<p>NMF and Football don’t have anything to do with each other but post # 2 drew a line between the two and I was making the point that UT has stopped the NMF $$ and placed them else where. The original implication was that scholarship $$ were going down and Football salaries were going and up and that somehow they were connected, which I believe it has been shown via these posts that there is no connection.</p>
<p>College shopping: This is true! I am simply making the connection between National Merit $$ and Football $$ to illustrate the inequities in our educational system (and values) between sports and academics. Would that every individual who donates to a college’s athletic program through ticket purchase or whatever donate the same amount to an academic program.</p>
<p>I am frustrated because, despite UT being a top choice for my son (who will be NMSF), we are looking elsewhere and potentially outside of Texas for his education.</p>
<p>Givings…I understand your frustration. I can’t say I agree with the inequity either. But the facts are the facts. My daughter loves UT. She loves that its a “culture” (her words) and I guess football is a big part of that.</p>
<p>Texas gets a lot of donations from alumni to other departments, too. My dad is an engineering professor there (he’s been at Texas since 1965). He said that the engineering department has gotten so much money from people that they’re running out of professors to give named chairs to! They have actually asked donors to consider giving money to liberal arts departments. Dad is also head of the Men’s Intercollegiate Athletics Council and a member of the National Academy of Engineering, so if you have any questions about athletics vs. academics, I can ask him for you. ;-)</p>
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<p>I must be getting tired, because I read that as, “That would be below his gay pride.”</p>
<p>LMAO. Go to bed, manitori.</p>
<p>mantori…put your reading glasses on! LOL (We’re at that age when we need them!!!)</p>
<p>Would that every individual who donates to a college’s athletic program through ticket purchase or whatever donate the same amount to an academic program.</p>
<p>**The BIG MONEY isn’t in ticket sales<a href=“altho%20tickets%20are%20$$”>/B</a>…the money is from television. Each televised game brings MILLIONS to the home team (and perhaps some to the visiting team as well - not sure how the $$ gets split).</p>
<p>To get televised, at least one of the teams must be a popular team. To be popular, you must win (unless you’re ND…LOL). To win and be ranked, you must have a highly paid coach. Therefore, the highly paid coach of a ranked team is not really being paid by the school; he’s being paid by CBS, ESPN, etc.</p>
<p>Yeah, the reality is that one thing has little to do with the other, but perception counts for something, particularly when were talking about a public university. Priorities count also and it’s clear that a highly successful and competitive football team is a priority at several large state universities. These schools know that there is some political price to pay for football excess but there are the emphemeral rewards too. I think it’s similar to State governments providing ridiculously lucrative incentives for businesses to relocate to their states. I recall when Alabama “bribed” Mercedes to build the SUV factory in that state. The governor admitted that all that tax money would not likely bring in an equivalent amount in new revenues. Rather, what Alabama was paying for was something that it had a hard time establishing on its own; prestige.</p>
<p>I note that some posters wish that people who donate to the sports programs would match that donation with one on the academic side. Priorites and values have also been mentioned.</p>
<p>I saw a post on another site once that asked that those who felt that way do a personal analysis. It suggested that they do a spread sheet and list all funds spent on items other than basic food, clothing and shelter. </p>
<p>It then asked that the person look at what was spent on non-essential food (i.e., eating out, snack foods, alcohol, etc.), non-essential clothing (clothing to replace servicable but no longer stylish clothing) and shelter (mortgage payments for homes that had more that the basic bedrooms, bath, kitchen), automobiles (especially those who did not buy used and keep and maintain a vehicle over an extended period of time), non-free television services, recreation (including purchasing TVs, Sound equipment, travel and, yes, attending sporting events), cell phones and religious and other non-scholastic charitable giving.</p>
<p>They then asked that the person compare that amount to the amount placed in and left in savings specifically for education. The observation was that unless the savings for education matched the outlay for these other items, the person was not gving the value to education that it wanted from others and from tax revenues.</p>
<p>The decision not to fund NMF scholarships at Texas may not be budget related, I don’t know, but I do know that scholarships at other state flagships have been reduced or eliminated because of state budget cuts. UGA is one that I know about specifically.</p>
<p>And I realize that the football program revenues are completely unrelated to academic funding and big name coaches pull big bucks; however, what message does it send when the academic campus is furloughing faculty and reducing course offerings at the same time the football coaches are getting huge raises.</p>
<p>I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love to watch college football but the football programs wouldn’t exist without the academic campus.</p>
<p>Maybe the football program could make a donation to the school?</p>
<p>I read that OU did that recently so that their tuition wouldn’t have to be raised.</p>
<p>Who’s had a better year-Mack Brown or Lloyd Blankfein? Lloyd is going to make $50 million this year and a lot of that is thanks to our tax dollars bailing out his firm. </p>
<p>As for the game, UT wins the game, but U Alabama wins the tailgate. :)</p>
<p>^^^^</p>
<p>UA wins both. Roll Tide! ;)</p>
<p>(However, I love the state of Texas…even the waffles are in the shape of the state. LOL )</p>
<p>It then asked that the person look at what was spent on non-essential food (i.e., eating out, snack foods, alcohol, etc.), non-essential clothing (clothing to replace servicable but no longer stylish clothing) and shelter (mortgage payments for homes that had more that the basic bedrooms, bath, kitchen), automobiles (especially those who did not buy used and keep and maintain a vehicle over an extended period of time), non-free television services, recreation (including purchasing TVs, Sound equipment, travel and, yes, attending sporting events), cell phones and religious and other non-scholastic charitable giving.</p>
<p>Heck, I know idiots whose weekly cigarette budget is LARGER than their weekly food budget! Now that is insane!!! (What’s really gross is that some have their kids on the free/reduced breakfast/lunch program at school!)</p>
<p>I wonder if old Mack would have rec’d that raise if the referrees weren’t kind enough to wrongly put one second back on the clock last weekend</p>
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<p>At quite a few of those bigger schools, the two are only related in theory. Yes, I’m sure the president and the board could step in and call the shots in the athletic department, but I think at quite a few of those schools there is very little relation.</p>
<p>berryberry61, is your television broken, so that you were unable to see the replay?</p>
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<p>You’re wrong. Blatantly wrong. But, if ignoring reality makes you feel any better, by all means feel free.</p>
<p>It’s not the academic vs. athletics issue that bothers me, it is the fact that the players barely get anything. They are the ones winning and putting people in the stands. They get an education, but today playing for a major college team is a year-round, nearly full-time job. Most will not end up in the pros and many have little spending money. They should receive some type of stipend beyond the basic scholarship for playing.</p>