At present the six power conferences and television pretty much control college football. Even though not all schools in these conferences are operating in the black, all of the biggest budgets are here. This means some programs can be extravagant if not down right arrogant. If the present trend continues, where will it all end?
What if some sort of common sense was forced upon everyone? For instance, what if each FBS program was reduced to 65 or 70 football scholarships instead of the present 85? Eighty-five scholarships represent four offensive and four defensive teams per squad as an example. Or three deep at each position and 19 redshirts. Is that much depth really necessary?
What if all Division I programs (FBS and FCS) were allowed 70 scholarships? The Ohio State-Michigan game will still draw over 100,000 and a national television audience and schools will save 15 scholarships, which could be a considerable saving. Or give those 15 scholarships to say, softball or baseball.
This would mean that Appalachian State has as many scholarships as Michigan. Whoa! Michigan sure isn’t for that simply because they are Michigan, even though Appalachian State (63 scholarships) defeated the Big Blue in the Big House in 2008. Villanova has as many as the University of Pittsburg. Whoa! The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga has the same as UT Knoxville. That will never happen.
But what if every school in DI had a 70 scholarship limit, it is still a level playing field. If everyone has the same, then no one has an advantage. Funding tuition, room and board, tutoring services, books and materials, and other support services requires a lot less for 70 athletes than 85. And it will not make a difference to those 100,000 spectators mentioned above.
The budget for athletics at Ivy League schools is a part of the overall operating budget of each school. There are no separate athletic “corporations” like those that operate at most of the power conference schools. Funding Ivy programs does not require tens of millions in athletic-related revenue. Ivy League athletics is for the students who are interested in competing and operates as an educational program of the school. Team members are real student-athletes, taking real courses, earning real degrees.
There are no athletic scholarships in the Ivy League, but there is need-based financial aid. A bright, but poor (I think the politically correct term is economically disadvantaged) student from Tennessee can qualify for full tuition at Yale. Theoretically Yale could have 100 football players receiving financial aid. But if an athlete’s parents are wealthy, they pay the full tuition. Why wouldn’t this work for everyone? Think of the money to be saved by schools struggling to build or maintain competitive programs.
