The Official - URI’s NEW Head Coach is DAVID COX

[Da_Process_Survivor]

The Oklahoma newspaper years ago wrote an article about how football coach Bob Stoops was that state's highest paid employee at $4 million, and a Sociology professor made $40,000.

The paper asked former coach Barry Switzer about it, and he replied, "when that Sociology professor generates $100 million in revenue for the school, you can pay him $4 million a year, too."

Freakin' Barry Switzer. Yeah, I'm going to go to that jag-bag for a comment. Stoops doesn't single-handedly generate $100 million in revenue for the university. Let's put it this way...

Take away all the professors and there's no university and thus no football program.
Take away the football program, and the university still exists, there's still teaching, still learning.

and Jeff Bezos doesnt single handedly generate all of the income for Amazon, but he damn sure is the one steering the ship and making the strategic decisions that lead to it...same as a head coach.

The schools need the athletics programs more than the other way around. Remove the schools and the NCAA simply becomes AAA baseball or the AHL

[TruePoint]

"Remove the schools" might be the most insane combination of words ever posted on a college sports message board. I love college sports and I'm thankful that my school wants to compete at the highest level in at least one sport that I care about. But plenty of schools do just fine without any emphasis on big-time sports.

[Bigsnoop]

The point is that the coaches are paid what they are because of the revenues they generate for the school. In addition to that, successful football and basketball programs lead to additional publicity for the school, increased applications, etc.

I guarantee you Oklahoma feels they got their money's worth from Bob Stoops, just as Providence does from Ed Cooley, and URI did from Dan Hurley.

[TruePoint]

100% agree with that. I'm just pointing out the absurdity of saying the football program would be fine without the school. The football program may be the most public-facing aspect of a school and may generate a lot of revenue directly and indirectly, but at the end of the day, an athletic program is an appendage of the school, not the other way around. It is such a silly argument it feels weird to even make it, but does anyone think 100,000 people would show up to a AAA football game in Norman, OK or Tuscaloosa, AL or Gainesville, FL if the team weren't affiliated with the school? No chance.

[Seawrightspostgame]

I wish they would take the lid off of allowing kids to profit from their likeness. The kids are kids. They aren't super virtuous because they are shielded from personal profit, which I would call denied.

[SnooterMagoo]

I wish they would take the lid off of allowing kids to profit from their likeness. The kids are kids. They aren't super virtuous because they are shielded from personal profit, which I would call denied.

Correct. In fact, the denial makes it more likely they'll seek to profit elsewhere.

[PlayMikeMotenMore]

100% agree with that. I'm just pointing out the absurdity of saying the football program would be fine without the school. The football program may be the most public-facing aspect of a school and may generate a lot of revenue directly and indirectly, but at the end of the day, an athletic program is an appendage of the school, not the other way around. It is such a silly argument it feels weird to even make it, but does anyone think 100,000 people would show up to a AAA football game in Norman, OK or Tuscaloosa, AL or Gainesville, FL if the team weren't affiliated with the school? No chance.

TP...my man!!! We agree!!! I knew we could do it!!

NYU, University of Chicago, MIT, etc. all seem to do fine without big time hoops or football. For many, athletics is the front door to the university. So yes, the coaches and the athletic program get paid handsomely to be successful so that front door is wide and the front door is open. But the professors, deans, TA's, and support staff are the backbone of the university. Barry Switzer never learned that.

What would have the greater impact on URI as a whole? Pulling the plug on the pharmaceutical studies and oceanography programs...or pulling the plug on football?

[TruePoint]

Of the top-5 National Universities and top-5 liberal arts colleges per U.S. News, only one (Stanford) plays "big-time" sports. The Ivies compete in Division 1, really more out of tradition than anything else. Other than Ivies and Stanford, Univ. of Chicago and MIT as PMMM mentioned plus Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore, Wellesley, Bowdoin, on and on. Expand it out to the top-10 of each and you can include Duke and Davidson. That is it. Plenty of great schools that don't play big-time sports. Having said that, I love sports, I love my school's sports and want them to do well, let's just not go talking crazy.

[PlayMikeMotenMore]

Of the top-5 National Universities and top-5 liberal arts colleges per U.S. News, only one (Stanford) plays "big-time" sports. The Ivies compete in Division 1, really more out of tradition than anything else. Other than Ivies and Stanford, Univ. of Chicago and MIT as PMMM mentioned plus Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore, Wellesley, Bowdoin, on and on. Expand it out to the top-10 of each and you can include Duke and Davidson. That is it. Plenty of great schools that don't play big-time sports. Having said that, I love sports, I love my school's sports and want them to do well, let's just not go talking crazy.

Probably included PC in that top-10 list, right?

[TruePoint]

PC is ranked as a regional university by US news, similar to Fairfield, Bryant, St Joe's, etc.