OT: Lavish College (football) athletic facilities out of control?
There's a paywalled article in yesterday's Chicago Trib about college athletic facilities being out of control. The poster child for the article is Clemson. Thankfully, Michigan gets nary a mention.
On the one hand, it sounds like sour grapes from some reporter with another agenda. We're in a free market, after all. Boosters and colleges can spend money however they want.
On the other hand, some of this stuff seems over the top. To wit,
The people in charge of Clemson University's athletic department have not settled on a design for the miniature golf course they are building for their football team, but they know it will have just nine holes, not 18. That will leave room for the sand volleyball courts, laser tag, movie theater, bowling lanes, barber shop and other amenities planned in the $55 million complex that South Carolina's second-largest public university is building exclusively for its football players.
And again,
Clemson, whose undefeated Tigers are one of four teams in this year's College Football Playoff, is building a football complex with an aspect school officials tout will be the first of its kind: a "players' village" entertainment wing with attractions more commonly seen in arcades and theme parks than on college campuses. "I am pumped," Coach William "Dabo" Swinney said in a video the school released promoting the new building. "It is going to be the epitome of Clemson: fun, special, unique. It's going to be the best in the country, without a doubt."
Of course, the writer lines up the required opposition quote, a guy named Gurney who heads up the "Drake group." (never heard of them).
Clemson's new facility likely will be the best for just a matter of months, critics of college sports said, until the next school decides to transform a corner of its campus into what Drake Group President Gerald Gurney terms "day spas" designed to entice teenagers. "This is all about pandering to the fantasies of 18-year-olds. It has nothing whatsoever to do with the mission of a university," said Gurney, whose organization advocates an overhaul of commercialized college sports in America. "What's probably next down the line is a floating river attraction. ... Why don't we have a roller coaster?" said Gurney, who has worked in athletic departments at the University of Maryland and the University of Oklahoma, where he now teaches. "It's embarrassing that we're even discussing this."
What do you think? I guess I don't have a problem with Universities opting to have great facilities for their athletes. Food, weight training, medical facilities, rehab, indoor fields, locker rooms, academic study facilities, all make sense to me. But does there come a point where it really is just wretched excess?
To be fair, college campuses have changed a lot since the time I was a student in the 70's. Crummy dorm food, lack of air conditioning, few amenities, are a thing of the past, I guess. But I don't know what the future holds, and for sports teams, how much is too much. Something seems out of kilter.
December 23rd, 2015 at 7:53 AM ^
Here's the link for those who subscribe to the Trib, or can figure out how to get in:
December 23rd, 2015 at 9:14 AM ^
The article was also published in the Washington Post, which isn't paywalled. Link:
December 23rd, 2015 at 9:34 AM ^
December 23rd, 2015 at 11:18 AM ^
Actually Florida State still has Clemson beat. Seminole commits know they have the entire Talahassee Police Department on their side.
December 23rd, 2015 at 12:02 PM ^
More like on their team and in their pocket.
December 23rd, 2015 at 7:55 AM ^
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December 23rd, 2015 at 8:35 AM ^
It may be a waste, but now I definitely don't want to see a recruit announce a final two of Michigan and Clemson. Since they can't pay them, may as well make their 4 years as pampered as possible. They'll probably stay relevant due to an increase in recruiting from this.
December 23rd, 2015 at 8:48 AM ^
December 23rd, 2015 at 9:41 AM ^
December 23rd, 2015 at 9:17 AM ^
has to decide to go to Clemson over Michigan because of mini-golf and volley ball court, let him go. It's just pissing money away.
December 23rd, 2015 at 12:05 PM ^
Not all high school athletes can be wooed by such nonsense. You've got to have a good team, and great athletic facilities, and great support facilities. But this stuff? It's there for those who aren't going to college just to "play school."
December 23rd, 2015 at 7:56 AM ^
What's out of kilter is that universities have lost adequate state support, which they have had to make up for with out of state students who will pay full freight, who are as a matter of well-understood fact most efficiently recruited through the construction of exorbitant recreational facilities. That's a reality created by fundamentally incompetent state governance, and it's hastening the destruction of the American university system.
December 23rd, 2015 at 8:37 AM ^
Well if em univerities stopped teaching evolution and all that history that makes the US of A look bad - maybe we'd give em more money.
December 23rd, 2015 at 10:56 AM ^
December 23rd, 2015 at 11:22 AM ^
Mini Golf Matters
December 23rd, 2015 at 7:56 AM ^
Does it send the wrong message as to what college is about? Yep.
But like you said, if rich boosters have a lot of cash burning a hole in their pockets, who are we to judge.
On the positive side, if this is a place the football team wants to hang out and goof off, it at least provides them a safe environment to help keep them out of trouble. Instead of being out a bar getting drunk, in a fight, driving home, etc......they're at the campus playing mini-golf or volleyball, basically in a more controlled environment which keeps them away from influences that could land them in trouble. From that perspective, I don't have a problem with it.
December 23rd, 2015 at 8:16 AM ^
My thoughts exactly. If it keeps them out of the bars, then good!
December 23rd, 2015 at 8:43 AM ^
OK, Carrie Nation.
December 23rd, 2015 at 9:10 AM ^
for bars because they don't get paid!
December 23rd, 2015 at 8:34 AM ^
December 23rd, 2015 at 9:20 AM ^
is not the intended purpose of tax deduction law.
December 23rd, 2015 at 9:39 AM ^
December 23rd, 2015 at 8:55 AM ^
Exactly what I was thinking. You're not going to be able to keep every kid out of trouble, and for some kids hitting Skeeps post-game isn't a problem because they're responsible. However, if these facilities can keep a few kids, who would have otherwise made a bad decision, in the building around teammates AND they get recruits to come - then they're worth it.
December 23rd, 2015 at 5:05 PM ^
they could just fucking grow up, and learn how to handle both responsibilities and priviledges.
Why must these athletes have a pampered "safe play-date zone" surrounding them from birth to graduation?
December 23rd, 2015 at 10:59 AM ^
Skip the football castles and pay the players directly. The money could be used for more useful things...or probably less useful things since we are talking about 18-22 year old men. The point being the money used to pay for these facilities is directly linked to the labor of the players yet they have no say over how it's spent.
December 23rd, 2015 at 11:20 AM ^
In that spirit I am going down to offer Gator players free blunts on new years morning
December 23rd, 2015 at 12:09 PM ^
I don't care if the boosters pay to make sure the medical facilities, the rehab facilities, the staff, the locker rooms, the practice fields, the weight rooms, the tutoring staff, the equipment, is all top of the line. But yeah, I don't want to see a "player village" that's like a theme park. A lazy river and a roller coaster and a private dance club and private bar and private golf course for football players and their guests. That's just dumb.
And keep them in a "controlled environment?" For crying out loud, they need to grow up and learn how to negotiate the world. That's part of what college is all about.
December 23rd, 2015 at 7:57 AM ^
December 23rd, 2015 at 8:03 AM ^
If they want to pander to the wishes of 18 year old young men, shouldn't they just put a brothel on campus?
Oh wait, Louisville already did.
Pick up your game, Clemson.
December 23rd, 2015 at 9:58 AM ^
Hookers AND blow!
December 23rd, 2015 at 6:23 PM ^
Hey it's legal in parts of Nevada, just wait, soon UNLV will be a national powerhouse in all sports by providing 'bed warmers' to all players.
December 23rd, 2015 at 8:07 AM ^
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December 23rd, 2015 at 8:10 AM ^
To be fair, capitalizing the word college in the thread title could lead you to think that.
December 23rd, 2015 at 8:09 AM ^
I feel like if anyone on the team brought up to Harbaugh the idea of adding a miniature golf course in Schembechler Hall, the only thing they might get is running stairs at the Big House.
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December 23rd, 2015 at 8:15 AM ^
December 23rd, 2015 at 5:10 PM ^
I don't let my 4 yr olds run loose in town, but I think I'll be ok with it if they can somehow graduate from high school.
December 23rd, 2015 at 8:10 AM ^
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December 23rd, 2015 at 8:15 AM ^
Plus, they would be tracking sand throughout the entire complex
December 23rd, 2015 at 8:20 AM ^
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December 23rd, 2015 at 8:39 AM ^
You're being sarcastic, but I play sand volleyball every summer at a local bar. My car ends up looking like it got caught in the storm surge of a hurricane and then dried out in the sun. That shit is no joke.
December 23rd, 2015 at 11:21 AM ^
there goes your paint job
December 23rd, 2015 at 8:16 AM ^
It was a sand flag football game not volleyball but yeah probably not they best idea.
December 23rd, 2015 at 8:19 AM ^
Rushed for over 1,000 yards as a rookie in 1998, then blew out his knee in a rookie flag football game during pro bowl week. Wouldn't make it back to the NFL until 2002.
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December 23rd, 2015 at 8:14 AM ^
Im guessing the 18 year olds will eat this up, but personally I think its a little much.
December 23rd, 2015 at 8:14 AM ^
I don't have a problem with this, except I think they should open it up to all scholarship sport athletes, not just football players.
Once the bubble bursts, whether it's from the sweet nectar of cable money fizzling away or legislation allowing players to earn a 'salary' from the school, it'll be curious to see how many of these $20+ million opulent facilities still get built.
December 23rd, 2015 at 8:24 AM ^
December 23rd, 2015 at 8:54 AM ^
Good question. Its only a matter of time before someone writes up a complaint or a student group protests/files a lawsuit
December 23rd, 2015 at 11:25 AM ^
but if you build a massage lounge with HD porn and let athletes of both genders use it - ahem- together- then your tille 9 concerns evaporate. Its a great ......bonding experience.
December 23rd, 2015 at 8:31 AM ^
If they're building lavish facilities like this they should be open for use by the entire student body, especially at the schools where the AD isn't self-sustaining. I'd be pretty pissed if my tuition money was paying for a lazy river that I wasn't allowed to use.
December 23rd, 2015 at 11:31 AM ^
I imagine a vast majority of these come from donations directly to the athletic department. Now, if the school is pulling money from the general university coffers (which I think would be a big no-no, especially for public schools like Clemson, but IANAL), then yes they should be open to everyone.
If I were to become a billionaire and donate money to build some amazing theme park for the College of Engineering, you better believe I'd want that to be a CoE-student only perk. Likewise, these boosters contributing tens of millions to install a wave pool or whatever should have some assurance that they are only being used by people associated with wherever they want the money going. Football players aren't going to hang out and play mini golf if it's constantly packed with the general student population, so why make the donation?