walk-on vs. scholarship question

Submitted by reddogrjw on

2018 recruit, DE Aiden Hutchinson, is the son of Michigan star Steve

 

Steve made a TON in the NFL and can easily afford to send his kid to college and pay his way

 

Steve, being the big Michigan Man that he is, can send Aiden to Michigan as a PWO and pay his way, freeing up another scholarship

 

Yet we don't typically see this from people with money (Snoop Dog's kid was another example I thought of out at UCLA before he quit football)

 

Porcher IV is another one

 

why doesn't this type of thing happen more often?  If at all?

 

 

edit add

 

yes - my bad - Chris not Steve

I will take my negs for that doesn't change the question, but apparently people think thise with $50M-$100M won't donate $200K in scholarship money when in reality they probably donate more than that in a year to begin with

Eat Your Wheatlies

January 6th, 2017 at 11:19 AM ^

This is a terrible argument.

If these kids are good enough offer a scholarship then they certainly deserve to reap the benefits and be able to state the claim that they are a Michigan scholar-athlete.

reddogrjw

January 6th, 2017 at 11:22 AM ^

the Glasgow's highly rated?

 

I'm not saying they SHOULD have to pay, I was just curious as to why those with 10's of millions plus (like Snoop) wouldn't want the school their kid is going to attend to be able to bring in more talent to make the kid's team better

Blue in Paradise

January 6th, 2017 at 11:43 AM ^

http://247sportsdev2.com/Bolt/Harbaugh-the-Glasgow-brothers-were-underr… None of them have a 247 rating so I don't think they would have been offered by UM. Besides, Ryan was on scholarship this past season and maybe last season too. I think what you can say is that the parents' financial position gives these kids the flexibility to choose a PWO at a major program vs. a scholarship at a lower school. Griese passed up a scholarship at Purdue to go to UM. I don't think he was highly rated out of HS, but that is a long time ago so I could be remembering wrong.

Tuebor

January 6th, 2017 at 11:55 AM ^

Griese's case was different though.  He turned down a scholarship to Purdue becasue he didn't want to deal with comparisons to his father and he was promised that as soon as a scholarship opened up at UM he would receive it.  I think he was on scholarship before fall campe ended his freshmen year if I recall correctly.

DrMantisToboggan

January 6th, 2017 at 12:01 PM ^

Like many have said on here, making $4M a year for 15 years does not mean you have $60M in the bank. Depending on the state you live in, about 40-50% of that goes to taxes. Now you're down to $30M. Let's say this player was very smart and realized that he didn't know where his income was going to come from after he retired from the NFL, so he was saving 20% per year for retirement. You're now down to $24M in the bank. Let's say that his living expenses while in the NFL were $20,000 per month because he was making money, living a nice life, doing fun things because he could. $20,000 per month for 15 years is $3.6M. Now he's down to $20M in the bank. There's probably another x number of expenses (insurance, private school for kids, parent/family support, gifts, etc.) that I haven't captured, plus he has to have saved every penny he spends for the rest of his life. He's out of the NFL at 35, wants to live for 50 more years and has maybe $20M. He can live a very comfortable life, at a step down in luxury from his NFL days but still extremely nice, on $400,000 per year at that rate. That would use up all of his money. He probably wants to save a good bit to pass on to his kids to make their lives easier.

 

Or he can do things like turn down a free $100,000.

 

These are the decisions that decide whether a family stays rich or is "merged into the great, obscure mass of humanity", as Hawthorne says.

Gruntled Fan

January 6th, 2017 at 11:28 AM ^

You know why? Rich people aren't stupid enough to waste money like this when they can a free ride somewhere. 

Go Blue in NC

January 6th, 2017 at 11:31 AM ^

You gotta think though that the scholarship you're freeing up by paying for your son isn't going to a Jabrill or Gary level recruit, it's going to the lowest kid on the totem pole, like LS or 4th string QB. Is that marginal improvement by having that player on the roster worth your kid forgoing a scholarship? I'd wager not and it seems most wealthy parents of these athletes agree.

reshp1

January 6th, 2017 at 11:42 AM ^

I could see it if the kid only has scholarship offers from lesser programs. If they have other top power 5 offers, 100-200k tuition is hard to turn down. Unless the kid has a passion for Michigan like their parent, the financial incentives are going to be hard to overcome. We've also see the opposite happen where a kid takes it as a slap in the face that they don't get offered as a legacy.

Quailman

January 6th, 2017 at 11:46 AM ^

Why doesnt this thing happen more often?

Because that's not fair to the kid. Simple. Just because dad has money doesnt mean they shouldnt be rewarded for their work and skills and get those benefits. They are not their fathers.

 

Also, Steve is not Aidan's dad, so there is another problem with this post. 

Ali G Bomaye

January 6th, 2017 at 12:09 PM ^

I think the question is whether the family in question wants to donate $100-200K to the university. If they do want to do so, then the best way is by paying tuition for their kid as a walk-on, because then they're effectively donating that money PLUS a free scholarship. But if they don't want to donate that much, which is totally fair, then they shouldn't have to pay tuition when their kid is scholarship-worthy just because they have money.

SeattleWolverine

January 6th, 2017 at 12:20 PM ^

Pretty sure Jeffrey Jordan got a scholarship and his dad obviously has serious bank. I get the rationale but as long as he is good enough, then some school will offer a scholarship. The money matters, but also, what's the impression you leave with a person when you say I want you on my football team but I'm not going to give you the same compensation for your effort that the other 85 guys get? Or 

 

Also, for a football/basketball player to remain a walkon, as I understand the rules, they have to not be a recruitedathlete. Recruited athlete is defined as anyone who takes an official visit, has off-campus contact with a coach like an in-home visit or has more than 1 phone call with a kid. Usually you can get away with those limitations on PWO kids but they don't have other major offers. For a kid who is highly recruited, it is going to be a recruiting handicap compared to other schools. If a kid does become a recruited athlete, you can't then turn around and make them a PWO because obviously if that were possible then every school would use the 20 eligible WO spots for recruits that they funded with other non-athletic scholarships that are substituted for athletic scholarships. The Saban Foundation would grant scholarships for some fake reason and you'd have walkons that are ringers basically. But that's not possible for kids you recruit. Feel free to correct me if this info is not correct or current NCAA rules experts. 

 

 

The Maizer

January 6th, 2017 at 12:21 PM ^

If your goal was improving your son's football team, $200k could be put to better use than freeing up a scholarship (assistant pay, facility upgrade, bagmen, etc.).

Lampuki22

January 6th, 2017 at 12:51 PM ^

I can tell you from familial experience that rich people who earn a scholarship are typically the last people to accept a walk on even to their alma matter.

Don't recall did all the Glasgows pay their own way? Might be an exception.



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umfanchris

January 6th, 2017 at 2:30 PM ^

There are a couple other thoughts about this:

  • Out of state Tuition is actually closer to $60k - $65k (with housing, fees, etc) a year. Lets say they are in school 5 years (not all students graduate in 4 years or take grad courses). Your talking about $300k - $325k
  • Another factor that you should think about is number of kids. If a person were to have 5 kids that he was going to pay college for, that's $1.5 Million just in College Tuition. That's a lot of money, I don't care who you are.
  • On a completly different thought process. Let's say the rich parent does budget $300k for student to go to college. He gives the kid an option that he can take a prefered walk-on, and makes his team marginally better (maybe) by freeing up one scholarship. Or he can take the scholarship (no cost to parent) and use that 300k for a house after college. What do you think most 18 year olds would do?