Friday Flakes: Would Nebraska Willingly Play In A 2nd Tier Athletic Association?

Hat tip to John Bishop and Josh Peterson of 1620 The Zone’s Unsportsmanlike Conduct. On Tuesday they talked about a case that is currently in the Northern California District Court. Greg Doyel of CBS Sports wrote about it here.

In a Northern California district court, conference realignment may take an urgent, unexpected turn. The ongoing Alston v. NCAA trial seeks an injunction against current NCAA scholarship limitations (room, board, books, tuition, cost of attendance). This is the mother of all pay-for-play lawsuits to date in that it basically seeks to end the longstanding “collegiate model.”

In their closing arguments last week, the plaintiffs suggested that conferences “permit the individual conferences to make their own determinations” in compensating players.

As the article assumes, it is likely that the NCAA will lose at the trial court level and we all know what happens next. Lawyers appeal and then cases may be remanded back to the district court. Or it could just be appealed as it makes it’s way up the ladder to the United States Supreme Court.

The attorneys for the NCAA will probably try and push this ball as far into the future as possible.

Because the time is coming for the current system to die and it may be closer than we know.

Then decisions are going to have to be made.

Notre Dame athletic director, Jack Swarbrick, has mentioned before about a cultural divide among athletic departments of various schools. Some schools will want to remain academic centered while others will be willing to have a more athletically focused educational institution.

So where do you think Nebraska will want to lay it’s hat?

At first I thought that it was a slam dunk that Nebraska will want to be one of the athletically focused educational institutions because of college football. We want to compete with the best, and being the best among academically focused schools would not be the same as being the best among schools like Alabama and Florida State.

I think it may come down to how many schools decide to wear the athletically focused hat. Only so many schools will be actually able to afford the price tag that would come along with having to pay college athletes because issues like Title IX would likely have to come into play.

So that essentially leaves us with schools who would be able and willing to foot that bill. How many is that? 10? 25? 35?

In my opinion, if there are only ten schools who are willing and able to foot the bill then Nebraska might actually take the athletically focused hat and decide that academics need to be the center of the University.

But if there are 35 schools that decide they want to be in that first tier then I think Nebraska’s hand may be forced.

And with all that said, as this is just really throwing crap against a wall as we really have no idea what is going to happen, just think about the impact of Nebraska choosing to be a part of the “second tier” athletic association. What would happen to the support for the program among the state?

I can see it going both ways.

Nebraska football is such a major part of the identity of the state that there are consequences that might ripple throughout the fabric of the state. Financially and politically. Probably even emotionally.

But I want to know if Nebraska fans could stomach the idea of supporting Nebraska if they were a part of the 2nd tier athletic association?

Remember that Nebraska has fired multiple coaches who won nine games on a regular basis. We want to be the best. And if we are a part of the second tier athletic association then we could never consider ourselves to be the best if we see schools like Florida and Clemson battling it out on ESPN and ABC for years to come while we might have to watch our school play football on Facebook.

I’m not so sure Nebraska fans could take it. They might have to throw up their hands and find something else.

If that were to happen then I think it could gut the University on several levels.

But could the University of Nebraska sustain itself if it were a part of the first tier? To what extent are we willing to put athletics so far ahead, as far as priorities are concerned, above academics. At some point a University that is run like that will cease to be an academic institution at all. Or it might as well be an academic institution in name only.

What if Nebraska Football had to become an independent and separate entity apart from the University itself. Would Nebraskans still support it the same if it were merely a minor league football program for the NFL?

I do not have a clue. But one thing I do know is that the situation is going to come to a head. Now what happens after that is up in the air.

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Husker Links

Huskers prioritize speed and 'playing radius' in recruiting hunt for pass-rushers | Football | journalstar.com
As Nebraska continues to build its 2019 recruiting class — the group stands at 18 verbal prospects with the Thursday addition of athlete/receiver Darien Chase (Vancouver, Washington) — the puzzle

Huskers take next step towards season with scrimmage
Nebraska basketball took another step in its preseason tune ups on Wednesday night with the Husker Hoops preview at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

The Huskers took the court in a public setting just days after their secret scrimmage against Iowa State that ended with Nebraska and Iowa State splitting the two 20-minute practice sessions.

Rapid Reaction: Huskers have 'best' Thursday of season; no knee brace for Martinez | Football | journalstar.com
The Nebraska football team completed preparations for Bethune-Cookman with what head coach Scott Frost called the team's best Thursday practice of the season.

With veteran lineup, Huskers are setting their sights high - The Washington Post
With four veterans in lineup, excitement abounds in Nebraska program coming off 4th-place Big Ten finish

Husker hoops 25th in preseason coaches poll | Men's Basketball | journalstar.com
The Nebraska men's basketball team is 25th in the USA TODAY preseason coaches poll, which was released Thursday morning.

Nebraska Recruiting: Huskers Win Commitment of Athlete Darien Chase Huskers Football Wide Receiver Cornerback Defensive Back - Corn Nation
Darien Chase, talented athlete from Vancouver, WA has committed to the Cornhuskers! Most recruitiniks had Darien staying on the west coast, as so many do.

Non-Husker Links

Michael Jordan's, LeBron James' common teammates compare GOATs
Former common teammates of each compare and contrast the icons, and discuss who is better.

I am on the Lebron side of the coin. But it is fun to debate with your friends.

Player compensation lawsuit vs. NCAA could usher in new round of conference realignment - CBSSports.com
In a Northern California district court, conference realignment may take an urgent, unexpected turn. The ongoing Alston v. NCAA trial seeks an injunction against current NCAA scholarship limitations (room, board, books, tuition, cost of attendance). This is the mother of all pay-for-play lawsuits to date in that it basically seeks to end the longstanding "collegiate model."

“STICK TO SPORTS!” Nah.

"Gold digging" dog pretends to be a stray to get hamburgers from McDonald's, owner says - CBS News
A dog owner in Oklahoma is calling out her own pup for scheming to get free McDonald's hamburgers.

Betsy Reyes of Oklahoma City says her dog, Princess, sneaks out at night and sits outside McDonald's, pretending to be a stray. Reyes shared photographic evidence of her sneaky dog sitting in the local McDonald's parking lot at night.

Mike Leach Will Always Deserve His Own Section

The Best Thing I Saw On The Internet This Week

You know I am torn on the whole video taping a noble act. Part of me wants to say “would you have done it without videotaping it?” Another part of me wants to say “Other people now get to see others doing great things for people they see that need help so it might motivate the thousands upon thousands of people who have seen this video to do the same.”

I’ll stick with the latter. And the woman in the video appreciates it as well.

Everybody is fighting is battle that you know nothing about. So be kind to everyone you meet.