Is Division I Basketball Suffering because of Football?
Written by Bamababe2k9, Thursday February 11 2010
Why is it that a lot of Division I schools who use to play a pretty good quality of basketball, is suffering these days. All conferences have off years, but this is ridiculous. The Pac-10 is looking at ONE school making the NCAA tournament. The SEC maybe if they are lucky may get four or five teams in, Big 12 three or four and hell even the ACC is having a tough go of it.
I have to ask why are some of these teams struggling. Why is it a team like Florida who just won back to back titles a few years ago, is not making the field regularly or even a team like Texas who was in the national title game this year in football and who was even a No. 1 team in the country for a few days, may not make it either?
Could it be that it’s because the focus is more on football then basketball? Hear me out. Look at how much money these schools spend on football. Football for most Division I schools, is a cash cow. Millions of fans flock to stadiums every year and even millions more are spent on coaches and now assistant coaches.
Texas alone is paying Mack Brown $5 million dollars per year and assistant Will Muschamp is getting paid almost a million a year. You wonder if some of that money could be use by Rick Barnes to get better assistants and getting more money for recruiting.
USC is another school about to pay out a chunk of money to a coach who basically is an unproven winner, while they are busy throwing their basketball program under the bus to save their football team from NCAA sanctions. The SEC is no better. Although Alabama brought in Anthony Grant and is paying him a million plus a year, assistant football coach Kirby Smart will make almost equal to what Grant’s salary is.
I know Grant wishes some of that money that was given to Smart, could be thrown at his basketball program so he could attract better recruits and have a better facility for his team to play in.
Basketball at most Division I schools is like the red-headed step child. Unless you are at a basketball school like a Kansas, Michigan State, or a North Carolina, most people don’t pay attention to it until tournament season starts.
As an Alabama fan, I want my basketball team to do good just like the football team mainly because it’s exciting and gives us fans something to look forward to after football season is over.
I bet if Nick Saban said we need to have a better basketball program because it helps our football program, most Bama fans would be screaming at the AD to make the facilities better and to throw more money at the basketball program not to mention, more fans would show up.
As much as I love football, especially college football, it would be nice to see some of the bigger programs like an Alabama, like a USC, like a Georgia, be able to find success and balance in their basketball programs as well.
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Stacey, I think what is happening in college hoops is two fold. One is that the game in general is having a down year. Many players are staring for the first time and are adjusting to the game more slowly than the norm. That leads to the second phase...the one and done syndrome. Freshman plat one season then opt for the NBA only because the NBA will not allow these players to come out after high school as they once did. How can any team have continuity on a consistent basis. I realize some teams do, but this season seems to be the exception.