Corn Flakes: Power Five Autonomy: All About Buying Time

The vote is in, and to no one's surprise, the Big 5/Power Five conference got their wish for autonomy, or more specifically, to govern themselves in specific areas that are covered in the New York Times article linked below.

Areas of Autonomy, What Do They Mean - NYTimes.com

In voting to approve autonomy, the N.C.A.A. Division I board of directors will also vote to authorize the new Big 5 governance body to make rules within 11 explicitly articulated "areas of autonomy."

Included are:

- Better access to health insurance and medical coverage

- "Full Cost Of Attendance", covering the gap between the athletic scholarship and other expenses

- Ability to cover family expenses (such as those incurred for recruiting trips or attending a bowl game)

- Limiting non-coaching personnel (like "recruiting assistants")

- Time demands (if you laughed when you read the description on this one, you are not alone)

K-State's Bill Snyder rips college athletics, says schools have 'sold out' - CBSSports.com

According to the Associated Press, the 74-year-old Snyder said, "We're all about dollars and cents. The concept of college football no longer has any bearing on the quality of the person, the quality of students. Universities are selling themselves out."

Schools sold out a long time ago. I get what Snyder is saying, though.

Harvey Perlman's response:

NCAA adopts reforms that will improve the experience of student athletes. Now the 5 conferences need to agree on new rules to benefit SA's

— Harvey Perlman (@Harvey_Perlman) August 7, 2014

The obvious question is whether the Power Five conferences will enact reforms that "improve the experience of student athletes".

I have my doubts.

They may enact a few of them, such as "full cost of attendance" because it would give them a recruiting advantage over the lesser schools. Even then, I'll remain in wait and see mode.

The reason - many schools at the bottom half of the Power Five conferences are in no position to afford these reforms. If you want a specific example, consider Iowa State, still in the Big 12 - a school with few resources in a conference that doesn't equally share revenue. How many non-revenue sports will Iowa State need to cut in order to afford what Texas can do with spare change?

My general feeling is that "autonomy" is bullshit/window dressing that will allow the NCAA and schools with more money to better fight lawsuits because they look like they're in process of doing something for student athletes. They're buying time, and that's all they're doing.

Cynical?

I'll change my mind when something other than talking about reforms actually happens.

Majority of Power Five coaches want Power Five-only schedules - ESPN

A relative majority of the Power Five conference coaches told ESPN that they favor a schedule consisting of only Power Five opponents.

Were this to come about it would end games like Nebraska vs Florida Atlantic, McNeese State, and Fresno State - three out of four of our non-conference games this season. Those schools wouldn't see a payout, but Nebraska would most likely lose a home game a year (another Power Five foe isn't going to do a two-for-one).

Nebraska's athletic department would make up the money easily by increased revenue from the College Football Playoff, increased TV revenue, or increased ticket prices; better games would drive up both the latter.

The losers would be those businesses around Lincoln who depend on the increased economy due to a seventh home game.

N.C.A.A.'s Vote on New Rules Contradicts Its Mission - NYTimes.com

How is it fair that the richest conferences would be allowed to set and play by their own rules, widening the already yawning gap in college sports between the haves and have-nots?

This is a poorly written article, ala "Life Isn't Fair WAAAAA" with little analysis after the fact.

Autonomy for 'Power 5' could widen financial gap in college hockey - Bucky's 5th Quarter

Given the fact only eight of the 59 teams that sponsor NCAA Division I hockey reside in the five power conferences, we could see the financial gap in the sport widen significantly.

Nebraska Nickel Defensive Back Charles Jackson Out for Season - Corn Nation

The junior was expected to see lots of playing time this season as the nickel defensive back. Now he'll undergo surgery and get ready for 2015.

Damn, this hurts. A few days before fall practice we asked Who We Could Least Afford To Lose - Jackson's name didn't come up, but there was this comment:

Losing Mitchell means you get a lot more of Byerson Cockrell, Jonathan Rose, Boaz Joseph, Trai Mosley, Josh Kalu.... Heck, even having Mitchell isn't going to solve a lot at CB, but it'll help the learning curve for the younger kids.

And that seems to be the case in losing Jackson.

Total Frat Move | Why The SEC Is Bullshit

The SEC I’m talking about here is, indeed, the Southeastern Conference, and specifically the cloud of fuckery surrounding it when it comes to football.

The Factory Doesn't Look Stupid - Hustle Belt

We've been really mean about The Factory ever since rumors about its unsexy appearance leaked. Here are some pictures and videos that are on the internet that you can see if you haven't already...

ASU's Sun Devil Stadium bans tortillas - SBNation.com

Confirmed: Arizona State hates fun, happiness.

Soccer in Oblivion "Grantland.com

SOCCER Soccer in Oblivion World War I, soccer, and war as a game BY BRIAN PHILLIPS ON AUGUST 7, 2014PRINT The first cylinders of German chlorine gas were released on Allied soldiers during the Second Battle of Ypres, in northwestern Belgium, on April 22, 1915. The soldiers were Algerian and Moroccan, colonial forces fighting for France.

Just interesting.....

Vikings open preseason, begin two-year TCF Bank Stadium stay | Star Tribune

The Mike Zimmer era unofficially begins tonight when the Vikings trickle out of the tunnel at TCF Bank Stadium

The Gophers got a ton of upgrades to TCF Bank Stadium because of the Minnesota Vikings' need to play there while their big brand new stadium is being built. A heated field, for one, and some more seating which will be used by Nebraska fans every other year from here on out.

MSU Visitors' Guide 2.0: How to get to East Lansing - The Only Colors

So you've decided to visit East Lansing. Good for you! You're going to have a great time. The first step in a visit to EL Is getting here, and you have a few different options of doing so. These directions will put you onto the Michigan State campus, and here they are.

You just kinda wonder if once you get there, can you still get out? How did all those people get stuck in East Lansing?

Kyle Flood Keeps His Cool - On the Banks
After the first double session of training camp, Kyle Flood surprised his team by turning the lights down, and the beats up for the team's rejuvenating ice-bath session, in what players and coaches quickly dubbed "Club Ice".

And Just Because: