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Braun’s future

My impression was that BYU spent a lot of money in the portal this year.

As some people know, LDS (Mormon) church members are admitted to BYU at 50% of the tuition charged to non-LDS students.
Tuition is HEAVILY discounted for everybody - $13k per academic year for non-LDS. $6500 for LDS students.

There are very deep pockets at BYU and it is primarily church money.
Of course most Mormon families pay 10% of their income(?) to the church annually - by church law.
(At least thats my understanding)

Ryan Smith
 
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Now, if we end up with a Siemien-like player who outperforms his expectations, we can take advantage of that until he’s an upperclassman and he is bought out by a big boy.

Or we become a big boy and pay him. I have no doubt that is the Vanderbilt, Duke and Stanford plan. It should be ours too.
 
Or we become a big boy and pay him. I have no doubt that is the Vanderbilt, Duke and Stanford plan. It should be ours too.

Why? Explain to me. Why should a university pay a student to play sports?
I can understand the work/study job argument. (Other students are paid to work for the school, why not athletes)
I can understand the free tuition.
Beyond that, there is no logic to support the idea.
So, please, spell it out.

"Everybody else is doing it" is not an argument, as any parent knows.
 
Why? Explain to me. Why should a university pay a student to play sports?
I can understand the work/study job argument. (Other students are paid to work for the school, why not athletes)
I can understand the free tuition.
Beyond that, there is no logic to support the idea.
So, please, spell it out.

"Everybody else is doing it" is not an argument, as any parent knows.

Because the university probably still comes out ahead on publicity, revenue, etc. Especially if the payment is from third-party NIL.
 
Yes they do. Billionaire alum who owns the Jazz and Utah Hockey Club is bankrolling BYU football and basketball.
Well, then they are terribly under performing. With all the money in the world, you would expect the holy grail of coaching and routine top ten presence from day 1 of nil. How bizarre. Guess money doesn’t move the needle as much as expected.
 
Yes, Ramsey's year with us was his worst statistical season, but he wasn't all that great in 2017 or 2018 either. 2019, though, was legitimately good.

Ultimately, I don't share your cynicism about the future. Yes, NU is small, but we have truly impressive facilities across the board, we are in the conference that gets by far the most TV money, and we have a billionaire donor who loves to throw money at us. And if you're worried about NU getting thrown out of the conference, even apart from the fact that charter members can't be thrown out, we are the school that gives BTN open access to the Chicago TV market.

Now as you suggest, if the entire sport falls apart and restructures itself into a 35 team league or something, we'll be on the cut line for sure. But there's way too much money flying around for that to be realistic, and the pending B1G-SEC scheduling agreement suggests that both conferences are locking themselves into place for the long haul. So why make yourself miserable expecting the absolute worst?
NU has little to do with BTN’s access to Chicago. There are more alums of other schools here than NU alums.

I am not miserable. NU Football fundamentally changed during the summer of 2023.

Hey, I was a devoted NU Football fan for 38 years. Nothing lasts forever. Including college football. I accept that.
 
Well, then they are terribly under performing. With all the money in the world, you would expect the holy grail of coaching and routine top ten presence from day 1 of nil. How bizarre. Guess money doesn’t move the needle as much as expected.

The current basketball HC (who’s a SLC native and LDS) moved from the Suns to BYU in April 2024. Then the checkbook really opened.

You can just admit you don’t know what you’re talking about. I promise, it will be fine.
 
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Well, then they are terribly under performing. With all the money in the world, you would expect the holy grail of coaching and routine top ten presence from day 1 of nil. How bizarre. Guess money doesn’t move the needle as much as expected.
???

BYU is undefeated and top 10 right now in football and looking like a near lock to make the playoffs if they win out in the regular season (which they're favored to do).

And they're about to toss millions at a top basketball prospect...
 
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Why? Explain to me. Why should a university pay a student to play sports?
I can understand the work/study job argument. (Other students are paid to work for the school, why not athletes)
I can understand the free tuition.
Beyond that, there is no logic to support the idea.
So, please, spell it out.

"Everybody else is doing it" is not an argument, as any parent knows.
Because the players, by and large, are the value creators. We're talking billions of dollars and the players get a pittance for their efforts
 
“Why should we pay all that money?”

“Because it’s a good return on investment.”

Seems… like that’s the whole point.

Look, NU can open a pot dispensary on campus an make money from that too.

No one has presented anything resembling an argument as to why NU should pay some students to play football and basketball while charging all the other students $80,000 a year to get the same education as those paid athletes.
Look at the money flow... The parents of the "real students" are paying tuition. The university takes that tuition and pays other students to play football and basketball.
It is asinine on its face.

I'm hoping you guys are confusing NIL with "athletes paid by the university" because at least there's a case to be made for NIL.

If NU wants to pay athletes, that money HAS to come from alumni/benefactor contributions and a separate fund specifically for that purpose.
 
Look, NU can open a pot dispensary on campus an make money from that too.

No one has presented anything resembling an argument as to why NU should pay some students to play football and basketball while charging all the other students $80,000 a year to get the same education as those paid athletes.
Look at the money flow... The parents of the "real students" are paying tuition. The university takes that tuition and pays other students to play football and basketball.
It is asinine on its face.

I'm hoping you guys are confusing NIL with "athletes paid by the university" because at least there's a case to be made for NIL.

If NU wants to pay athletes, that money HAS to come from alumni/benefactor contributions and a separate fund specifically for that purpose.

NU isn’t paying a single dime of the NIL money, then when revenue sharing kicks in it comes out of the Department of Athletics.

Revenue sharing is exactly what it sounds like, athletes getting a cut of revenue generated by athletics (i.e. TV contracts, etc.). NU gets all of the upside and none of the downside.

It’s not like paying a football player has an impact on tuition costs for non-athletes.
 
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Because the players, by and large, are the value creators. We're talking billions of dollars and the players get a pittance for their efforts
The most passionate free market capitalists in the world lose their mind over this issue— which is that labor should be compensated a fair-market wage.

The NCAA is perhaps the most draconian and irrational — and in many ways, except the important one, ineffective — market-distorter that we’ve ever seen.

“But why don’t these players create their own league below the NFL?! Because nobody would watch them!”
“Because the NCAA and member schools spent a century building market-distorting switching costs.”
 
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NU isn’t paying a single dime of the NIL money, then when revenue sharing kicks in it comes out of the Department of Athletics.

Revenue sharing is exactly what it sounds like, athletes getting a cut of revenue generated by athletics (i.e. TV contracts, etc.). NU gets all of the upside and none of the downside.

It’s not like paying a football player has an impact on tuition costs for non-athletes.
No no no no no, remember, they used to share those charts that show how athletics brings the university down. Amusingly, those charts always assumed that full-pay students were bring displaced.

College sticker prices are also, notably, a huge lie.
 
College sticker prices are also, notably, a huge lie.

That is somewhat misstated, though I understand your point.

Full tuition is exactly what the sticker says. Tuition alone is $67,000.
Total costs estimated at $90,000 - 95,000 per year. (NU says room and board $20,000+)
At Northwestern some form of NU scholarship is given to 45% of students.
Northwestern says 22% of students qualify for a Pell Grant, which is based on financial resources.
That maxes out at $7500 a year or so.
Student loans are counted as financial aid.
I have seen estimates that 42% are paying the full sticker price.

However, as you indicated, most incoming students receive some form of financial aid.

Northwestern says that "most" students who come from a family earning less than $60,000 a year attends NU at zero cost.
Northwestern says that "most" students who come from a family earning less than $150,000 a year pay no tuition.

 
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This thread has obviously wandered off topic (Braun's future).
I'll start a new thread tomorrow to focus on direct payments to (some) athletes.
 
Look, NU can open a pot dispensary on campus an make money from that too.

No one has presented anything resembling an argument as to why NU should pay some students to play football and basketball while charging all the other students $80,000 a year to get the same education as those paid athletes.
Look at the money flow... The parents of the "real students" are paying tuition. The university takes that tuition and pays other students to play football and basketball.
It is asinine on its face.

I'm hoping you guys are confusing NIL with "athletes paid by the university" because at least there's a case to be made for NIL.

If NU wants to pay athletes, that money HAS to come from alumni/benefactor contributions and a separate fund specifically for that purpose.
How to say “I don’t know the first thing about college sport economics” without saying it
 
"Everybody else is doing it" is not an argument, as any parent knows.
Maybe you can get the Chicago Cubs to play for the "love of the wonderful game of baseball" as well and some free meals at local establishments.

Good luck with that.
 
That is somewhat misstated, though I understand your point.

Full tuition is exactly what the sticker says. Tuition alone is $67,000.
Total costs estimated at $90,000 - 95,000 per year. (NU says room and board $20,000+)
At Northwestern some form of NU scholarship is given to 45% of students.
Northwestern says 22% of students qualify for a Pell Grant, which is based on financial resources.
That maxes out at $7500 a year or so.
Student loans are counted as financial aid.
I have seen estimates that 42% are paying the full sticker price.

However, as you indicated, most incoming students receive some form of financial aid.

Northwestern says that "most" students who come from a family earning less than $60,000 a year attends NU at zero cost.
Northwestern says that "most" students who come from a family earning less than $150,000 a year pay no tuition.

Hear hear. Athletic scholarships are a scam. A pittance compared to what the athletes (Football/MBB) generate for the school and the various remorae that are the other Athletic teams
 
NU isn’t paying a single dime of the NIL money, then when revenue sharing kicks in it comes out of the Department of Athletics.

Revenue sharing is exactly what it sounds like, athletes getting a cut of revenue generated by athletics (i.e. TV contracts, etc.). NU gets all of the upside and none of the downside.

It’s not like paying a football player has an impact on tuition costs for non-athletes.
The downside is at the doorstep. Once players are employees there are more obligations for the employer, especially in a hazardous occupation such as football.

This is yet another reason the endgame is a close affiliation with the NFL. 30-36 colleges can maintain their association with big time football, their alums can revel on Saturday and the university is not encumbered with all the complications.
 
The current basketball HC (who’s a SLC native and LDS) moved from the Suns to BYU in April 2024. Then the checkbook really opened.

You can just admit you don’t know what you’re talking about. I promise, it will be fine.
Ok, of course i will defer to you since you are handsomely compensate in the college football realm reflective of your knowledge base.

When I get the personal insults, I know my substantive post was spot on and indefensible 🤷‍♂️
 
Ok, of course i will defer to you since you are handsomely compensate in the college football realm reflective of your knowledge base.

When I get the personal insults, I know my substantive post was spot on and indefensible 🤷‍♂️

Deflection. Nice.
 
It’s not just the QB. Even in our good years recently we weren’t beating any Alabamas. We hung close with OSU in 2020 but with our offense we weren’t going to be winning championships.

A big part of that was continued subpar O-line play.


Thorson's first year year (2015) was a year without strong QB play yet still a successful team.

Helps to have a historical great D and the best RB the Cats have had since the 90s.


I think you have it exactly backwards in Thorson, actually. He was QB on an NU team that was, as usually, totally devoid of dangerous or even very good receivers outside one year. He operated in an offense that was very traditional for QBs and didn’t do anything other modern offenses do to make life easier for QBs (ie, quick, single read decisions to speedy guys in space, simplified extended run type plays that drive up passing stats, etc). The system and talent around him suppressed his numbers and production substantially compared to his peers in wider open and more QB friendly offenses.


Still, Thorson got to play with the 2 NU WRs in recent history to have made an NFL roster, a pretty good superback/TE who had a shot at the pros but retired from football and Jets (who single-handedly could put the O/QB in manageable 3rd downs.



The stats only bolster my case. Both Siemian and Thorson played on Sundays for a time yet looked pedestrian at NU on our ridiculous system. Our coaches held two talented qbs back for years, we could have had so much more out of them.

Siemian's near 2 year tenure as the starter was hampered by numerous injuries to starters, not to mention the transfer of their best weapon; despite that, Siemian in his last season managed wins over Penn State, Wisky and the Domers, and should have been a 4-fecta against UM, but for horrible coaching decisions.

But agree that McC's R&R system was a horrible one for college ball because it made things overly-complicated for Wildcat players (while not necessarily making things complicated for opposing Ds to decipher; which is why it's mind-boggling that Fitz repeated the mistake on the other side of the ball by hiring his buddy), which required experienced players at all position groups to be successful/on the same page (which rarely happens at the collegiate level, especially at a non-FB factory like NU).

Think some are being too tough on Ramsey and Bryant; both would have put up better nos if they weren't constantly running for their lives.
 
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You still think ANYBODY cares about facilities? You’re living in 1999. Players get paid actual money, coaches get tens of millions. A start if the art stadium that isn’t even filled with home fans is a tertiary factor. A decent practice facility is just table stakes. These guys aren’t here to play school, go get some damn ATHLETES.
Northwestern football never wins without a real QB.

This season was a lost cause and somehow Braun still has the team in path for a bowl game.

He is a hell of a coach. And I bet bigger programs want to hire him now.
 
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