Personally, if it continues down this road, I would prefer that normal students no longer pay for athletics in their student fees. I would also prefer that these "student" athletes start paying their own way in school. No more athletics scholarships. Ultimately, I would prefer that these teams no longer associate themselves with institutions of education.

I'm getting closer and closer to being all the way out. I certainly won't be putting my money into collectives. I'm questioning my desire to go to games in the future. If athletic competitions are solely about money, I can already get that in the professional sports leagues (that I already don't follow). There was a way to compensate players without burning down the special nature of collegiate athletics. I hope that bridge hasn't been completely burned down, but I don't see a path to normalcy without the current mess blowing up.

NVAggie wrote: ↑

April 4th, 2024, 10:24 am

Personally, if it continues down this road, I would prefer that normal students no longer pay for athletics in their student fees. I would also prefer that these "student" athletes start paying their own way in school. No more athletics scholarships. Ultimately, I would prefer that these teams no longer associate themselves with institutions of education.

I'm getting closer and closer to being all the way out. I certainly won't be putting my money into collectives. I'm questioning my desire to go to games in the future. If athletic competitions are solely about money, I can already get that in the professional sports leagues (that I already don't follow). There was a way to compensate players without burning down the special nature of collegiate athletics. I hope that bridge hasn't been completely burned down, but I don't see a path to normalcy without the current mess blowing up.

I agree 100%!

NVAggie wrote: ↑

April 4th, 2024, 10:24 am

Personally, if it continues down this road, I would prefer that normal students no longer pay for athletics in their student fees. I would also prefer that these "student" athletes start paying their own way in school. No more athletics scholarships. Ultimately, I would prefer that these teams no longer associate themselves with institutions of education.

I'm getting closer and closer to being all the way out. I certainly won't be putting my money into collectives. I'm questioning my desire to go to games in the future. If athletic competitions are solely about money, I can already get that in the professional sports leagues (that I already don't follow). There was a way to compensate players without burning down the special nature of collegiate athletics. I hope that bridge hasn't been completely burned down, but I don't see a path to normalcy without the current mess blowing up.

I don't remember who it was, but this sounds like a good time for that one poster to step up and advocate for the students to pay an ungodly amount extra in fees.

Real Life Aggie wrote: ↑

April 4th, 2024, 3:31 pm

NVAggie wrote: ↑

April 4th, 2024, 10:24 am

Personally, if it continues down this road, I would prefer that normal students no longer pay for athletics in their student fees. I would also prefer that these "student" athletes start paying their own way in school. No more athletics scholarships. Ultimately, I would prefer that these teams no longer associate themselves with institutions of education.

I'm getting closer and closer to being all the way out. I certainly won't be putting my money into collectives. I'm questioning my desire to go to games in the future. If athletic competitions are solely about money, I can already get that in the professional sports leagues (that I already don't follow). There was a way to compensate players without burning down the special nature of collegiate athletics. I hope that bridge hasn't been completely burned down, but I don't see a path to normalcy without the current mess blowing up.

I don't remember who it was, but this sounds like a good time for that one poster to step up and advocate for the students to pay an ungodly amount extra in fees.

Paging, @Bullnamed_gus, paging @Bullnamed_gus. Your services are wanted.

slcagg wrote: ↑

April 3rd, 2024, 1:54 pm

Transfer from wisconsin. One of the higher in demand transfers (similar to great probably).

He asked Kansas for $1m in nil. They countered with $750k and he told them no.

I highly doubt great osobor comes back and it’s going to be incredibly difficult to keep the top guys more than 1 year in the future.

FWIW, ESPN ranks Great higher than AJ on current transfers available. If AJ can get that kind of money, then Great can too.

1. Johnell Davis, 6-4, SG, Sr., Florida Atlantic Owls
One of the most explosive players in the country, Davis shared AAC Player of the Year honors one year after helping lead FAU to the Final Four. Averaged 18.2 points and shot 41.4% from 3-point range. Went for 35 and 9 against Arizona.

2. Great Osobor, 6-8, PF, Jr., Utah State Aggies
Osobor was one of the biggest breakout stars nationally this season, following Danny Sprinkle to Utah State and winning Mountain West Player of the Year honors after coming off the bench at Montana State. Averaged 17.7 points and 9.0 boards.

3. AJ Storr, 6-7, SG, Soph., Wisconsin Badgers
Started his career at St. John's but left after one season for Wisconsin, where he broke out and had a second-team All-Big Ten season. Averaged 16.8 points and 3.9 boards, saving his best performances for the Big Ten tournament.

Also interesting - ESPN ranks 100 players on their rankings, then has a "Next In line" that lists about 20-30 extra guys. Ian Martinez is not in the top 100 or next in line list. DJ Burns of Youngstown St is listed on the "Next in Line" list.

Aggie702 wrote: ↑

April 4th, 2024, 4:45 pm

slcagg wrote: ↑

April 3rd, 2024, 1:54 pm

Transfer from wisconsin. One of the higher in demand transfers (similar to great probably).

He asked Kansas for $1m in nil. They countered with $750k and he told them no.

I highly doubt great osobor comes back and it’s going to be incredibly difficult to keep the top guys more than 1 year in the future.

FWIW, ESPN ranks Great higher than AJ on current transfers available. If AJ can get that kind of money, then Great can too.

1. Johnell Davis, 6-4, SG, Sr., Florida Atlantic Owls
One of the most explosive players in the country, Davis shared AAC Player of the Year honors one year after helping lead FAU to the Final Four. Averaged 18.2 points and shot 41.4% from 3-point range. Went for 35 and 9 against Arizona.

2. Great Osobor, 6-8, PF, Jr., Utah State Aggies
Osobor was one of the biggest breakout stars nationally this season, following Danny Sprinkle to Utah State and winning Mountain West Player of the Year honors after coming off the bench at Montana State. Averaged 17.7 points and 9.0 boards.

3. AJ Storr, 6-7, SG, Soph., Wisconsin Badgers
Started his career at St. John's but left after one season for Wisconsin, where he broke out and had a second-team All-Big Ten season. Averaged 16.8 points and 3.9 boards, saving his best performances for the Big Ten tournament.

Also interesting - ESPN ranks 100 players on their rankings, then has a "Next In line" that lists about 20-30 extra guys. Ian Martinez is not in the top 100 or next in line list. DJ Burns of Youngstown St is listed on the "Next in Line" list.

That's interesting. All these rankings are extremely subjective. On3 has a composite of their rankings averaged in with 24/7 and Rivals. They have Great as #28 and the #8PF on their list. CBS has him at #36. On3 has Ian at #139 and Mason at #159. To illustrate the subjectivity of his, they have Worster in between Ian and Mason, which I think is suspect.

Either way, I'm sure Great is going to get some real nice offers but hope he can balance those against the positives of staying here.

Real Life Aggie wrote: ↑

April 4th, 2024, 3:31 pm

NVAggie wrote: ↑

April 4th, 2024, 10:24 am

Personally, if it continues down this road, I would prefer that normal students no longer pay for athletics in their student fees. I would also prefer that these "student" athletes start paying their own way in school. No more athletics scholarships. Ultimately, I would prefer that these teams no longer associate themselves with institutions of education.

I'm getting closer and closer to being all the way out. I certainly won't be putting my money into collectives. I'm questioning my desire to go to games in the future. If athletic competitions are solely about money, I can already get that in the professional sports leagues (that I already don't follow). There was a way to compensate players without burning down the special nature of collegiate athletics. I hope that bridge hasn't been completely burned down, but I don't see a path to normalcy without the current mess blowing up.

I don't remember who it was, but this sounds like a good time for that one poster to step up and advocate for the students to pay an ungodly amount extra in fees.

It would be really helpful if the students could take out student loans, pay their extra fees in cash by placing the cash in large 50 gallon garbage bags, and then leaving the bags full of cash on the player's beds. Once the student loans are forgiven they can lather, rinse, and repeat. Student athletes are going to love living in Cash Valley.

Zaggie07 wrote: ↑

April 4th, 2024, 4:43 pm

Real Life Aggie wrote: ↑

April 4th, 2024, 3:31 pm

NVAggie wrote: ↑

April 4th, 2024, 10:24 am

Personally, if it continues down this road, I would prefer that normal students no longer pay for athletics in their student fees. I would also prefer that these "student" athletes start paying their own way in school. No more athletics scholarships. Ultimately, I would prefer that these teams no longer associate themselves with institutions of education.

I'm getting closer and closer to being all the way out. I certainly won't be putting my money into collectives. I'm questioning my desire to go to games in the future. If athletic competitions are solely about money, I can already get that in the professional sports leagues (that I already don't follow). There was a way to compensate players without burning down the special nature of collegiate athletics. I hope that bridge hasn't been completely burned down, but I don't see a path to normalcy without the current mess blowing up.

I don't remember who it was, but this sounds like a good time for that one poster to step up and advocate for the students to pay an ungodly amount extra in fees.

Paging, @Bullnamed_gus, paging @Bullnamed_gus. Your services are wanted.

I saw the bat signal.

Yes we could theoretically up the fees a reasonable amount. Increasing it 50 bucks a student a semester is literally nothing.

The school could also cut waste they are currently spending money on.


But that’s not what this thread is for so please don’t debate me.

And I know it’s not a popular take but it’s my take and I will always love it.

Bullnamed_gus wrote: ↑

April 4th, 2024, 7:50 pm

Zaggie07 wrote: ↑

April 4th, 2024, 4:43 pm

Real Life Aggie wrote: ↑

April 4th, 2024, 3:31 pm

NVAggie wrote: ↑

April 4th, 2024, 10:24 am

Personally, if it continues down this road, I would prefer that normal students no longer pay for athletics in their student fees. I would also prefer that these "student" athletes start paying their own way in school. No more athletics scholarships. Ultimately, I would prefer that these teams no longer associate themselves with institutions of education.

I'm getting closer and closer to being all the way out. I certainly won't be putting my money into collectives. I'm questioning my desire to go to games in the future. If athletic competitions are solely about money, I can already get that in the professional sports leagues (that I already don't follow). There was a way to compensate players without burning down the special nature of collegiate athletics. I hope that bridge hasn't been completely burned down, but I don't see a path to normalcy without the current mess blowing up.

I don't remember who it was, but this sounds like a good time for that one poster to step up and advocate for the students to pay an ungodly amount extra in fees.

Paging, @Bullnamed_gus, paging @Bullnamed_gus. Your services are wanted.

I saw the bat signal.

Yes we could theoretically up the fees a reasonable amount. Increasing it 50 bucks a student a semester is literally nothing.

The school could also cut waste they are currently spending money on.


But that’s not what this thread is for so please don’t debate me.

And I know it’s not a popular take but it’s my take and I will always love it.

I’ll just say this, something has to change, because we are getting lapped in hate ticket revenue because of how many student tickets we give out.

You are only getting lapped if you can fill those seats with paying customers. I would even say most of the fun that one finds inside of the Spectrum centers around those students that you think should be paying more. Without them, you probably lose more games, more fans, and more players.

Bullnamed_gus wrote: ↑

April 5th, 2024, 7:51 am

Bullnamed_gus wrote: ↑

April 4th, 2024, 7:50 pm

Zaggie07 wrote: ↑

April 4th, 2024, 4:43 pm

Real Life Aggie wrote: ↑

April 4th, 2024, 3:31 pm

NVAggie wrote: ↑

April 4th, 2024, 10:24 am

Personally, if it continues down this road, I would prefer that normal students no longer pay for athletics in their student fees. I would also prefer that these "student" athletes start paying their own way in school. No more athletics scholarships. Ultimately, I would prefer that these teams no longer associate themselves with institutions of education.

I'm getting closer and closer to being all the way out. I certainly won't be putting my money into collectives. I'm questioning my desire to go to games in the future. If athletic competitions are solely about money, I can already get that in the professional sports leagues (that I already don't follow). There was a way to compensate players without burning down the special nature of collegiate athletics. I hope that bridge hasn't been completely burned down, but I don't see a path to normalcy without the current mess blowing up.

I don't remember who it was, but this sounds like a good time for that one poster to step up and advocate for the students to pay an ungodly amount extra in fees.

Paging, @Bullnamed_gus, paging @Bullnamed_gus. Your services are wanted.

I saw the bat signal.

Yes we could theoretically up the fees a reasonable amount. Increasing it 50 bucks a student a semester is literally nothing.

The school could also cut waste they are currently spending money on.


But that’s not what this thread is for so please don’t debate me.

And I know it’s not a popular take but it’s my take and I will always love it.

I’ll just say this, something has to change, because we are getting lapped in hate ticket revenue because of how many student tickets we give out.

The answer is to increase concession prices, add more options for novelty sales, increase parking prices (I’m sure everyone who get parking as a perk of their seat donations show up as zero parking revenue). Also, start selling beer. I appreciate USU having reasonable ticket prices.

Short aside. Having the Family plan with 2 Adults and 3 youth tickets for $515 a season is steal for the quality of seats you’ll get. Season tickets for Colorado State start at $270, Boise starts at $174 for the upper bowl corners, BYU starts at $150 for the top of the upper bowl corners, Wyoming starts at $170 for their corners, Air Force starts at $109, and Nevada and SJSU have the cheapest seats at $99 for the corners and General Admission. Seating in 220 through 217 is only comparable to SJSU with most of their stadium being general admission.

The movie "Miracle" just happened to be on last night. I didn't watch the whole thing, but I saw several parts of it that reminded me why we, Americans, love our sports.

After the National Team ties Finland several months before the games, Coach Brooks makes the players do ladders because they were more worried about the ladies in the stands than the game. Eruzione yells out who he is and where he comes from. Coach Brooks asks him for whom he plays. Mike responds that he plays for the United States of America. The message from the movie, the team accomplished greatness because they knew for whom they were playing. They all came from different cities and teams, but they played for the USA. As sports fans, we want the same. We want the players to play for the "name on the front of the jersey" instead of the "one on the back". It probably was never that way, but many players in the past were far more loyal to the team, school, etc.

Another scene, as they load the bus, some of the team leaders stay back and approach Coach Brooks about a newcomer who could potentially take a spot from one of the team roster. As a team, they would rather lose the chance at a much more talented player because, as a team, they were better. The message from the film reminds viewers that a team isn't all about individual talent, but more about the unifying experience of the "team". Every member of the team was galvanized by their shared experiences. With a shuffle of the deck every season, we will no longer see the galvanization of a team that accomplishes amazing feats beyond the capability of their individual talents.

Finally, the ending says it all to me, Coach Brooks (Kurt Russell) ends the movie talking about the special nature of that team. Ultimately, this is why we love our sports and our teams. I feel like the current landscape of college sports is taking away everything I loved. The idea of "buying" a championship seems pointless and uninspiring.

All time great movie and story. I cant blame coaches or players for taking advantage of the current landscape, but it does sadden me that there is going to be less and less pride in Who they are playing for. That was always the beautiful difference between college sports and the Pro sports.

https://www.collegefactual.com/colleges ... ch%20sport.

https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:s ... a66f2bc566

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.pbs.or ... ege-sports

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/D ... venue.aspx

But the U received 10M in combined institutional support and student fees. So arguably, they lost money.

I imagine the top 25 schools will leave the NCAA within five years and the rest of the country will get back to amateur sports again. The current model is not sustainable and most fans won't support paying one and done athletes 6-7 figures a year when you don't see that model in the NFL or NBA

Without the behemoth broadcasting rights, the autonomy teams would be doing the same thing we are all doing.

Completely F&k-ed Up...seriously and completely...

Bullnamed_gus wrote: ↑

April 5th, 2024, 7:51 am

I’ll just say this, something has to change, because we are getting lapped in hate ticket revenue because of how many student tickets we give out.

Bullnamed_gus wrote: ↑

April 4th, 2024, 7:50 pm

I saw the bat signal.

Yes we could theoretically up the fees a reasonable amount. Increasing it 50 bucks a student a semester is literally nothing.

The school could also cut waste they are currently spending money on.


But that’s not what this thread is for so please don’t debate me.

And I know it’s not a popular take but it’s my take and I will always love it.

I've been thinking about making this kind of post for a while now, but I agreed with your statement that this thread was not the place for it. However, since you quoted yourself to discuss it further, it seems that the time has come.

Many of your posts on this topic have included tweets from multiple sources that call out specific financial data from specific universities, and then you say things like USU students should pay double or triple the student fees, whatever they are, no one will notice an extra $50 or $100 or $200 or whatever number you happen to throw out in that particular post. This gives the impression that you know more about other institutions and their financial specifics than you do about USU's financial specifics, which puts your arguments on shaky ground with me. If you want to discuss it and use specifics from other institutions, at least use the specifics from USU as well.

Most importantly though, rather than you trying to force groups of people (that don't include you anymore) to increase their financial giving to USU athletic-related endeavors, I would like to invite you to lead a group that does include you in showing the way forward by your actions. I invite you, if your current USU athletic-related donations are $0, to increase that number to something greater than $0. If your donations are greater than $0 but less than $50 per semester, I invite you to increase that number to $50 per semester. If your donations are greater than $50 per semester but less than the current student athletic fee per semester, I invite you to increase that number to the current student athletic fee per semester. If your donations are greater than the current athletic fee per semester, I invite you to double or triple your donations. If it's

Bullnamed_gus wrote: ↑

April 4th, 2024, 7:50 pm

literally nothing

for the students, it's

Bullnamed_gus wrote: ↑

April 4th, 2024, 7:50 pm

literally nothing

for you too, right? Surely you wouldn't push others to do more than you are willing to do yourself, right?

Feel free to post the receipts if you'd like. Be a leader! Be the change you want to see. Show the students and alumni and fans that you're willing to put your money where your mouth is and encourage them to follow your good example!

I'm not a hater like some here but do you think USC is happy with what they got out of Bronny James? Who coughed up the 6 million dollars got hosed. How many times do you think they'll do that?

Blitz79 wrote: ↑

April 5th, 2024, 11:36 am

I'm not a hater like some here but do you think USC is happy with what they got out of Bronny James? Who coughed up the 6 million dollars got hosed. How many times do you think they'll do that?

Yeah, the fact that most of us, myself included, still aren't sure how much playing time Bronny even got is a bad sign. If you pay ONE player almost 6 Million, you would hope that it gets eyes across the nation on your basketball program. Maybe they got more butts in seats this season? But was it enough to make a $6 Million difference?? Doubtful.

Blitz79 wrote: ↑

April 5th, 2024, 11:36 am

I'm not a hater like some here but do you think USC is happy with what they got out of Bronny James? Who coughed up the 6 million dollars got hosed. How many times do you think they'll do that?

Are we sure all the money came from the school? Could some of his NIL money come from other opportunities? Possibly endorsements, and the like?

Most of it is from a Nike deal.

Maybe LeBron anonymously donated to their collective and specified who got the benefit.

Maybe LeBron worked a deal with Nike where he would do X if Nike paid his boy Y.

WasatchAggie wrote: ↑

April 5th, 2024, 10:01 am

https://www.collegefactual.com/colleges ... ch%20sport.

https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:s ... a66f2bc566

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.pbs.or ... ege-sports

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/D ... venue.aspx

But the U received 10M in combined institutional support and student fees. So arguably, they lost money.

I imagine the top 25 schools will leave the NCAA within five years and the rest of the country will get back to amateur sports again. The current model is not sustainable and most fans won't support paying one and done athletes 6-7 figures a year when you don't see that model in the NFL or NBA

Thanks for sharing @WasatchAggie!

@Bullnamed_gus, not trying to get sandboxy, but on the separate topic of student fees increasing to benefit athletics, there are thousands of USU students taking on notable debt to pay for their education. How many of them want to take on more debt to improve funding for USU athletics… even if it is only $50/semester? Why force them to pay for something they may not want? As alluded to by another, if you’re the one that wants it, then why don’t you pay for it?

SeattleAg wrote: ↑

April 3rd, 2024, 5:13 pm

ViAggie wrote: ↑

April 3rd, 2024, 2:13 pm

feeah wrote: ↑

April 3rd, 2024, 2:09 pm

I wish the NCAA or Congress would implement some kind of NIL salary cap. Even the playing field a bit.

In professional sports, we have unions, minimum salaries, and salary caps (in most sports, looking at you, MLB, that's why your popularity is dwindling; we all know a team can buy a championship). In college sports is a damn free for all!

I would argue that buying a championship works less i baseball than people might think. Yankees haven't for decades. Dodgers keep coughing it up in the playoffs. Though yes, you almost always need to spend at a base high level to get wins, unless you are Tampa.

That said, NCAA can't regulate NIL, they have no legal standing that I know of anymore, and I suspect Congress would pass that buck. The schools are going to have to concoct a system, or donors eventually run out of money to fund millions and millions every year into athletes that won't stick around or (likely) win it all.

Yes and no. Kids with student visas are breaking the law and should be deported.