The Wild, Wild, West of NIL

The concept of "amateurism" as we all knew it is now dead. It's time to understand how we got here, what "here" is, and where we may be going.

When I was growing up, my love for college football began in the mid-1970s, when the NCAA controlled its media rights. If you wanted to see your alma mater on the tube, it was up to the NCAA, and maybe it would make the Game of the Week. The amount of choices each week was less than the number of television networks (three). But, as college football grew in popularity, so did the public's demand to watch it on TV. As of 1983, the NCAA's college football rights were $60 million (Sanderson & Siegfried, 2018).

The next year, the universities of Oklahoma and Georgia defeated the NCAA at the U.S. Supreme Court. The court found the NCAA violated Anti-Trust law by not allowing schools to create their own television deals for football. The ruling opened the floodgates. After several years, athletics conference commissioners and university presidents used this opportunity for big money and created a Frankenstein money monster. Within 15 years, hundreds of millions of dollars poured into ivory towers because of the public's demand for more football and basketball on television. In 2007, the public's increasing appetite for football and basketball was fed by the creation of the Big Ten conference, soon after duplicated by other major conference networks. Thirty years after the US Supreme Court's decision in Oklahoma v NCAA, the major conferences decided upon a College Football Playoff, again responding to public demand and bringing in more hundreds of more millions of dollars. Recent reports exclaim the Big Ten conference media package will be worth more than $1 billion annually for 14 schools. According to the Knight-Newhouse College Athletics Database, public Division I-Football Bowl Subdivision institutions totaled athletics expenses of $8.7 billion and $9.1 billion in athletically-related debt.  The Frankenstein is out of control.

Table 1. Facilities & Equipment Expenses for Division I-FBS Public Institutions, 2005-2020, adjusted for inflation

Source: Knight-Newhouse College Athletics Database (2022). http://cafidatabase.knightcommission.org/reports/0a58b702

What's missing from this conversation? The college athletes. ...For more, LINK HERE: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/wild-west-nil-scott-hirko-ph-d--1f/ 

The Cost of Prestige: Football Ain't Cheap

What is the cost of football success? What defines success? What is the role of football success in the desire for prestige? Because, in the end, prestige is the goal.

At its simplest understanding, football is a game: one team wins, another loses. Its sum is zero. But, can an institution purchase a better chance at winning more? Moreover, what defines "success" at any institution? Is a 7-5 season good enough? 10-2? Or, must one compete for a championship every year?  What is the willingness to invest in football success and what is its cost? How much money do institutional leaders feel they are obligated to spend to find leaders (coaches) to attain gridiron greatness?  

For instance, how much is the cost to be a CFP semifinalist? From 2015-2020, it cost a total of $979 million in football expenses for this year's four CFP semifinalists (Table 1). According to the Knight-Newhouse College Athletics Database, total football spending (e.g. the amount it cost to put a team on the gridiron, including coaching salaries, student scholarships and cost of attendance bonuses) over those six years was: $376.2 million at Alabama, $57.8 million at Cincinnati, $296.7 million at Georgia, and $292.9 million at Michigan. About a third of that ($306 million) went into coaches' pockets. 

Table 1. Total Football Spending from 2015-2020 by 2021 CFP Semifinalists

It turns out, institutions of higher learning spend quite a lot on football leadership. Within the NCAA's most competitive and prestigious division, Division I-Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), each school is allowed a maximum of 10 football coaches per NCAA rules. 51 of the public schools in the Power 5 conferences paid $584 million to 510 football coaches in 2020, nearing the amount of nearly $712 million spent on scholarships and cost of attendance for more than 25,000 scholarship athletes in all sports at public schools in the Power 5 (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac 12, SEC).

What is the cost of prestige through football leadership for an individual school?

For more, link here.

More Detroit Lions opportunities: Career and Internships

Career Opportunity Alert:

The Detroit Lions announce an opening on its Ticket Sales Team! Apply directly at https://lnkd.in/da664Rf2 to be a part of the team!

Internships:

We’ve posted new Internship roles on our job board. Apply directly at https://lnkd.in/epDkhCs to be a part of one of these teams:

Football Information
Information Technology

Defiance County Career and Intern EXPO: Wed., March 23

Defiance College in partnership with the Defiance County Economic Development Office is pleased to announce an upcoming Career and Intern EXPO on Wednesday, March 23rd from 10 am - 12 noon in the Karl H. Weaner Center.  We would appreciate your help by encouraging your students to attend the EXPO! This event is open to all students and will be an opportunity for them to learn about full-time employment after graduation, part-time employment, and internship opportunities.  Also, we hope you will consider attending the event and meeting the employers from the area.  Many of the employers have created partnerships with the College and have hosted student interns.  

HCAC Track & Field Championships at Defiance, 2/19

 

Volunteers Needed for HCAC T&F Champs on Sat 2/19

Calling out all Sport Management majors and minors!  If you would like some experience that is good for your resume... consider helping out at the HCAC Track & Field Championships at the DC Fieldhouse this Saturday.  An orientation will be held on Friday at 4 pm at the Fieldhouse if you will volunteer.

There are 10 teams from around the midwest, here to participate, including your Defiance Yellow Jackets!  

If you are interested, place your name and cell phone number in one of the yellow blocks on the Google Doc:  

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1KsoRoppmTLG8cCrUvZeJDJ47GSyQ19w8ztpHG9cibEA/edit#gid=0

Thank you and Go Jackets!  

Detroit Lions now hiring 2022 interns

The Detroit Lions are excited to announce the kickoff of Intern Recruiting Season! Apply directly at: https://lnkd.in/epDkhCs. Internship opportunities will be posted over the next several weeks. Here are some of the many opportunities:

• Community Relations
• Corporate Communications
• Corporate Partnerships
• Events
• Football Education
• Inside Sales Account Executive
• Marketing
• New Media (Web & Social)
• Stadium Operations
• Training Camp Assistants

-SRH-

Cincinnati Bengals: Ticket Sales Consultant, 6-month

From the Super Bowl LXI finalist,  Cincinnati Bengals: 

Want to work in sales? The Cincinnati Bengals are looking for coachable individuals with a passion for ticket sales to join our Inside Sales Program! This six-month position includes a full sales training calendar for your career development. In the last 6 years, 80% of Sales Consultants have accepted an internal or external promotion in a ticket sales/service role after Inside Sales.

The daily responsibilities include making 100+ phone calls, inviting prospects to the stadium for behind-the-scenes tours and increasing the season ticket base. Apply here. 

-SRH-

Darrien Brooks named DC Sport Management Student of the Month

(February 9, 2022) -- Defiance College student Darrien Brooks is the college's  "Sport Management Student of the Month" for January 2022.  Darrien is a senior from Detroit, Michigan.  He is a defensive midfielder for the Jackets men's soccer team, and has played in 49 matches, started 29, with a goal in 2021 (against Transylvania). He logged an average of 56 minutes while on the pitch in 2021. Darrien is the school's project director to help market the HCAC Track & Field Championships at Defiance on February 19. His future goal is to be a college soccer coach.  (NOTE to employers: hire him!)

Congratulations, Darrien! 

Detroit Pistons hiring now! Interns, Event/Facility, Marketing, Tickets, Sales, Creative Services & MORE

 #JOBOPPS: The #Pistons are now hiring for full time and intern positions within our Community Relations, Marketing, Sponsorship Sales & Activation, Ticket Sales & Services, and more departments!

• Facility Operations/Event Staff jobs
• Internship jobs
• Marketing jobs
• Sponsorship Sales & Activation jobs
• Technical Services jobs
• Ticket Sales and Services jobs
• Web/Creative Services jobs
  

See all openings: https://bit.ly/3xKLWjc

- SRH - 

Defiance College Sports Management Program releases alumni survey results

(February 4, 2022)--The Sport Management Program at Defiance College released the results from a recent survey of 139 of its graduate alumni.  Of the 36 who responded (26% response rate), initial findings showed a majority of graduates believed the Sport Management Program was "Above Average" or "Exceptional" in reaching each of its program learning objectives:

1. Gain competency on contemporary issues within the sport management industry
2. Become proficient in the management of sporting facilities and events
3. To understand the legal issues involved in sport law
4. To effectively design and activate sport marketing and promotional campaigns
5. Gain real world professional insight through experiential learning with emphasis on LEADERSHIP
6. Gain real world professional insight through experiential learning with emphasis on COMMUNICATION
7. Gain real world professional insight through experiential learning with emphasis on PROBLEM SOLVING 

In addition, 89% of respondents worked during their academic career, and nearly two-thirds (67%) participated in extra-curricular activities that were not athletics in each year of their tenure on campus. 

Survey results can be accessed here: https://defiancesportmanagement.blogspot.com/p/alumni.html

Sport Management alumni Megan Overmann ('18) and Michael Cracas ('99) also received $25 gift cards in a random draw of those who participated in the survey.  

For more information, please feel free to contact Assistant Professor and Program Director, Dr. Scott Hirko, shirko@defiance.edu.

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Lansing Lugnuts Job Fair Feb 26, 2022

Game Day Staff

Want a fun summer job at the ballpark? The Lugnuts offer great hourly positions in customer service, retail, operations, grounds, and food service!

We hire the majority of our gameday staff for the upcoming season after the new year in January and February, but we are already starting to take applications. This year we now have the ability for you to submit an application online, and there will be a series of scheduled dates and times where you can drop-in to submit your application in person. The new online application will be the quickest and easiest way to apply.

If you'd like to apply to become a member of the Lugnuts staff, our recruiting team will review your application and you will be contacted if a position matches your interests and qualifications. You can apply online here, or by fax, by US Mail, or in person by bringing in your completed application during one of our applicant drop-ins listed below. You can download the printable form here.

No applicant drop-ins scheduled at this time, check back for scheduled dates and times.

Have questions about the application process? Contact Angela Sees at (517)485-4500.

Full-Time Positions and Internships

Interested in starting or growing your career in sports? The Lansing Lugnuts employ nearly 30 full-time interns and seasonal employees in areas ranging from sales to marketing to operations and are committed to hiring and growing the best and the brightest!

To view and apply for any current openings on our full-time team, please check our Career Page.

Send Us Your Resumé Anytime!

Even if we don't have any positions currently available, or you don't see any openings that match your interests and qualifications, keep in mind that Full-Time & Internship positions often open unexpectedly in the following areas and sometimes need quick action. If you'd like to submit your resume now, that's the best way to get in line for future openings. Please submit your resume and cover letter to jobs@lansinglugnuts.com and we will be in touch with you if a full-time position opens up that is a good fit!

Thank you for your interest in our team and good luck with your career search. If you have not heard a response from us within two months of your resume is received, please feel free to call or email to check for any openings that may be available.