The lucre of sports on collegiate campuses
The Tuesday Talking Points!
If it’s Tuesday, with a nod to Peter Abelard's Sic et Non, it’s time for Hobbs’s Talking Points!
Did Notre Dame Football Coach Brian Kelly handle his departure well?
No!
As of yesterday morning, Brian Kelly's Notre Dame football team was sitting at #6 in the polls with a great chance to make the FBS playoffs…his assistant coaches were sitting in parental living rooms and high school coaches offices explaining why their kid should sign with Notre Dame and become "part of the family”…By late afternoon, Notre Dame was still sitting at #6 in the polls, but little did those Fighting Irish assistant coaches, current players, or future players know that Coach Kelly was moments away from agreeing to a $100 million plus salary to head south and coach at LSU.
One assistant coach said that he had just left a recruit's house and learned of the news from his phone—not his boss.
😠
Brian Kelly isn't the first coach to leave his football team behind, nor will he be the last, but his piss-poor way of handling his exit reminds me why I support these student athletes: 1. Getting paid for their efforts in bringing major money to major colleges 2. Having the ability to transfer at will because if the coaches can leave their “football family” for a new job with little to no penalty, the kids deserve the right to leave “the family” as well.
2.Are FBS coaching salaries out of control?
Yes!
No shade, but I find it interesting that Texas A&M's Jimbo Fisher, Michigan State's Mel Tucker, USC's Lincoln Riley, and now LSU's Brian Kelly will all make at (or over) $100 million to coach football over the next decade when I can legit remember when the first million dollar coaching salaries were being handed out back in the early 1990's! To be clear, the coaching financial arms race will not let up any time soon, either, with billion dollar television contracts pouring more money into FBS schools than imaginable even just 15 years ago.
Still, there is something odd, quite odd, that many of these coaches have yet to win national championships but are being paid as handsomely (or more handsomely) than Alabama's Nick Saban, a man who has won six national championships with the Crimson Tide, and a seventh while coaching LSU in the early Aughts.
On a purely intellectual level, I find it rather perverse that a collegiate sports coach earns exponentially more money than his professorial colleagues in the academic departments. But I am pragmatic, which means that I also understand that the chemistry, history, and languages departments at most of these schools aren't bringing in hundreds of millions in revenue each year, thus the coaching market "is what it is."
But humorously, each time I see another of these eight and nine figure coaching contracts flash across the ESPN app, I think of something that FAMU High's football and legendary track coach Harry Jacobs said to my class way back in 9th grade. That year, the majority of the boys in our class did not participate in JV football as we had the previous year, shunning the pads for full time focus on marching band. Coach Jacobs told us as he concluded a long lecture about our duties to his sports program: "...you have to remember that sometimes, athletics are even more important than academics!" We looked at each other and started chuckling, but looking at these astronomical football coaching salaries, perhaps Coach Jacobs had a point 😆?
3. Do racists ever concede being racist?
No!
Last Saturday, the Florida A&M Rattlers traveled to Hammond, Louisiana for a first round playoff game against SE Louisiana. While the Rattlers lost the game 38-14, throughout the matchup that was carried on ESPN +, a number of my real life friends were posting Facebook updates about the racism they were experiencing from SE Louisiana fans. From slurs, to demeaning posters, to one child being hit with beer, the mood was tense and it is only a blessing that matters didn't go all the way left and get out of control.
While the Tallahassee Democrat also reported the poor treatment of FAMU nation in Louisiana, a local Hammond fish wrapper concluded that the tales of racism were not proven and thus, untrue. No surprise there, because the SE Louisiana football team is mostly Black while its fanbase is predominantly white and God forbid if the young Black players revolt!
Still, such is why I remain extremely hesitant about heading into certain venues—not out of fear of fisticuffs if it comes to that, but because we live in an era where had FAMU fans rightfully defended themselves with fists, some trigger happy Kyle Rittenhouse wanna-be might have shot up the stadium—and been acquitted later by a jury that would call the shooting “justifiable self- defense.”
Lest we forget…
Kudos to Jackson State University
Congratulations to Coach Deion “Primetime” Sanders and the Jackson State Tigers on finishing 10-1 overall, and 8-0 in SWAC play this year. The Tigers will take on the Prairie View A&M Panthers this Saturday for the SWAC Championship with the winner moving on to face South Carolina State in the Celebration Bowl next month.
Kudos are also in order to “Coach Prime” for winning SWAC Coach of the Year; his son, Shedeur Sanders, for winning Freshman of the Year, and University of Florida transfer James Houston on winning Newcomer of the Year!
Giving Tuesday: Morehouse College
As a staunch HBCU supporter, I take great pride in contributing each year to Morehouse College, Florida A&M University, and Spelman College.
Last week, I received my copy of the Morehouse Giving Report and looked with pride upon all of the men and women across the world who have given of their tithes, talents, and time to support Morehouse's mission this past year.
Well, today marks the final "Giving Tuesday” of 2021 for Morehouse College; as we enter the holiday season, I ask those so willing to take a moment to contribute to the very college that produced Nobel laureate Dr. Martin Luther King, Olympic legend Edwin Moses, Academy Award legend Spike Lee, Ebony/Jet Editor Lerone Bennett, and countless other leaders across the African Diaspora.
Remember, whether it is $5.00 or $5,000—every single cent counts!
Support Mother Morehouse by clicking on Giving Tuesday today!
Thank you for subscribing to the Hobbservation Point—have a great Tuesday!
The trash was out of the can! 🤣🤣🤣