That's the wedge between the fans and Calipari.
First, it's a good idea in some areas. Player health, for one. Let those injuries completely heal. And player privacy. If there are non-criminal problems, keep them in-house. And the old model where coaches, the school, and the businesses which fed off the program made money while the players made spit, that was just wrong. And the transfer portal has cleared up the bond that chained a player to one program
But, the idea that the program should be geared to simply foster the possible professional careers of some of the players is a bad one.
For one thing, the number of players going on to professional careers from colleges won't change regardless of the number of kids that this program might produce. A Players First program doesn't grow the number of professional players. The number produced here then becomes a trophy and a vanity. Plus, it has to create a two tiered roster. Those with their eyes elsewhere and those who are reduced to support roles.
I have to confess that I would prefer that colleges and universities get out of the athletic entertainment business. There are other models to nurture young athletes who want to make money off their sport later in life. And the cult of fandom has created a climate which has enabled financial interests to exploit the sentiment surrounding college athletics. The cry for ever bigger and more elaborate facilities is testament to that.
Second, but just as important, the program doesn't exist simply to produce players. It also exists to please its patrons -- the fans. The fans put up -- in some cases enormous, but in any case substantial -- amounts of money, time, and their own cares into the enjoyment and nurturing of the program. To subordinate that to the other end -- promoting professional development of the players -- is to alienate them, the financial source which makes machine move. If their enjoyment is always the step-child, the support will disappear.
How UK and Calipari might change that focus is open-ended. The recruitment, the training, and the promotion of athletes are all areas I have no particular skill or interest in. No advice to give. No picture of what a different approach would need to do to appease the fans who want the approach gone. But wiser heads need to prevail.
First, it's a good idea in some areas. Player health, for one. Let those injuries completely heal. And player privacy. If there are non-criminal problems, keep them in-house. And the old model where coaches, the school, and the businesses which fed off the program made money while the players made spit, that was just wrong. And the transfer portal has cleared up the bond that chained a player to one program
But, the idea that the program should be geared to simply foster the possible professional careers of some of the players is a bad one.
For one thing, the number of players going on to professional careers from colleges won't change regardless of the number of kids that this program might produce. A Players First program doesn't grow the number of professional players. The number produced here then becomes a trophy and a vanity. Plus, it has to create a two tiered roster. Those with their eyes elsewhere and those who are reduced to support roles.
I have to confess that I would prefer that colleges and universities get out of the athletic entertainment business. There are other models to nurture young athletes who want to make money off their sport later in life. And the cult of fandom has created a climate which has enabled financial interests to exploit the sentiment surrounding college athletics. The cry for ever bigger and more elaborate facilities is testament to that.
Second, but just as important, the program doesn't exist simply to produce players. It also exists to please its patrons -- the fans. The fans put up -- in some cases enormous, but in any case substantial -- amounts of money, time, and their own cares into the enjoyment and nurturing of the program. To subordinate that to the other end -- promoting professional development of the players -- is to alienate them, the financial source which makes machine move. If their enjoyment is always the step-child, the support will disappear.
How UK and Calipari might change that focus is open-ended. The recruitment, the training, and the promotion of athletes are all areas I have no particular skill or interest in. No advice to give. No picture of what a different approach would need to do to appease the fans who want the approach gone. But wiser heads need to prevail.
