College Football Never Stops - 2008 Season Already Taking Front Page

When the clock ran out on the Ohio State - LSU game, most viewers probably thought the college football season ended and it won't start again until August.

Wrong!

The 2008 - 2009 college football season is already underway for players who didn't make bowl games. My nephew is a red-shirt freshman, an offensive lineman, on scholarship at the University of Akron and he told me the month of January will be spent on weight training and blocking techniques.

Scrimmages then get started for spring football which ends in early April. Football players who also play basketball or run track don't have to attend all winter and spring practices. I asked my nephew if he would like to throw the shot put in track and he said "no" because he's fighting for a starting position.

Weight training and more blocking techniques continue in May. June and July fly by with lighter practices until fall training begins in early August leading up to kick-off at Labor Day.

College football is a year 'round sport just like all sports at the college level. But it's also a business and only for a limited number of schools is the sport a major money maker which in turn helps fund other spots.

In Division 1A, now called the Bowl Championship Series, "56% of football teams make money, with an average profit of $11.5 million, and the rest lose an average of $2.5 million," according to a September 16, 2007 report in the Charlotte News-Observer.

The question to ask is, "are players treated more like employees than students?"

My nephew said during the season they put in 40 hour weeks with travel included. Practices themselves account for about 20 hours per week. They receive about 4 weeks off during the entire calendar year where they're not obligated to practice. But my nephew's not complaining since he has all 4 years of school paid. He would be an out-of-state student and would have to pay about $26,000 a year in tuition.

"I know a woman in diving who's one of the top in the nation at our school," he said. "But her scholarship gives her $4,500 a semester."

She has to make up the rest personally.

Players may get additional stipends for basic living expenses, but they don't get a chance to take off-season jobs.

Are coaches, though, the ones who have the most financial benefit from the popularity of the sport? True, there's little job security. But top assistant coaches in the bigger programs will earn $110,000 to $140,000 per year. They can even get bonuses of $10,000 to $20,000 for landing sought-after recruits, according to one source I know. Head coaches, such as Rich Rodriquez at Michigan or Pete Carroll at USC, break the $1,000,000 a year mark.

So what's the benefit to a school for producing a nationally visible program?

Publicity is one gain. How many of you really knew or cared about Boise State before 2006? Or did you know where Appalachian State was located before it beat Michigan? A successful football program that gets covered regularly in national media is a marketing machine generating awareness. This in turn can attract more students and more funding for all athletic programs.

So is college football really finished until August? Not at all. The gridiron never sleeps. However, it won't be on the front pages of the sports sections until August. That of course is reserved for baseball . . . no, the Drake Relays? As a former distance runner I'd have to say unfortunately no . . . not even hockey. It's that other sport with the clever brand of "March Madness."