Yesterday was proof of how freaking hard it will be to win at Tech

R

ricejacket

Jolly Good Fellow
Joined
Jun 12, 2005
Messages
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I've been a fan since the late 70's, i endured the early Curry years, the early Ross years, Lewis, Flunkgate...ect and the despair I'm feeling at the moment is far worse than those. The reason? The current state of college football is stacked against schools like us. This has always been the case but the last 48 hours have really driven the point home. From Gibbs entering the portal to coaches coaches signing $100M+ contracts it's going to be hard for a school like Tech to compete at the highest level. I know we like to say a kid should be making a "40 year decision" when it comes to choosing Tech but if they have NFL aspirations why come here instead of a factory to start? If they're successful at a factory they can write their own ticket, if not, they can transfer out to a school like Tech to finish their degree and get playing time. Unless we really step it up in the fundraising department, we're going to just get left further behind when it comes to quality coaches. If OU and ND are stepping stone programs we're in a world of hurt. At the moment, the best we can hope for is getting a coach that can string together 3-4 good/great seasons before he leaves for more money and exposure. Obviously we're living in the worst case now where we're tied to a coach we can't/wont buyout that'll drag up deeper into irrelevancy. Big cry away.
 
There's some truth to this, but it's only the top few programs that are leaving everyone in the dust. Most of the teams we need to be beating are in the same boat as we are, more or less. But yes, we need to raise money.
 
agree - college football as we know it is ded - between the NIL and transfer portal, it's turning into a 10 team NFL-esque league.....
 
lawtool1 said:
agree - college football as we know it is ded - between the NIL and transfer portal, it's turning into a 10 team NFL-esque league.....
Click to expand...

It's kind of funny, I feel like NIL and transfer portal will improve parity at the top -- instead of it being the same five teams every year, I bet ten to twenty will be able to compete. Programs with tons of fans and resources which didn't have the competence to be a Bama or Clemson will benefit greatly.

But the gap between those competing teams and everyone else will become even bigger. Unfortunately Tech probably falls into that latter camp.
 
ricejacket said:
I've been a fan since the late 70's, i endured the early Curry years, the early Ross years, Lewis, Flunkgate...ect and the despair I'm feeling at the moment is far worse than those. The reason? The current state of college football is stacked against schools like us. This has always been the case but the last 48 hours have really driven the point home. From Gibbs entering the portal to coaches coaches signing $100M+ contracts it's going to be hard for a school like Tech to compete at the highest level. I know we like to say a kid should be making a "40 year decision" when it comes to choosing Tech but if they have NFL aspirations why come here instead of a factory to start? If they're successful at a factory they can write their own ticket, if not, they can transfer out to a school like Tech to finish their degree and get playing time. Unless we really step it up in the fundraising department, we're going to just get left further behind when it comes to quality coaches. If OU and ND are stepping stone programs we're in a world of hurt. At the moment, the best we can hope for is getting a coach that can string together 3-4 good/great seasons before he leaves for more money and exposure. Obviously we're living in the worst case now where we're tied to a coach we can't/wont buyout that'll drag up deeper into irrelevancy. Big cry away.
Click to expand...

Bingo.
 
Could not agree more with the OP. College Football as we knew it is dead. We are truly delusional if we think we are going to ever compete for championships on a regular basis in football given the new landscape of transfer portal, NIL, and $100MM coaches contracts. Not just us, about 80% of the P5 are in the same boat. Vandy, Northwestern, Indiana, Duke, Stanford, Purdue, Rutgers, Wake, etc. The entire structure needs to be blown up and realigned based on Athletic Department revenue. Three tiers - Tier 1 - $80MM and up. Tier 2 - $40MM to $79MM and Tier 3 - less than $40MM or something along those lines. Level the playing field based on $$ and make it fluid so teams can move up and down as their revenue changes. Conferences are irrelevant as are rivalries thanks to the NIL and transfer portal. Growing up wanting to play for school X because of family or geography has been replaced by the chase for money. It's been that way for years on the coaching side, now it's the same for the players. This is why the "passion" that made college football so great won't survive this new era and I mean for the fans, alumni, as well as the players.
 
I'll reiterate support for the OP. Others can say "it's always been harder to win here" and that's true. But what we are witnessing with NIL and the rich coaches contracts, there simply is not the financial commitment here to complete. When you look at the money that the top jobs are paying, we're not talking about the old days where if 1 job paid double it meant the guy was getting $2mil instead of $1mil. These are guys making more than some NFL coaches.

I believe that is why you saw the SEC make their move in bringing in OU and Texas. There is going to be major consolidation in college football and GT is unlikely to be a part of it. I don't think it's that Tech can't do what they need to do, I just don't think the school of Bobby Dodd will stoop to doing what it takes to win at all costs. This is equivalent to baseball, the Baltimore Orioles play in the same division as the Yankees, but everyone knows they aren't really playing the same game. I think there are bigger issues too. People here like to complain about attendance at games but that's not where the real money is. TV and Media is where the money is at. Look at GT's ratings and compare them to other schools. Forget the school in Athens, does Tech get better ratings than Auburn/Tennessee/Bama/Florida in the Atlanta market? That is the bigger issue.
 
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