UAB Football programs closing due to lack of income

All the talk about paying the players who get to go to college for free doesn't mean much to people who worked all the way through college to get a degree and are struggling with debt from student loans.

What I would like to see though is a sharing of the wealth so that small programs like UAB (they aren't the only ones struggling) can remain viable.

I also believe that more importantly than paying college players that they should be covered for lingering effects from playing football. I wonder how many young men and women are out there now, dealing with injuries?

But however it goes, it's sad that some kids that want to play are not going to get that chance. Hopefully the NCAA will let some transfer, but I doubt there's many at UAB that would pique the interest of other teams.

"Dozens of FBS programs are reportedly in more dire financial straits than those UAB faced. But Watts said the school could not afford to cover the shortfall by taking away from its other "mission pillars." Watts insisted the decision was made strictly within the university, though media speculation is that the decision was made under pressure from the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees."

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300000 ... of-program

It definitely causes me to reconsider my stance on paying collegiate players. It's still not enough to change my mind, however.

This will suck 5-10 years down the road, unless they implement some sort of revenue sharing. I for one LOVE the Bowl season because of the insane number of bowls. I love watching the little schools. I love watching the Toledo's and Miami of Ohio's.

Losing that will definetly suck, but, players not getting a cut of that revenue undercuts my principles. Losing odd bowl matchups will only be an annoyance.

It isn't just the bowl games though. Where do the players go? That's one less option for a kid to get at least a chance at an education. It's like USC getting docked 30 scholarships--it didn't hurt only USC, it also hurt 30 kids. Yeah, the best ones just went to another school, but there's a cascade effect: school B takes three kids who would've gone to USC, so three kids who would've gone to school B now have to go to other schools, and so on. At some point 30 kids end up with nowhere left to go.

I honestly don't know what the answer is either. Football has become a big business at the college level. I can't blame kids for feeling they're being used somewhat. But the less talented kids and small schools could end up really getting hosed.

It's just football that got canned ,not the school..It may happen at other schools too..The students aren't getting hosed besides football..You got more $ available for scholarships ..That helps more students ..