There is a change coming in College Football and people are beginning to take notice. There is one college here in the west that needs to avoid being dragged down in the shuffle, the United States Air Force Academy.
For those of you unfamiliar with the proposal, it is that colleges pay for the full cost of education, where now they only pay for tuition, room and board and books. The full cost of education includes expenses like laundry and transportation. It is set by the Federal Government for determining the limits to how much students can borrow. Because of Title IX, this will apply to all sports that are sponsored by a school, not just football.
The smaller conferences, WAC, MAC, C-USA, Mountain West and Sun Belt do not have large enough TV money to meet these expenses. And there is only so much that student fees can cover. The Service Academies have an advantage. Right now, they are the only schools that cover the full cost of attendance. But the price is a four-year commitment to the Armed Forces. It is also paid for by the tax-payers of the United States. Which brings me back to why Air Force should go independent.
The service academies probably do not need extra-mural sports teams. Their cost of operation is entirely paid for by Congress. They do not need to bring in additional money. All students; excuse me; cadets and midshipmen are all in very good shape to begin with. (I've seen them train in person, it looks grueling.) The service academies would do well enough just playing each other. The reason the service academies sponsor extra mural sports is for national exposure.
The academies need to play as broad of a schedule as they can, and need to play teams from all over the country. It is a chance for those interested in attending the academies to meet with those who already attend school and find out how committed they are in attending. It is important for the military, all branches, to have as diverse of an officer pool as possible. It helps build respect. The sports programs at the service academies offer a chance not just to recruit officers, but to recruit new soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines.
With the potential changes coming in college sports...and the new division would be for all sports, not only football...Air Force can not afford to be left in the lower division. It has the potential to rob, not just the school, but the entire Air Force, of quality recruits. Air Force needs to move now to not be left behind.
Conferences
BCS Subdivision:
ACC
Big 10
Big 12
Big East
PAC 12
SEC
Independents: Air Force, Army, Brigham Young, Notre Dame, Navy
No comments:
Post a Comment