Will College Football Be Gone in 20 years?

Good thread and discussion...

While I say I'd not go to college and take on that debt if I could do it over again, I thought 'What would I really do otherwise for 30 years'? That's where it gets tough..While I definitely believe the lack of skilled tradesmen is creating some awesome opportunities not seen for half a century in this company, I am not sure I would be cut out for it. I was probably always going to be meant to be doing something where I was talking for a living.

But I know one thing for sure; I would have worked all through college in order to get out of there with as little debt as possible...and I would have spent more time in high school trying to get straight A's to get as much of college paid for as possible.

You just have such a jump start in life if you don't have that debt and you can have the discipline to save.
 
IowaFan81 said:
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.
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In the world of finance, insurance and accounting the certifications are deemed very important. My son graduated from the U of I with a math and computer science degree, but did not want to spend any more time in the classroom. After college he did a variety of jobs in the Chicago area, one being working for an investment bank in the derivatives area. What he learned in those early years was getting the certs were the doorway to the better jobs. Working independently he passed the CFA exams and Actuarial exams. His skills in programming, financial analysis, and risk analysis got him a job when things were very tough. My point is that not all MBA's are the same, even with a masters you still may need the certs.

My advice to those contemplating going to college is to hit the math and science courses hard. There is a direct correlation between math ability and higher earnings. The better your math score the higher your future earnings.
 
College football will be dead, primarily, from the first sentence of the link: due to health/concussion issues (and the subsequent lawsuits).

Would anyone want to pack Kinnick to see flag football? It'll probably come down to that.
 
20 years is a very short window for a sport to go from easily the most popular in the country to non-existent. It may have greatly changed form, but it will still exist in 20 years. Perhaps it will disappear at the small college level, but at the BCS level the revenues will somewhat offset the liability and insurance concerns. New equipment and officiating changes will likely occur.

Community colleges have offered an option to live in your parents basement and save money for a long time, but they haven't really made even a small dent into the universities' revenues. Online courses will have an impact, but its not like great masses of kids are all going to live at home. Most of them don't want to live at home. Online offerings at major universities aren't going to be offered at 25% of the cost of the in-classroom experience. A great deal of the university experience is meeting people and using that network for the rest of your career. The Ivies and such will forever be about networking and meeting other upper class folks. As pointed out above, its not like med school or o-chem or other challenging courses are going to be offered online.

Thanks to the explosion of people who have earned bachelors in the last 20 years, credentialism is a huge thing. Now that tens of millions of people have earned those credentials and are in positions of power within organizations, they will extend credentialism into the future.
 
Getting back on track, will parents want their son playing football as a pre-teen. High school depends on boys having some experience, but now is when serious head injuries start. I don't think I would want any of my sons out there now.
 
AZHAWKFAN1 said:
Getting back on track, will parents want their son playing football as a pre-teen. High school depends on boys having some experience, but now is when serious head injuries start. I don't think I would want any of my sons out there now.
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There will be a segment of the population that doesn't allow their kids to play, just as their has always been. That segment will be larger now, but I doubt it will be large enough to kill the sport.
 
The thing about higher education is that in order to truly enter the job market with reasonable expectations of getting hired you've got to have a tangible skill to offer employers. Unless you're in one of the more vocational degree areas such as nursing, accounting or engineering you're not going to have that. Now if mommy or daddy has a desk just waiting for you in the family business or if they've got influential drinking/golfing buddies that can get you a job somewhere else fine. But many people do not have that luxury.

My degree did not assist me with my work area at all other than to be able to show HR that I have one. It was more of a personal accomplishment as a working adult than anything else. However I didn't go into debt to get it either.

As far as college football goes the realist in me says there's way too much money made today in the sport for it to simply go away. Vested interests controlling the purse strings will have to implement changes as time goes on. What will those changes be? My crystal ball is in the shop so I've got no idea.
 
Wow, 1st time I've seen someone say there is any credibility to online diplomas. I've inly heard they were garbage and you couldn't find a job in the field of study even though they claim 90% placement.
 
pmchawk said:
Wow, 1st time I've seen someone say there is any credibility to online diplomas. I've inly heard they were garbage and you couldn't find a job in the field of study even though they claim 90% placement.
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Many brick and mortar schools have very legitimate online degree programs and have had for quite some time. Texas Tech has quite the selection of online offerings as well as LSU for example. Duke has had quite the online MBA for a number of years now. See Bears' Guide to Earning Degrees by Distance Learning.

DegreeInfo Distance Learning - online degree forum - The Bears' Guide-DegreeInfo.com Connection
 
My advice for anybody from iowa: get a job at Wells Fargo (or similar), live downtown Des Moines for a few years and get them to pay for your night school, and have a blast. zero debt, probably can still graduate by 23 of 24, and you'll have 5 years of experience working straight out of the gate.

Iowa has great programs through the Henry tippee school right downtown.
 
For some people college isn't the big stepping stone. Job specific skills are one thing but the big thing to learn in college, no matter your degree is communication. Many young people graduate high school and they still lack effective communication skills. Iowa has some of the best high school academics in the country and in general most of Iowans are above average out of high school. Think back to how you wrote or spoke in high school. How well do you speak or write versus a person who didn't attend college? Talk to a high school senior sometime. Some are pretty sharp, but a lot of them lack communication skills.

As for college athletics. Greed will kill it. All the money grubbing will put an end to sports as we know it. Pay per view, exclusive events, live events too expensive for the average fan. Look at how much it costs to attend a game at Iowa. When I arrived here in 2001 it cost $27 dollars for a ticket. The last game I went to cost nearly $140.00 to attend (parking, ticket etc.) Attending games in other stadiums is even more of a problem with unruly fans, drunks, parking, transportation, accommodations.
 
BryceC said:
My advice for anybody from iowa: get a job at Wells Fargo (or similar), live downtown Des Moines for a few years and get them to pay for your night school, and have a blast. zero debt, probably can still graduate by 23 of 24, and you'll have 5 years of experience working straight out of the gate.
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But what about the crushed soul?
 
HawkeyeDenis said:
For some people college isn't the big stepping stone. Job specific skills are one thing but the big thing to learn in college, no matter your degree is communication. Many young people graduate high school and they still lack effective communication skills. Iowa has some of the best high school academics in the country and in general most of Iowans are above average out of high school. Think back to how you wrote or spoke in high school. How well do you speak or write versus a person who didn't attend college? Talk to a high school senior sometime. Some are pretty sharp, but a lot of them lack communication skills.

As for college athletics. Greed will kill it. All the money grubbing will put an end to sports as we know it. Pay per view, exclusive events, live events too expensive for the average fan. Look at how much it costs to attend a game at Iowa. When I arrived here in 2001 it cost $27 dollars for a ticket. The last game I went to cost nearly $140.00 to attend (parking, ticket etc.) Attending games in other stadiums is even more of a problem with unruly fans, drunks, parking, transportation, accommodations.
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Believe me, I know all about this. Try interviewing a prep athlete sometime. It's really a hit or miss prospect, I assume because these kids aren't accustomed to being interviewed and don't really know what to say.
 
HawkeyeDenis said:
As for college athletics. Greed will kill it. All the money grubbing will put an end to sports as we know it. Pay per view, exclusive events, live events too expensive for the average fan. Look at how much it costs to attend a game at Iowa. When I arrived here in 2001 it cost $27 dollars for a ticket. The last game I went to cost nearly $140.00 to attend (parking, ticket etc.) Attending games in other stadiums is even more of a problem with unruly fans, drunks, parking, transportation, accommodations.
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Greed never kills anything. The system is rigged to reward the greedy.
 
College football will not be gone in 20 years. I guarantee it! Maybe someday but certainly not that soon. Its all about the money baby!
 
HawkeyeDenis said:
For some people college isn't the big stepping stone. Job specific skills are one thing but the big thing to learn in college, no matter your degree is communication. Many young people graduate high school and they still lack effective communication skills. Iowa has some of the best high school academics in the country and in general most of Iowans are above average out of high school. Think back to how you wrote or spoke in high school. How well do you speak or write versus a person who didn't attend college? Talk to a high school senior sometime. Some are pretty sharp, but a lot of them lack communication skills.

As for college athletics. Greed will kill it. All the money grubbing will put an end to sports as we know it. Pay per view, exclusive events, live events too expensive for the average fan. Look at how much it costs to attend a game at Iowa. When I arrived here in 2001 it cost $27 dollars for a ticket. The last game I went to cost nearly $140.00 to attend (parking, ticket etc.) Attending games in other stadiums is even more of a problem with unruly fans, drunks, parking, transportation, accommodations.
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Gordon Gekko: Teldar Paper, Mr. Cromwell, Teldar Paper has 33 different vice presidents each earning over 200 thousand dollars a year. Now, I have spent the last two months analyzing what all these guys do, and I still can't figure it out. One thing I do know is that our paper company lost 110 million dollars last year, and I'll bet that half of that was spent in all the paperwork going back and forth between all these vice presidents. The new law of evolution in corporate America seems to be survival of the unfittest. Well, in my book you either do it right or you get eliminated. In the last seven deals that I've been involved with, there were 2.5 million stockholders who have made a pretax profit of 12 billion dollars. Thank you. I am not a destroyer of companies. I am a liberator of them! The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right, greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind. And greed, you mark my words, will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA. Greed will save college football. Thank you very much.
 
will college (and pro) football be gone in 20 years, I hope not. With the ever increasing size and speed of the players though I can see their point. 400 lb linemen who have 8% bodyfat, 270 lb linebackers, etc will be the norm in 20 years. hopefully they start looking into a WAY better safety gear and way better head protection. Talking stuff beyond carbon fiber composites and foam padded helmets. This is what's needed. There's only so much you can do when a player lowers his head unless you wanna put a HANS device on him like they do in NASCAR to force him to keep his head up. Lowering the head is just a natural instinct when making contact that's tough to overcome and, very unfortunately, it leads to concussions (for you and the guy you're hitting), paralysis, etc. They need to start R&D'ing better equipment and they needed to do so 5 years ago.
 
I think money and TV will save college football even if college goes more towards the online route. While I too have a degree I did not use (English major and Journalism minor), I learned far more being at school than I did in the classroom. I interacted with all sorts of people, and had to learn how to be accountable without a parent telling me what to do. I made mistakes and learned from them, and was exposed to all types of different views. I do think college has it's place in that sense.
 
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