The most recent op-ed from Bama alum and longtime Mobile sports pundit Randy Kennedy. He wrote this column for a free newspaper in Mobile.
College football facing serious threat
I long for the good old days of college football. You know, like back in 2019.
The folks in charge of college football have tried for decades to ruin the greatest American sport. But they have always been unsuccessful.
Remember when schools that broke NCAA rules were penalized by not being allowed to play on TV? The 1993 Iron Bowl would be one of the most memorable in series history if anyone had actually been watching when Patrick Nix came off the bench to hit Frank Sanders to help the Tigers to a win. The unlikely win that led to an 11-0 season under Terry Bowden was unseen by anyone who wasn’t in the stands that day. The last time that ridiculous punishment was enacted was with Ole Miss in 1995.
Remember the death penalty? The entire football program at SMU was disbanded in 1987. Never mind what that meant for the Mustangs’ fellow conference members or other teams on their schedule.
Pretty quickly everyone realized these mistakes and we’ve fortunately not had to endure such nonsense again.
But now the sport is facing an issue that is threatening to kill the sport as we know it. And, unlike in the case of the TV ban or death penalty, it’s much harder to identify who is going to reverse what is ailing the sport.
Without any real leadership or oversight, college football has suddenly enacted two new rules — the ability of players to transfer from one school to another without penalty and the legalization of pay-for-play. One without the other would present a major change to the sport fans would simply have to get used to. And they would. But the two combined have ripped at the fiber of the sport.
Patient Zero in this pandemic was quarterback Caleb Williams, the five-star recruit who won the starting quarterback job at Oklahoma. But after showing the potential to be one of the best players in college football, he transferred to USC, where he won the Heisman Trophy and is now projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s NFL draft.
At least in the case of Williams, he went west to follow his coach, Lincoln Riley, who surprisingly left Oklahoma for USC. Pittsburgh star wide receiver Jordan Addison soon followed the pair to Los Angeles.
These incidents caused isolated outrage. But those transfers were just setting the stage for the explosion that occurred when Alabama legend Nick Saban retired. Suddenly, there were no more subtle suggestions that a player might want to consider transferring to another school.
Now, it was time for all-out pillaging of the Alabama roster. Teams from across the country didn’t wait to see if any Alabama players were going to enter the transfer portal. The monetary offers were coming in from all over the country to encourage players to leave Tuscaloosa.
The Tide’s two best young players — freshman offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor and safety Caleb Downs were at the top of the list.
Downs entered the transfer portal with the intention of becoming a near millionaire playing for his home state Georgia Bulldogs. But something happened on the way to the contract signing. At the last minute, Ohio State came forward with an offer reported to be worth $1 million. So, the best defense player in the country will be a Buckeye next season.
Having Downs play for Ohio State will not be the downfall of the sport. But this might be. What sets college sports apart from their professional counterparts is the idea players love their colleges as much as we fans do. Even if they are getting paid that can still be true.
But now that players are free agents every year — whether they choose to be or not — the fabric of the sport starts to fray.
Next year, Auburn fans will cheer for Antonio Kite, who they booed when he ran on the field last year as a member of the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Are we supposed to convince ourselves that Kite now lives by the Auburn Creed and derives all his strength from a Toomer’s Drugs lemonade? Or is it more likely he will play for the Tigers until free agency rolls around again next year?
It’s getting harder to believe the former while the latter continues to threaten the sport.
College football facing serious threat
I long for the good old days of college football. You know, like back in 2019.
The folks in charge of college football have tried for decades to ruin the greatest American sport. But they have always been unsuccessful.
Remember when schools that broke NCAA rules were penalized by not being allowed to play on TV? The 1993 Iron Bowl would be one of the most memorable in series history if anyone had actually been watching when Patrick Nix came off the bench to hit Frank Sanders to help the Tigers to a win. The unlikely win that led to an 11-0 season under Terry Bowden was unseen by anyone who wasn’t in the stands that day. The last time that ridiculous punishment was enacted was with Ole Miss in 1995.
Remember the death penalty? The entire football program at SMU was disbanded in 1987. Never mind what that meant for the Mustangs’ fellow conference members or other teams on their schedule.
Pretty quickly everyone realized these mistakes and we’ve fortunately not had to endure such nonsense again.
But now the sport is facing an issue that is threatening to kill the sport as we know it. And, unlike in the case of the TV ban or death penalty, it’s much harder to identify who is going to reverse what is ailing the sport.
Without any real leadership or oversight, college football has suddenly enacted two new rules — the ability of players to transfer from one school to another without penalty and the legalization of pay-for-play. One without the other would present a major change to the sport fans would simply have to get used to. And they would. But the two combined have ripped at the fiber of the sport.
Patient Zero in this pandemic was quarterback Caleb Williams, the five-star recruit who won the starting quarterback job at Oklahoma. But after showing the potential to be one of the best players in college football, he transferred to USC, where he won the Heisman Trophy and is now projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s NFL draft.
At least in the case of Williams, he went west to follow his coach, Lincoln Riley, who surprisingly left Oklahoma for USC. Pittsburgh star wide receiver Jordan Addison soon followed the pair to Los Angeles.
These incidents caused isolated outrage. But those transfers were just setting the stage for the explosion that occurred when Alabama legend Nick Saban retired. Suddenly, there were no more subtle suggestions that a player might want to consider transferring to another school.
Now, it was time for all-out pillaging of the Alabama roster. Teams from across the country didn’t wait to see if any Alabama players were going to enter the transfer portal. The monetary offers were coming in from all over the country to encourage players to leave Tuscaloosa.
The Tide’s two best young players — freshman offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor and safety Caleb Downs were at the top of the list.
Downs entered the transfer portal with the intention of becoming a near millionaire playing for his home state Georgia Bulldogs. But something happened on the way to the contract signing. At the last minute, Ohio State came forward with an offer reported to be worth $1 million. So, the best defense player in the country will be a Buckeye next season.
Having Downs play for Ohio State will not be the downfall of the sport. But this might be. What sets college sports apart from their professional counterparts is the idea players love their colleges as much as we fans do. Even if they are getting paid that can still be true.
But now that players are free agents every year — whether they choose to be or not — the fabric of the sport starts to fray.
Next year, Auburn fans will cheer for Antonio Kite, who they booed when he ran on the field last year as a member of the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Are we supposed to convince ourselves that Kite now lives by the Auburn Creed and derives all his strength from a Toomer’s Drugs lemonade? Or is it more likely he will play for the Tigers until free agency rolls around again next year?
It’s getting harder to believe the former while the latter continues to threaten the sport.
