal with the people who don't want to put up cash up front, or who deal in larger denominations than the state websites will allow.  And of course, those who don't want to share their winnings with their greedy uncle in D.C. 

[Lurk]

I don't care about the nil. Do away with the sitting out the year and put the transfer portal back like it was. That's what is going to kill college athletics.

[DirkPiggler]

I don't care about the nil. Do away with the sitting out the year and put the transfer portal back like it was. That's what is going to kill college athletics.

Agreed.  The free agency is what will kill it, not the money.  Players have been getting paid to some degree for years. 

Universities are committed to initial signees out of high school for four years if the player chooses to stay there.  The player should have some sort of contract to uphold as well. 

[Usafhawg]

Agreed.  The free agency is what will kill it, not the money.  Players have been getting paid to some degree for years. 

Universities are committed to initial signees out of high school for four years if the player chooses to stay there.  The player should have some sort of contract to uphold as well. 

But the Universities aren't committed to four years. The scholarships are year to year now.

[DirkPiggler]

But the Universities aren't committed to four years. The scholarships are year to year now.

Unless it's changed in the last few months, the scholarships at P5 programs are four-year deals for high school signees.  They used to be year-to-year, and still are at smaller schools.