Money, money, money. Did I just say money three times in a sentence? That word seems to be in every sentence, when talking sports at any level. College revenues are off the charts and the pros and their revenue can feed a large country.
A few years ago, on a beautiful fall Saturday afternoon, in little South Bend Indiana and before a Notre Dame football game vs USC, I entered the campus bookstore to see a book signing by Dick Vitale. Wow, official Notre Dame stuff! I spent $125 on a thin turtleneck, a game program, an Irish hat that is too dumb to where in NY and a box of “Irish Blarney” green caramel popcorn, that I would later chip a tooth on.
After using my math skills that I learned in grade school, I figured out that one Saturday’s take at the Notre Dame bookstore, at this Catholic university, would probably pay for the tuition of $49,685, for all of the 8,448 undergraduate students at Notre Dame.
Ok, maybe my lack of a good education, having to go to a small college, hindered my ability to do complex math. But you get the point.
Today Pitt offensive coordinator Matt Canada, left the team before the New Era Pinstripe Bowl game at Yankee Stadium, to become the new offensive coordinator at LSU. Three years at $1.5 million per year. Mighty, powerful, deep pocketed LSU, wanted him and had the bucks to get him to leave Pitt.
Money, Money. $1.5 million, for a college football offensive coordinator. Holy smokes! Wonder what the band director at Ohio State gets?
The rapid upward spiral of marketing in all sports is amazing, generating mega bucks in sports from the Little League World Series to the Super Bowl. Money, money. $1.5 million for an assistant coach is like chump change to these mega money makers.
The bigger revenue makers in college football, are not in the same situation as pro sports. Pro sports have restrictions on spending. It keeps teams with big bucks in big market cities, from out spending less small market teams. There are no restrictions on colleges programs, who can out spend the little guys. Case in point, Pitt vs LSU.
Small college towns, with big football programs, will fill up stadiums and generate big profits on football weekends. The university gets notoriety, kids will want to go to that school and parents will want their kid to go to that big school.
They will find a way to afford the enormous tuition and overall costs of attending that mega university with the big football program. They will spend even more money on those beautiful Saturdays in the fall at the campus bookstore. Hope they don’t chip a tooth.
Money, money, money. Did I just say money three times in a sentence again?
Editor’s Note: William Coppola just completed his 40th year in the game of baseball. He has been a coach, instructor and advanced scout for numerous teams in Major League Baseball