just read 2018 financial report ...

[Hypeman]

Amen!

Most of the world has a club system. Democracy has nothing to do with it. Elite private college for pampered amateurs didn't have anything to do with democracy.

Soccer is taking on creating a club system now in the US and I think it is working pretty well. KC sporting supports youth sport teams of all ages across the region. Better players play on better teams. If you make the top youth sport academy league you can't play in high school. You don' t have to go to college to continue playing. You go straight into pro leagues. I would invest if I could if you look at the growth here both in number of cities in the top US soccer league and growth in the lower level pro league teams.

I would say whether or not the club system is working is a matter of opinion. It has nearly destroyed the great youth baseball system that was in place across the country for decades. Making money is the name of the game, and player development is less of a concern. Kids are into their upper teens having played tons of club games but have little fundamentals. It’s like that in hoops nowadays too. I’ve heard many experts talk about how poor the skill levels are.

If you think kids purely move onto teams based on skill, you haven’t been around the club systems. It’s a money talks system. The first bit of information clubs want to know is how much you can afford. As a result, kids from low income households are left out.

[Hypeman]

Not to change the subject but I saw a LinkedIn post going around amongst KSU fans I know. It’s the Walls Street Journals Grid of Shame. It shows KU and KSU as the most pathetic programs in the country based on a number of off the field and on the field factors. KU was of course the worst and KSU the 2nd worst. 9 of the 10 big 12 teams are in the embarrassing side.

I wonder if we just haven’t been donating enough money?

[Hypeman]

Not to change the subject but I saw a LinkedIn post going around amongst KSU fans I know. It’s the Walls Street Journals Grid of Shame. It shows KU and KSU as the most pathetic programs in the country based on a number of off the field and on the field factors. KU was of course the worst and KSU the 2nd worst. 9 of the 10 big 12 teams are in the embarrassing side.

I wonder if we just haven’t been donating enough money?

[ChemEngCat]

They divide this grid so on one axis it reflects their opinion of whether the team is a "powerhouse" or a "weakling" and then the other axis is embarrassing or admirable. The article talks about scandals at some of the schools (like the recent admissions scandals, schools with NCAA infractions, etc.). I understand that they don't think we are a powerhouse, but what did we do that puts us in the "embarrassing" category? I thought overall our programs were pretty clean. One measure was attendance and our facilities don't hold numbers like Ohio State or Michigan or OU, etc. (at least in football). Maybe they should look at percentage of capacity rather than attendance numbers?

[Zoltar]

GIGO

[Opensource]

Most of the world has a club system. Democracy has nothing to do with it. Elite private college for pampered amateurs didn't have anything to do with democracy.

Soccer is taking on creating a club system now in the US and I think it is working pretty well. KC sporting supports youth sport teams of all ages across the region. Better players play on better teams. If you make the top youth sport academy league you can't play in high school. You don' t have to go to college to continue playing. You go straight into pro leagues. I would invest if I could if you look at the growth here both in number of cities in the top US soccer league and growth in the lower level pro league teams.

I would say whether or not the club system is working is a matter of opinion. It has nearly destroyed the great youth baseball system that was in place across the country for decades. Making money is the name of the game, and player development is less of a concern. Kids are into their upper teens having played tons of club games but have little fundamentals. It’s like that in hoops nowadays too. I’ve heard many experts talk about how poor the skill levels are.

If you think kids purely move onto teams based on skill, you haven’t been around the club systems. It’s a money talks system. The first bit of information clubs want to know is how much you can afford. As a result, kids from low income households are left out.

Good point. I agree with the profit motive in youth sport. Soccer is a bit different because the pro teams are training coaches and implementing fundamentals. The upper levels are paid for by the pro teams so they target low income as well. We have all seen the political and economic reality of high school sport.

[Hypeman]

They divide this grid so on one axis it reflects their opinion of whether the team is a "powerhouse" or a "weakling" and then the other axis is embarrassing or admirable. The article talks about scandals at some of the schools (like the recent admissions scandals, schools with NCAA infractions, etc.). I understand that they don't think we are a powerhouse, but what did we do that puts us in the "embarrassing" category? I thought overall our programs were pretty clean. One measure was attendance and our facilities don't hold numbers like Ohio State or Michigan or OU, etc. (at least in football). Maybe they should look at percentage of capacity rather than attendance numbers?

I think we’ve led the nation in sexual assaults. Some are frat related, some are athletes at frats related from my understanding. The university’s attempted coverups and current lawsuits haven’t helped. I don’t know if this is an athletics issue or a central admin issue, but regardless, they are all intertwined.

I believe there have been a number of arrests amongst football players the last few years too.

[kinsleycat]

How much does Nike pay K-State each year? I thought we were getting a million or 2 from them annually, If so, shouldn't it be listed? What KSU needs is a sugar daddy like KU has with Adidas. I think they get 16 to 17 million per year, not counting all the bags of cash they dole out to recruits . That gives them a pretty big advantage.

[tmcats]

the nike contract here is reportedly paying about $2 million/year plus all the swag. the financial report reflects that number as well although it's not specific to nike.