seriously just posted the chicken little reference because it is a common stance by Krazy against the lesser alabama football teams. While he has some points I think there are far bigger economical problems in Alabama than football teams that cant fill 15k stadiums.
Well, this issue is two-fold to me. The first is based on my economic principles. I was a high school drop out, estranged from my father, living in Knoxville of all places, where I found myself budgeting $20 a month for food while I tried to get a job. The circumstances around that time, and leading up to that lead me to appreciate how little I really needed and how to avoid wasting money. Now? I might not meet some people's idea of successful, but I have no debt, my house is paid for (which sadly is an oddity for someone in their 30s), my car is paid for, and I'm financially secure. Contrast this with my brother, who spends $20 a day at gas stations and is always in debt. Heck, out of six siblings I'm the only one who didn't actually graduate high school (GED), but four of them have declared bankruptcy. I feel that attention to seemingly small wastes of money actually hold the key to overall economic responsibility.
Beyond that though, this also merges with my feelings about Boise State and what they were able to do with their schedule. That really came to a head after the 2009 season, in which Alabama had the best BCS era season ever, came off an astoundingly difficult season, took out one of the better teams of the era, and yet... Stuart Scott had the audacity to ask about Boise State. Boise State didn't play anyone, because there's so many football welfare programs they could build a schedule around them. There's this whole slew of teams that joined after the 85 scholarship reductions (at the time they were around 100 FBS programs), and almost all of them simply have no business being there. They waste money, and I feel they have a negative impact on the FBS. So, I do hold a bit of a grudge. They're wasting my money to mess up a sport I care about. We're talking about programs that started in the 90s or later, that only were able to exist after they lowered the bar as low as possible. They simply don't belong if they can't pull their own weight, and most can't.
The post makes a lot of sense. A state with a tax base like Alabama's should not be "supporting" programs that lose, collectively, $50MM a year. All for these schools having football teams that are even almost self-supporting, at whatever level that is true.
Right, there's no excuse for this level of waste. Mind you, when I list those numbers it's not counting private donations! Private donations go under revenue, so when I say how much they're losing, they are losing that much
after private donations. It's basically the government in one form or another that bridges the gap. I bear them no ill will in creating something that is self-sustaining though.
You did not mention UNA trying to go D1A. They win in Div 2 but would lose in D1A and not draw enough to pay their bills.
Good point, I didn't get into Title IX, stipends, the EA ruling, etc... I was trying to focus on South Alabama and the specifics since before I'd mainly focused on UAB and perhaps less on the numbers. There's a lot of reasons that programs should be staying away from D1, and there's a lot of programs that shouldn't be there in the first place. In either case, I believe Alabama has shown willingness to only support two FBS programs, which for their size is still not bad at all. There's no reason to force more on people who do not even want them.
it is irresponsible when classrooms, facilities, and faculty suffer to pay for the team.
Exactly
The problem with South football is Lad stadium.
I cannot agree with you. First, I've been at Ladd when it was sold out (Senior Bowl). It can and will sell out when there is actual demand. Secondly, I won't defend the stadium itself, but to tell you the truth going to the Senior Bowl and going to the Alabama game isn't really much different in terms of getting in and out and the area. The chances are you might end up walking a fair bit, or parking in someone's yard and feeling nervous about it.
But, I took care to illustrate how in Mobile, even areas that do not have those issues is not drawing crowds. It's not the stadium, that's the mantra of people who want to blow 50 million+ so a few thousand of them can have more comfortable surroundings. That's extremely irresponsible.
The only reason UAB and So Ala can get away with their economic irresponsibility is that the taxpayers are footing the bill. This state is in dire economic straits, which makes it difficult to swallow the cavalier attitude of some towards the $50 m annual loss posted by Troy, UAB and So Al athletic dept's. .
Of course, they are able to operate on a budget that is entirely unwarranted. But, people complain about soaring student debt and tuition. This is just part of it, but the behavior, the mentality, that's the problem. They ultimately see nothing wrong with these kind of wastes of money if that's what they want.
