All this money chasing is going to bring college sports crashing down

Thinking out loud…while wondering if I take life with a grain of salt, can I have a lime and a shot of tequila to go with it?

∎Really, what are we doing here? After witnessing what college sports did to itself in the past week, we’re still worried about the silly transfer portal?

∎College presidents and athletic directors – not to mention conference commissioners – should be ashamed of themselves for bowing to the ridiculous whims of network television at the cost of their student athletes’ well-being.

More: Bryant University football to switch conferences again. Where are they going this time?

∎I get it, it’s a business. TV is big business, and we DO need our TV and TV money. But at what cost?

∎The cost right now is the viability of intercollegiate competition for the long term. It won’t last.

∎Like the Dot Com bubble burst of the ‘90’s and early 2000’s, there simply isn’t a way for this current alignment of teams and leagues to sustain itself, except in the very short term.

∎The money from the networks won’t last because subscriptions (ESPN, hello!) are shriveling. As the industry moves toward more of a pay-per-view model – and it will – viewers will become more and more discerning with their discretionary income… even with football.

∎When the viewers balk, the networks won’t earn as much. When the networks don’t earn as much, there won’t be as much in rights fees to offer conferences and schools. When schools don’t earn enough to meet their present expenses…boom goes the college bubble.

∎The greed within college athletics is stunning, yes. But don’t blame just the athletics part. None of this (ok, maybe a little of this) would be happening without the explicit and tacit approval of college and university presidents.

∎They need to make money like a junkie needs a fix. There is no such thing as cost containment, or “non-profit.” It’s total BS. Schools can cut costs, but they don’t want to. The entire higher educational system is as bloated as Joey Chestnut on the 5th of July.

∎And much of this mess is the fault of football. College football. Love the sport, hate the attitude. Hate the greed. Hate the implosion of natural rivalries. Rick Pitino posted this week that football should stand alone and leave the other sports out of it.

∎I concur. UCLA’s women’s tennis team will be traveling to Rutgers for a mid-week match in the very near future, and those athletes will be away from their home, their school, their studies…all because the chancellor is under pressure to build…or the football team needs designer jock straps.

∎To hell with the student athlete. Yeah, give ‘em a scholly and whatever else they can earn (like Name, Image and Likeness $ today) but as in the past, they still work for the schools. And the schools still build on their backsides.

∎Really, what are we doing here?

∎I blame TV, too. They can’t possibly sustain the model they’ve created, yet they keep moving schools around to join different leagues like moving pawns in an unwinnable game of chess… or rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

∎NCAA Prez and former Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker has his hands full. The NCAA has no official role in conference membership. But he should run for US Prez if he can get college sports out of the predicament it has put itself into.

∎This week, in “As the College World Turns,” Oregon and Washington closed 108 years of athletic history and tradition on the Pac-12 as we knew it, by jumping to the B1G Ten for mo’ money. Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State and Utah also bailed for the Big 12.

∎Hey, Ducks and Huskies? Thank Fox for getting what you’re getting. A source told Front Office Sports this week that Fox is covering the extra payment (out of a total annual payment $31.7 million) for the Ducks and Huskies to entice them to jump.

∎And you’re just gonna love Piscataway in the winter.

∎Not for nuthin’, but 16-team conferences… how’d they do the last time they tried it? The WAC blew up. The Mountain West split up. The old Big East? Gone like last night’s pizza from the fridge before lunch.

∎Hey UConn? Welcome back, for now.

∎All is not well in the land of the ACC. Florida State wants out and is hiring a private equity firm to potentially assist them in raising the $$$ needed to break away from the league’s Grant of Rights, which binds them together. The price for their freedom - $120 million, give or take – and that’s without a guaranteed landing spot in another league.

∎Stupid is as stupid does… Division III SUNY Morrisville just installed black artificial turf, becoming one of six NCAA schools to sport a color other than green. But black turf? In hot weather?

∎Synthetic turf already generates 20 to 50 more degrees of heat than natural grass. Black surfaces, like asphalt for instance, can generate another 40-60 degrees of heat beyond air temperatures. Hello McFly?My buddy “Big E” sez we already have enough youth, how about we find a Fountain of Smaht?

∎The US Women’s World Cup soccer teams’ colossal failure was nothing more than a karma free kick right in the ***. So incredibly disrespectful toward the country that gives them the rights and freedoms to do what they do… like kneeling during the anthem… it was appalling.

∎Seems like this is an annual reminder, so I will – don’t go overboard, either way, on the Patriots’ first preseason game. Too many will say “Mac can’t do it” or “Zap-pee! Zap-pee!” Thou shalt not judge a season, or a career, on a single summer night in Foxboro against other teams’ backups.

More: 6 takeaways from Day 10 of Patriots training camp practice

∎Two names to watch: Demario Douglas, Malik Cunningham. A 6th round receiver, and a free agent QB-maybe-receiver. Both might stick around.

∎Disappointments? You’ve got your own, likely. But the offensive line, banged up or not, needs help. The Patriots’ pass rush, while pretty good, isn’t all-World. Yet, for the most part, they’ve played the present O-line like walking through a movie turnstile…with little resistance.

∎Yes, the Patriots haven’t won a thing since TB12 departed. This was a rebuild, let’s keep in mind…and the franchise didn’t hit rock bottom like others have. The last three drafts appear to have yielded some results. This season would be a good time to show that growth.

∎Canada Sports Betting sez through their online analytics, they’ve discovered the least supportive fans in the NFL. Number One is Cleveland. Two is New Orleans. Three is Tampa. Four?

∎New England. With a 26% drop in online interest since 2020. I blame Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk for this.

∎‘Cuz the Patriots still have a season ticket waiting list at Gillette that could fill another stadium, entirely. Just sayin’.

∎Say hello to “ESPN Bet.” You just knew Mickey Mouse was going to jump into the muck at some point, didn’t you?

∎Let’s beat this into the ground a bit more: The Red Sox failure to be a true postseason contender is due to a) lack of quality pitching b) lack of quality defending c) lack of quality $$$ being spent on making this team better. And not necessarily in this order.

∎If they think he can’t play, or he doesn’t want to play in Boston any longer, can someone explain why Alex Verdugo wasn’t traded to another team by the deadline? Thanks, I’ll hang up and listen.

∎Big ups to the Newport Gulls of the New England Collegiate Baseball League. The college summer league team, which makes their home at historic Cardines Field in Newport, won their 7th NECBL title with a Tuesday night win this past week in Bristol, Conn.

∎PC’s non-conference schedule has some bite to it. But it should. When you have a team that is expected to contend for postseason play, challenges are a good thing. Strength of schedule counts – a lot.

∎But you gotta win a few, too. Test One for Kim English and his staff will come quickly out of the gate, facing Wisconsin in the Gavitt Games on Nov. 14 at the AMP. Winning it at home, plus at least one in the Bahamas and at Oklahoma…could set the Friars up pretty well for the Big East.

∎Jeff emailed this week: “Who on the current Friars roster will ‘break out’ this season?”

∎Jeff – while it’s way too early to say for certain, the trip to Spain should tell us a lot about Jayden Pierre’s ability to “lead and feed.” He looks good at early practice. Garwey Dual should also see time at the spot, NBA-types already love him and he’s a better passer than advertised. But if Pierre can dish it and keep defenses honest with his scoring ability, and his teammates stay hungry and healthy, Providence could be a second-weekend NCAA team.

∎How’s that for putting a target on someone’s backside?

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This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Conference jumping is going to doom college sports, says John Rooke