News Article: Byrne: We Can Only Add 40 Scholarships

[lowend]

Texas is adding 200 scholarships across all sports, Georgia 100, Alabama can only afford 40. This is where we get relegated to a second tier athletic department.

Greg Byrne: Alabama not as ‘flush’ financially as Texas, other top schools

Greg Byrne said Alabama plans to add scholarships after House settlement approval, but not as many as its SEC peers.

www.al.com

 

[AlexanderFan]

$195,000 per athlete, and you guys wanted them to get paid too?

Geeze.

 

[Bamabuzzard]

Until Alabama implements a state lottery, this is going to be a problem. Louisiana uses the lottery money to give out very good state scholarships. My daughter is currently on one that is paying for a bulk of her schooling.

 

[bamaslammer]

So the SEC limits us to 85. So other schools can have 105? I'm not understanding why the SEC would do that. Do they hate winning?

 

[TideEngineer08]

So the SEC limits us to 85. So other schools can have 105? I'm not understanding why the SEC would do that. Do they hate winning?

It's led by incompetence.

 

[Cruloc]

Was nice winning championships while it lasted. The current structure ensures the wealthiest groups of boosters getting the best recruits and transfers.

Need enforceable rules.

Imagine the NFL being like this, players leaving midseason or whenever they want, shopping themselves around and whomstever can pay the most to the most will get the most. Everyone else gets what's left over and you've got yourself a dynasty.

Good luck keeping most fanbases engaged.

 

[CrimsonTitles]

Does this even affect football? If they're gonna have roster limits instead of scholarship limits, then that should negate any effect this has. I thought number I heard was 105, so that's nothing too crazy. We're also in the transfer portal era, so even if we didn't have quite as many scholarships, I'm not sure it's really gonna matter that much. Regardless of how many roster spots you have, the days of hoarding players are done. The depth will still leave if they're not getting enough playing time. If anything, this could create a little more parity.

 

[Cruloc]

Did I read the 105 and 85 limits correctly?

The NCAA will allow everyone to go to 105....but the SEC will limit its teams to the 85 we've had?

How is this a good thing for the SEC? What am I not seeing?

 

[mrusso]

So they get paid via NIL, can leave anytime they want, AND they still get a full ride???

 

[TideEngineer08]

This is mostly going to impact sports other than football.

Football is limited to 105, period. And the SEC likes cutting off its nose to spite its face, so apparently SEC schools will stay limited to the old 85 number.

But other sports are goin to be able to expand their numbers of scholarships so you will see some schools actually be able to begin offering sports they couldn't before.

Alabama is already behind when it comes to NIL. This will place us further behind. But again, not necessarily in football, except what the SEC is apparently doing with 85 vs. 105. That is utterly moronic. But a lot of what Greg Sankey has brought upon us has been utterly moronic.

 

[gtgilbert]

This is mostly going to impact sports other than football.

Football is limited to 105, period. And the SEC likes cutting off its nose to spite its face, so apparently SEC schools will stay limited to the old 85 number.

But other sports are goin to be able to expand their numbers of scholarships so you will see some schools actually be able to begin offering sports they couldn't before.

Alabama is already behind when it comes to NIL. This will place us further behind. But again, not necessarily in football, except what the SEC is apparently doing with 85 vs. 105. That is utterly moronic. But a lot of what Greg Sankey has brought upon us has been utterly moronic.

The bigger impact won't be so much in adding sports they didn't have, but in being able to give full, instead of partial, scholarships to a lot of sports. i.e. baseball used to have mandatory limit of scholarships that was well below their roster number. Men's lacrosse had either 12-13 scholarships and rosters were typically 45 players. goalies got full rides and you carry 3 of those, and typically if a team gets a true top flite offensive player they'll get a full ride. the coaches had to figure out how to split up the funds across the roster after that. Some top programs like UVA, Duke and maryland gave freshman almost nothing but the opportunity to win a ride later. Now they'll likely be able to give a lot more of those folks full rides or better spread funds out.

 

[lowend]

Does this even affect football? If they're gonna have roster limits instead of scholarship limits, then that should negate any effect this has. I thought number I heard was 105, so that's nothing too crazy. We're also in the transfer portal era, so even if we didn't have quite as many scholarships, I'm not sure it's really gonna matter that much. Regardless of how many roster spots you have, the days of hoarding players are done. The depth will still leave if they're not getting enough playing time. If anything, this could create a little more parity.

Somewhat. Depth is already a concern and, IMO, will be even more so. If we are capped at 85 scholarships and every school outside the SEC has an extra 20 then that's 20 backups -- who probably still are in school for an education -- that can go get their degree paid for; so, what level of player are we left trying to get to come pay their way to be a backup?

 

[mdb-tpet]

Honestly, we've lost the plot on college athletics with the injection of buckets of cash. I do want the players to get an appropriate percentage of the money that is generated by their games and play (just like the coaches deserve an appropriate percentage), but we're off in some kind of dystopian world now with NIL and booster hyper-funded teams.

 

[TideEngineer08]

The bigger impact won't be so much in adding sports they didn't have, but in being able to give full, instead of partial, scholarships to a lot of sports. i.e. baseball used to have mandatory limit of scholarships that was well below their roster number. Men's lacrosse had either 12-13 scholarships and rosters were typically 45 players. goalies got full rides and you carry 3 of those, and typically if a team gets a true top flite offensive player they'll get a full ride. the coaches had to figure out how to split up the funds across the roster after that. Some top programs like UVA, Duke and maryland gave freshman almost nothing but the opportunity to win a ride later. Now they'll likely be able to give a lot more of those folks full rides or better spread funds out.

Very good point. I should have mentioned what gave me the thought of more sports offered was that 200 number thrown out there by Texas.

200 extra scholarships? Just what can you do with current sports as far as bringing the numbers up to roster limits? I would think you’d still have scholarships left over and could offer men’s wrestling, for example.

 

[CrimsonTitles]

Somewhat. Depth is already a concern and, IMO, will be even more so. If we are capped at 85 scholarships and every school outside the SEC has an extra 20 then that's 20 backups -- who probably still are in school for an education -- that can go get their degree paid for; so, what level of player are we left trying to get to come pay their way to be a backup?

Well yeah, definitely if the SEC is actually doing this. I didn't realize that when I typed the post. Seems crazy that the SEC would even consider that. Surely they'll concede when this all gets finalized. I think it would take some time for that to become a problem. Right now, those extra 20 would just be guys that would normally be walk ons. It's not likely going to allow schools to resume hoarding starter-level talent again. The guys who believe they should be starting are not gonna go sit on Ohio State's roster even if they do have extra spots. Now eventually maybe those former preferred walkon guys end up going to G5 instead, and those spots are going to guys who already proved themselves at the G5 level, kinda like how basketball has become, where you got 3*s who don't even get high-major offers anymore, where they would've 10 years ago. It would take a few years of this for football rosters to undergo that kind of shift, and I would hope that the SEC will have changed their stance on this nonsense by then. They will, whenever they realize it's going to cost them on the field.

 

[lowend]

Very good point. I should have mentioned what gave me the thought of more sports offered was that 200 number thrown out there by Texas.

200 extra scholarships? Just what can you do with current sports as far as bringing the numbers up to roster limits? I would think you’d still have scholarships left over and could offer men’s wrestling, for example.

And whatever is created for men, as you know, has to be balanced out with women's sports.

 

[RammerJammer14]

$195,000 per athlete, and you guys wanted them to get paid too?

Geeze.

iTs slAvErY!!!

 

[JDCrimson]

I wonder if the SEC is standing pat because the new revenue share models reference scholarships educational athletes as participants in revenue sharing. If so adding scholarships would actually dilute the amount revenue sharing that athletes could receive?

I suspect this is a parity measure to allow institutions and conferences with less lucrative TV revenues to increase their rosters, at their own expense, in attempt close the gap between have and have not programs.

 

[dWarriors88]

Was nice winning championships while it lasted. The current structure ensures the wealthiest groups of boosters getting the best recruits and transfers.

Need enforceable rules.

Imagine the NFL being like this, players leaving midseason or whenever they want, shopping themselves around and whomstever can pay the most to the most will get the most. Everyone else gets what's left over and you've got yourself a dynasty.

Good luck keeping most fanbases engaged.

That was the end goal this entire time, this wasn't a slippery slope til we got here. This was the intent behind all the decisions that led us here. I'm really checked out of CFB, college sports entirely because of this. Not like anyone cares if I watch or not. But I can't be the only one feeling this much disdain for college athletics.

 

[TD7]

Was nice winning championships while it lasted. The current structure ensures the wealthiest groups of boosters getting the best recruits and transfers.

Need enforceable rules.

Imagine the NFL being like this, players leaving midseason or whenever they want, shopping themselves around and whomstever can pay the most to the most will get the most. Everyone else gets what's left over and you've got yourself a dynasty.

Good luck keeping most fanbases engaged.

You're absolutely right. I've been involved in football for over 30 years, and even though I currently work in the football industry, I find myself losing interest in it.