After 51 years of pulling for Stanford, I rooted for its archrival USC at their sport Saturday night time. How odd to not have a good time when Stanford scored.
I wished, and received, a blowout loss as a result of it helps the case that Stanford should determine whether or not to proceed a soccer program that solely 5 years in the past was among the many nation’s greatest and is now in freefall.
Because the Supreme Courtroom, states, together with California, and the NCAA clear the way in which for faculty athletes to be compensated, USC and faculties prefer it, supported by their rich alumni, are looking for the most effective expertise, more and more stealing gamers from different faculties.
In trouncing Stanford 41-28, USC, coached by a newcomer from Oklahoma, was led by a quarterback and a receiver who transferred from Oklahoma, a receiver from Pittsburgh, and working backs from Oregon and … Stanford. Its main tackler transferred from Arizona State. All informed, USC has 26 switch gamers; Stanford has one.
Many gamers transferred to USC as a result of they suppose its new coach, Lincoln Riley, can take them to a championship, that means extra visibility and subsequently extra compensation. They are often paid extra — hundreds of thousands, even — for showing in commercials, autograph signings, social media posts, videotaped greetings for followers, and extra. Even when extra gamers had confidence in Stanford’s coach, David Shaw, the college’s harder admissions requirements would make it troublesome to switch.
And Shaw says he needs it that means. “We now have a special strategy than our opponents right now,” he stated after the USC sport. “We’ll by no means have 20 guys switch in. We’re going to take freshmen. We’re going to take nice college students and nice soccer gamers. We’re going to show them. We’re going to develop them. That’s going to be our mode.”
Stanford could be fortunate to win three video games this 12-game season, because it did final season; many followers blame Shaw and the teaching workers. However with out extra expertise, the varsity won’t ever return to its glory days among the many nation’s high 5 groups beneath Shaw 5 to 10 years in the past, when the varsity commonly despatched stars to the NFL — a exceptional accomplishment for a college that has prevented the scandals and tutorial fraud seen in different soccer applications. Stanford isn’t alone; as soccer turns into larger enterprise and cash performs a much bigger function, many universities will face the identical drawback.
Stanford’s terribly rich alumni and supporters may afford to play the cash sport by discovering some ways to compensate the gamers. John Doerr, the enterprise capitalist, simply donated $1.1 billion for a college to deal with local weather change. He and his form, a lot of them working firms, may pony as much as pay athletes for endorsements and appearances. Automobile firms and lots of consumer-products firms are doing it. A bunch of Texas Tech alumni say they are going to signal each scholarship participant and even walk-ons to $25,000 title, picture and likeness contracts; different faculties’ alumni are forming comparable collectives. Silicon Valley supporters may afford much more than these folks.
However I’m guessing Doerr, and lots of like him, would say soccer is just not vital sufficient. And I assume Stanford’s president and board, who will make the choice on soccer, and lots of alumni are repelled by the commercialism and the menace to tutorial integrity. To not point out that the bodily risks of the game are clear now.
OK, superb. Then Stanford ought to cease competing for the BCS Nationwide Championship and as a substitute play faculties like Duke, Northwestern and Virginia. Or, to be extra local weather pleasant by staying nearer to residence, Cal, UC Davis and Sacramento State.
Dropping soccer would additional disconnect Stanford and faculties prefer it from the remainder of America. Very probably, fewer highschool seniors would apply; many just like the soccer atmosphere. But I sense few at Stanford would mourn the lack of soccer, to guage by attendance.
Final Saturday night time, two weeks earlier than faculty begins, the scholar part was virtually empty as the sport started. However even when everybody has returned to campus, the variety of college students not often exceeds a number of thousand. On Saturday, the stadium was two-thirds full solely as a result of there have been so many USC followers, in gold and cardinal jerseys. Stanford gave away free tickets to college and workers when it grew to become clear the stadium would have many empty seats.
Even the spit-and-polish USC marching band, whose halftime present consumed many of the area, dwarfed the Stanford band, which by no means even took the sphere.
How one can exchange the tens of hundreds of thousands in soccer tv income that helps Stanford’s excellent groups in sports activities like tennis, swimming, water polo and volleyball? Does the college really want these sports activities anyway? I feel so. Maybe the rich donors may step up.
However in soccer, if the college group received’t help the athletes as opponents are doing, I’d help dropping to a decrease stage of play towards comparable faculties. Discover a division the place paying gamers and overlooking tutorial issues grow to be much less vital. The place all the faculties conform to play by the identical guidelines. After which discover alumni to help such a sports activities program, with far much less TV income. Stanford would even have to barter a means for its different robust groups to proceed to compete within the Pac-12.
It received’t be simple, however what’s clear is that proper now the system is stacked towards faculties like Stanford. It does neither the college nor its ardent followers any good to see this inevitable collapse. What’s wanted is a brand new mind-set about faculty soccer and a brand new response.
Glenn Kramon, a 1975 graduate of Stanford, is a lecturer on the Stanford Graduate of Enterprise.
