the benefits available to student athletes. I esp like that they will guarantee scholarhips, I'm sure coaches will still be able to figure out ways to run off a player if they don't want them. But they won't be able to pull the scholarship. I also like that players who leave early will be able to come back and finish their degree on scholarship. While this will be of little importance to players who find success in the NFL. There are plenty of players who don't and then don't have the money or have to go into debt to pay their tuition. It will actually be more help to players who go to places where the tuition is high like Notre Dame, Duke, Northwestern, Stanford, etc that it would players going to Univ of Houston or other state schools. But even at UofH I'm sure it would be appreciated if they could return to school and finish degrees on scholarhip. http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/11624238/power-five-conferences-endorse-more-benefits-athletes
I don't care for the returning players keeping their scholarships. They're given a scholarship for participating in sports while they are students at the school. Why should a player leave after 2 years (in BB 1 year) and then be able to return to the school, not play, and still get 2 or 3 more years of education while they are not contributing to the athletic team? If they leave early for big money, let them pay for a degree.
I like the ability of the kids to come back and get their degrees on scholarship. They won't count against the scholarship limits since they won't be eligible to play, at least they won't be eligible to play the sport they originally had the scholarship. The reason I like it is that if confirms the schools commitment to educating these kids, not just using them up on the field and dumping them when they aren't eligible anymore. That's always one of the arguments for "paying" the players.
Boy that's fair. The kid good enough for a scholarship but not pro material has to play 4 years for the school to keep his scholarship. Meanwhile Mr. star gets to leave his team for money and then come back and get a free education for doing nothing. Seems like another liberal program to me.
Well maybe there will be some players you'll look at and think those guys should be paying their own way, but I think the guys it will benefit are those guys who don't get big money and don't make it in the NFL. Those guys, for example Cierre Wood, didn't get drafted, has never made it in the NFL, does not have his degree. Now Cierre is still trying to make it in the NFL and is probably not interested in returning to ND to finish his degree. But at some point his attempt at an NFL career will be over and he won't have his degree. He's unlikely to have accumulated enough money to even think about returning to ND to finish his degree. Maybe he never gets his degree, maybe he's happy with that, doesn't care, doesn't want to come back to ND anyway. But if he did I think it'd be good to have him back and let him finish his degree. As I said, the critics of the current situation complain that players are slaves so to speak. That free room/board/books/tuition is not a fair compensation for what they do for the universities. I think it is a great way to help those players who want to finish their degrees but can't afford it to be able to do it and maybe be more productive members of society. Also don't forget that while it's not as common at ND where players are pushed to get their degrees in 3 1/2 years, but there are players who due to change in majors, laziness, lack of focus, etc end up short of their degree after 5 years. Now they can continue on and get that degree. Sure their will probably be some players who take advantage of the program. But I'm more concerned for those players who find themselves without a degree and no career in the NBA or NFL or MLB or MLS...etc and genuinely want to finish the degree and move on in life.
Of course this will probably lead to more kids leaving when they shouldn't. What have they got to lose? I'll take a long shot at the NFL even though most advise against it. What's the worst that can happen? Hell, I'll go back to school live a couple of years with free room and board and not even have to go to practice. Good training for unemployment when I get out.
Maybe so gip, but I still think it's the right thing to do. Besides I really don't see that there is going to be some big change in kids going to the NFL. I think these kids know when they have a shot at the NFL and when they don't. I don't think Tommy Rees would have left early just because he could come back and finish his degree on scholarship. And kids who don't really like college in the first place, probably won't be the kids who come back if they don't make it in the NFL. My example of Cierre Wood is case in point, I would be shocked if he came back to ND to finish his degree freebie or not. A guy I'm thinking of is Braxton Banks who got bad advice and left ND early for the NFL, wasn't drafted and he tried to get his eligibilty back so he could finish his degree as he couldn't afford ND tuition. He of course lost his court case and it was a big waste of his time...I doubt if he'd have gone that route if he could have come back and finished his degree.
Actually Terry the Banks case is a good example. If he left at a time when he might not be able to return, how quickly would he have left early if he could always come back? Every player who's tired of writing his OWN papers will be taking a shot at the NFL because, "what's there to lose?" Certainly not his scholarship.
If they come back gip they are back into writing their own papers. But time will tell if we see a exodus of players to the NFL just to see if they can make it. I predict we won't see that, that most kids will look at the NFL the same way that they do right now. If they or somebody convinces them that they can get drafted some go, even today kids who have no shot at getting drafted occassionally go, I'm saying that's not going to change. Still my real point is that in the end good will be done for the kids who take advantage and come back for their degree if they don't make it.