Now that college sports has become minor league pro sports, why does anyone still care?

[Anonymous]

I have never really cared about college sports ever.

[Anonymous]

A large % of the viewers are gambling, right?

As for why people care... it's alumni and legacy viewers. Private equity and media can milk the aging legacy viewers for the next 40 years. If you are a 30 year old Georgia or Michigan alum, it's not like you can change your degree and rewrite your life experiences from age 0 to 22. You're going to be an observer of that college team until you die. That's what they're milking. Execs and bankers don't care if everything evolves negatively or dies in 50 years -- it's about profit extraction NOW

[Anonymous]

This year I really felt disinterested

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If major networks invested billions of dollars into the broadcast rights of minor league baseball and G-league basketball then people would probably watch. College Sports will always continue to be popular and important because it's incredibly accessible to the common fan.

And a huge tradition.

Fair, but what’s happening now is not that tradition. These universities now have minor league professional sports teams attached to them as appendages. And these appendages are increasingly disconnected from the idea of a university as a school of higher learning.

This is not the good old days of all American student athletes going to class and walking around campus in their letter jackets.

I’m probably romanticizing the old days but you get the idea.

You are romanticizing the old days. I remember when my Div 1 Uni came out in the 1980s saying it would not go as low as the NCAA was then allowing for SAT scores. I think it was 800 TOTAL at that time. I had taken the old SAT as a 7th grader and not known any algebra and gotten a 370 math off a few arithmetic problems. So basically the requirement was you could read and make change. Not impressive at all. And the bowl-winning teams liked to brag about the very ordinary scholarship capabilities of their teams...but they got first choice of the literate players because of their wins, not because of the free education. Our best football player (Heisman-eligible) left as a junior or so for the NFL after several violent incidents and a crashed loaner luxury car.

Looked up what the SAT are now and there are no rules anymore. Google AI says:

"The NCAA permanently removed the SAT/ACT score requirement for Division I initial eligibility starting in 2023, so there's no minimum score needed, but student-athletes must still meet core course requirements and have a certain GPA, with universities setting their own higher standards. While older rules had a sliding scale (e.g., a 900 SAT with a 3.55 GPA, or 1000 SAT with a 2.0 GPA), that system is gone, focusing now on your core GPA and high school courses."

The disconnection was there in the 1990s but people keep kidding themselves.

Student athletes have been literally illiterate at every big time college program going back decades. Even when there was that bare min. SAT or ACT score required, they would just pay someone $100 to take it for them. Cheating was rampant

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This year I really felt disinterested

And yet, ratings higher than ever!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This year I really felt disinterested

I noticed I felt this way about college basketball years before football. I used to watch a TON of CBB, now can barely get interested for the NCAA tournament. I fear NCAAF is heading this way for me fast.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have never really cared about college sports ever.

Me too! Never understood why anybody cares!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A large % of the viewers are gambling, right?

As for why people care... it's alumni and legacy viewers. Private equity and media can milk the aging legacy viewers for the next 40 years. If you are a 30 year old Georgia or Michigan alum, it's not like you can change your degree and rewrite your life experiences from age 0 to 22. You're going to be an observer of that college team until you die. That's what they're milking. Execs and bankers don't care if everything evolves negatively or dies in 50 years -- it's about profit extraction NOW

50 year old Michigan alum here--this is exactly right. I don't watch every game (too busy with work/kids) but I'll be a fan until I die.

[Anonymous]

I watch more college basketball than I did since shortly after graduating from a blue blood basketball school. Now I focus less on teams and more on individual players. I got back into watching when several kids that I knew started playing in college, and I’ve gotten more into watching players develop from HS through the NBA over the years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The big-time college sports, mainly football and basketball, have now fully become minor league professional sports. You've got guys jumping in the transfer portal every offseason, playing at four schools in four years. Signing a "contract" to play at a school. Making big $$ to play their sports and likely not focusing on academics very much.

Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with the players being able to get something after years of the coaches and administrators making big $$ off the backs of their labor.

My question is more for the fans and general public. Now that big time college athletics is just minor league pro sports, why does anyone still care about it? Why do they watch?

Nobody watches AA minor league baseball. Nobody watches G-league basketball. Nobody watches minor league hockey. That's exactly what the big-time college sports have now become - minor leagues to the professional leagues.

My view is that if you're going to spend your time and money watching sports, watch the best players. Watch the NBA, the NFL, etc. Why waste your time and money watching minor league players "in college?"

I haven't been watching college sports for a while. My alma mater was going through a down period. Recruiting issues(that didn't even happen at their school, but they hired a coach from somewhere else). Just got tired of watching my team put together a decent team once every four years.

However, IMO the things that you listed could actually make college more watchable. EG talent being more mobile means the teams could put together more consistent teams.

I think there should be many more pro teams and leagues. People watched minor league sports outside of college. Baseball farm teams are good example.

They don't watch them around here, but in the Midwest, the Springfield (Missouri) Cardinals were big.

This is also sort of consistent with European leagues where there are many different leagues even with the pro and semi-pro. Which I think is sort of healthy. Win enough in one league, get promoted to another.

For some sports it doesn't make sense, football too many injuries not really amenable to semi-pro/minor-league playing IMO, baseball basketball you're not going to get ripped to pieces.

Many people can't afford NBA tickets, they just can't, nor do they want to drive two hours. Even the Mystics and Wizards are a pain logistically from the DC suburbs, but there are the Terrapins, and the basketball is fabulous for the Women this year.

[Anonymous]

Sports is now and has always been been about community.


College sports stars and are watched by 18-22 year olds who form a bond with that sport during that fun care free period. They then graduate, get married and have kids who grow up watching these games in the living room every season and the cycle continues.

College sports are more successful than other minor leagues because that in build self perpetuating multi generational community isn’t there yet.

[Anonymous]

People care because they have an association with the college. Usually an alumnus themselves or a close family member. Big universities like Ohio State or Penn State graduate between 15K - 20K students each year.

Minor league teams are generally in smaller towns and areas with a smaller populations and smaller arenas and stadiums. If the Toledo Mudhens (MLB minor league) could pull 35K fans to a game they would, but it's a small town and can't. Why do you think New York City and LA have multiple NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB teams? Because they have the large populations to support it.

Colleges grow there fans bases every year by admitting new students. Some new students may not be interested in sports, some may only be interested in sports while in college, but some will most certainly be proud fans for life. The Erie Otters (OHL minor league hockey) would love to get even 1K new potential fans every year, but that doesn't happen in minor league sports.

There are some well run minor league organizations throughout sports, but there are also many instances where teams fold and go bankrupt.