Mark Knudson’s Three Strikes Blog: Strike Two:
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How things “should be” vs. reality in college sports
STRIKE ONE: Trish Zornio is a scientist, and a 2020 democratic candidate for the US Senate seat now held by Cory Gardner. She’s a Coloradoan dedicated to making positive changes in Washington.
It would appear, however, that she’s not much of a sports fan.
In a recent tweet, Zornio complained that “The retired CU football coach makes more than 68 times per year more than I do as active faculty teaching three science courses a semester. It’s time we put the focus back on the students and those who teach them.”
There’s a lot packed in there that’s worthy of discussion.
Let’s start with the basics (other than the fact that the CU football coach in question did not “retire” as we all know.) Zornio is right in a broader sense: As a society, we have a shameful problem. We value entertainment far more than we value our public service. Those who entertain us on TV, or in movies, or in jam packed arenas are the ones who make the big money. If you think about it in terms of actual value and contribution to the betterment of society, how can you defend the fact that many EMT’s, nurses, teachers, firefighters and law enforcement officers – people who perform invaluable public service – earn a modest or even meager living, while Nolan Arenado is making $30 million a year to play baseball?
You can’t. It’s not right. But it IS our reality. And it will take more than a few politicians championing the cause to change that. This is a problem that starts at the very very top. It’s on all of us. It’s not just college football coaches. “We” can’t “put the focus back” where it should be, and neither can Zornio, no matter her efforts or intentions.
This change would take an overhaul of our priorities as a society.
My reply tweet to Trish reflected that societal reality: How many people purchase tickets…or merchandise…or cable TV packages to watch her or any other educator teach a class? As noble a profession as teaching is (and I come from a family or teachers) the answer is none. No one. Teachers are not entertainers, and while they provide an invaluable and massively underappreciated service to society, they don’t actually bring in dollars to the institution.
On the other hand, Mike MacIntyre’s football team had the entire CU campus on fire in 2016 during their run to the Pac 12 North Division title. The publicity alone was worth millions to the school. High profile athletics remain the single best “advertising” and promotional avenue available to colleges and universities across the country. Sports offer a national TV audience and a stadium full of fans (many who have traveled in) a view of the campus, the surroundings and all that a region has to offer. And the schools don’t have to buy this advertising – instead they get paid to have their games on TV.
The fact is that college sports energize alums…and donors. Athletics generate billions of dollars a year in revenue. And while the money generated for the University of Colorado by the athletic department is well below what it is in many other places, CU athletics still earn a tidy profit…and some of that goes back into academic programs.
During every campaign cycle, political candidates say a lot of things and take on a wide variety of issues. This issue is one that’s simply too big and broad for even a scientist to take on. Hopefully Zornio and others with similar views can instead do something about things they can influence – like climate change. That’s an issue worth tackling head on.
Wanna argue? Hit me up on Twitter @MarkKnudson41. Coming Friday: Can high price Rockies vets have bounce back seasons?
