Will College Football Be Gone in 20 years?

JonDMiller

JonDMiller

Publisher/Founder
Here is a very, very interesting article on a possible future for college athletics...and it's not a pretty picture. I don't think it will be gone in 20 years, but the online class angle is real...and I have felt for a long time that my college degree was a waste of money...if you go out and learn a skilled trade, or goto a targeted program that is much less costly, and invest the money you would be spending in student loans or on the traditional college degree, you're retiring in your 50's. Then again, most 18 and 19 year olds I know don't think past next week (I didn't either) and wouldn't think about such things seriously.

Why College Football Will Be Dead Within 20 Years - Corn Nation
 
I also feel like my degree, in and of itself, was a waste of money. I had a small handful of classes that were actually helpful for me, and a couple more that I enjoyed even if they weren't relevant to my career. Everything else was pure garbage that I'll never use again. I got 100x more benefit from working two years at the DI than I got from 5 years in the classroom.
 
JonDMiller said:
Here is a very, very interesting article on a possible future for college athletics...and it's not a pretty picture. I don't think it will be gone in 20 years, but the online class angle is real...and I have felt for a long time that my college degree was a waste of money...if you go out and learn a skilled trade, or goto a targeted program that is much less costly, and invest the money you would be spending in student loans or on the traditional college degree, you're retiring in your 50's. Then again, most 18 and 19 year olds I know don't think past next week (I didn't either) and wouldn't think about such things seriously.

Why College Football Will Be Dead Within 20 Years - Corn Nation
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tm3308 said:
I also feel like my degree, in and of itself, was a waste of money. I had a small handful of classes that were actually helpful for me, and a couple more that I enjoyed even if they weren't relevant to my career. Everything else was pure garbage that I'll never use again. I got 100x more benefit from working two years at the DI than I got from 5 years in the classroom.
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Interesting isn't it that you both had the same degree...
 
Very interesting article. The TV bubble is interesting cause whens the last time they went 12 months without raising their costs? There are a faction of people who think the college "experience" is worth alot. I didn't go to college and from what most of my buddies told me I didn't miss much. The thought of owing 10s of thousands of dollars to me as a teenager scared the holy crap out of me enough to not bother when I didn't know what I wanted to be "when I grew up". I found a job lived within my means had good credit and by the time I was 22 I was buying a house and had roomates paying my mortgage. I figured I had a head start on the field when I had money in the bank equity in a house and a half paid for car while friends of mine were dropping out of college with no degree no job and debt up to their eye balls. Makes me curious what the college dropout rate has been and is. Never the less in regards to athletics you would think that with the money the big programs are generating that the tv money would just be gravy. But they are alot like MLB baseball owners in that they can't get out of their own way in regards to it being an arms race and the discrepancy between the big fish and little fish.. Interesting article.
 
I don't use my degree but I can tell you unequivocally, that had I not gone to Iowa, the entirety of my professional life from the age of 22 till now would be drastically different. Opportunities presented themselves to me as a result of me being a student that wouldn't have otherwise.
 
Oh and guess what, online classes aren't going to be any cheaper if that's how everyone learns. They are cheap now because of supply and demand. If the in demand professors are only doing online, that course will get real expensive.

The reason why college is expensive is because you have a government program that ensures that 100% of need is met to go to college. So all the Universities raise their tuition with blind ambition, because finances are not a concern. If you don't have money, you are guaranteed a loan. Take away the guarantee and the tuition rises will go away.

The real crime on college campuses isn't the tuition, it's the $1,000 a month for housing and who knows how much more for crappy diabetes laced food.

College is not going away.
 
Clark said:
Interesting isn't it that you both had the same degree...
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Journalism is definitely a field in which grades don't mean ****. Several employers, when they'd come to campus for job fairs and the like, told me they don't hire anyone who had a 4.0 because that typically means they didn't spend enough time in the newsroom honing their craft. I do know one girl who's an exception to that rule, but by and large, it's pretty accurate. Employers only care if you can do the job.
 
Any of you ever watch Bill Maher on HBO? He had Mike Rowe from Dirty Jobs on his show the other night and he made some incredibly interesting points. He said he was just at a Caterpillar plant in Arizona and the administrators told him something he's been hearing all over the country... that they have had consistently about 28 positions as Heavy Equipment Mechanics that they have been unable to fill for more than a couple years. They told him these jobs start out in the $50,000 range but within 5 years you can work yourself up to making $120,000.

Mike used this as an example, and then went on to say that right now in the U.S. there are roughly 3 million solid jobs that companies are unable to fill all because these kind of positions aren't glamorized by parents, guidance councelors, teachers, and in some cases politicians. He was basically saying these jobs aren't "sexy" enough for young men and women entering the job market. They would rather go to a four year school and get a pretty worthless major in Art, Communications, or Sports and Recreation. These degrees are fine and dandy, but they don't accomplish a whole lot for probably 9 out of 10 graduates.

Basically Rowe was saying that kids could choose to go to a vocational school for a much cheaper cost and shorter education time. Currently the U.S. is like 3 trillion dollars in debt based on student loans alone. It just makes so much more sense to go to a school where you learn a trade and then perform the trade. I'm speaking from experience. I was in the military and then went to the U of I for one year, prior to transfering to a vocational school for Radiologic Technology. The military paid for 100% of my education. The University of Iowa offers the same program but its price is insane. I've since worked with many technologists who graduated from the U with the same degree I have. The only difference is they have anywhere from $40,000 - $80,000 worth of college debt to pay back. I have a whopping $0. Makes little sense. When I discuss it with them many of them can't believe it, but that's only because they did what they were programmed to do instead of think outside the box.
 
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BSpringsteen said:
I don't use my degree but I can tell you unequivocally, that had I not gone to Iowa, the entirety of my professional life from the age of 22 till now would be drastically different. Opportunities presented themselves to me as a result of me being a student that wouldn't have otherwise.
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If you are going to be an entrepreneur, or work in a blue collar type job, then I agree that a college degree might be unnecessary. However, in the corporate world a 4 year degree is bare minimum. Without it, there is a very low ceiling (right, wrong, or indifferent). That said, I look at what my wife and I pay in student loans per month, and sometimes it seems like it would have been a wash.

I think certain degree programs might certainly decline though, given the lack of return on investment. I'd do it all over again just to party my *** off and play football for 4 more years. Just sayin'.
 
BSpringsteen said:
Oh and guess what, online classes aren't going to be any cheaper if that's how everyone learns. They are cheap now because of supply and demand. If the in demand professors are only doing online, that course will get real expensive.

The reason why college is expensive is because you have a government program that ensures that 100% of need is met to go to college. So all the Universities raise their tuition with blind ambition, because finances are not a concern. If you don't have money, you are guaranteed a loan. Take away the guarantee and the tuition rises will go away.

The real crime on college campuses isn't the tuition, it's the $1,000 a month for housing and who knows how much more for crappy diabetes laced food.

College is not going away.
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Another reason college is so expensive, at least in Iowa, is because education funding hasn't been there like it used to be. The funding per student is now about equal to what it was 10 years ago, which means that universities are getting less real-time money to fund their programs. From FY 2008-2010, universities got about 12k per student, and then it bottomed out at less than 10k in FY 2012. It's ticked back up, but it's still only around 10k. In today's money, that's not enough.

https://www.legis.iowa.gov/DOCS/lsaReports/k12Education/historical_per_Pupil.pdf
 
BSpringsteen said:
Oh and guess what, online classes aren't going to be any cheaper if that's how everyone learns. They are cheap now because of supply and demand. If the in demand professors are only doing online, that course will get real expensive.
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I don't think on-line classes will see the increase in price we are seeing with on-campus learning. First, the competition will be stronger. Unless it is a very highly regarded program nobody cares if that business degree came from U of I, ISU, UNI or Simpson. I would say the same is true for most professors. Unless there is some one highly accredited most employers won't care who your Accounting I & II professor was.
 
Wow, very interesting article. I am kinda stunned with what will happen with traditional higher education, and I am kinda not surprised.

In conversations with family and friends over the past decade or so, I've stated that something will have to happen as the cost for a college degree is completely unsustainable. I mean, if you start a career being $50,000-$100,000 in debt, that's not just dumb, it's dangerous. You couple this with salaries decreasing and you have the perfect mess. (By the way, I am with Jon. I have had things to do over, I never would have gotten my bach. degree)

So, I do totally agree that universities will be very changed in 20 years. I hate the thought of it because there is so much tradition with sports in universities, but that will have to change as everything else changes.

Maybe the atricle's author and I am wrong. I know I'll be a college football junkie for as long as I can.

FreedComanche
 
tubahawk said:
I don't think on-line classes will see the increase in price we are seeing with on-campus learning. First, the competition will be stronger. Unless it is a very highly regarded program nobody cares if that business degree came from U of I, ISU, UNI or Simpson. I would say the same is true for most professors. Unless there is some one highly accredited most employers won't care who your Accounting I & II professor was.
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Yep, even though I'd never attend college if I had to live my life over again, I bet I would have taken online classes. Cheaper and you don't have to be around all the socialists/marxists on campus.

FreedComanche
 
One other related comment. A little over 15 years ago I heard the President of my University give a speech during a donor dinner. The overall message from his speech was that Colleges need to keep in mind what "business" they are in and not trap themselves in a box.

The example he gave was the railway. At one time the railway was the premier way to travel and move goods. Because it was considered the best way to travel these rail companies only tried to compete within the rail industry. Gradually that industry fell behind the times to automobiles and airlines. Had any of those rail companies looked at themselves as being in the travel/transportation industry we might see a Santa Fe Airlines or BNSF Trucking company.

When University of Phoenix started up I remember many of my professors putting it down as something that would never replace a college. Now almost all Universities have some kind of on-line education. These people need to be careful they aren’t seeing themselves as only being in college/university industry. They are in the education industry and there are many ways to get an education than at a physical campus.
 
With the economy being bad and so many going back to school a master's degree is now like a bachelor's degree in the corporate world. It's all about professional experience, certifications, and of course, who you know. At least in the Finance/Accounting world.
 
tubahawk said:
I don't think on-line classes will see the increase in price we are seeing with on-campus learning. First, the competition will be stronger. Unless it is a very highly regarded program nobody cares if that business degree came from U of I, ISU, UNI or Simpson. I would say the same is true for most professors. Unless there is some one highly accredited most employers won't care who your Accounting I & II professor was.
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And there isn't competition in universities? If you are a student in Illinois there are no less than 6 four year state campuses.

Child please, the second online courses become acceptable across wide swaths of the country, prices will SOAR
 
BSpringsteen said:
And there isn't competition in universities? If you are a student in Illinois there are no less than 6 four year state campuses.

Child please, the second online courses become acceptable across wide swaths of the country, prices will SOAR
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In what cases has deregulation of any industry resulted in higher prices?

The difference is I can't choose to attend all 6 of those campuses from my home. There are more non price related factors and obstacles in deciding on a physical campus that effect competition.

Now if I can choose for all 6 of those colleges from my laptop in my bedroom, unless one of those institutions business programs have a significant reputation advantage over the other 5, price is going to be a much bigger factor.
 
You can't choose to attend all 6 online either... you have to go to an online college.
'
Are four year universities going to start offering online only degrees? Not in a way that undercuts their campuses.
 
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