08-27-2025, 03:11 PM
There are two questions I'm interested in weighing in on:
1. Calfan - does it bother me if players aren't here to play school?
Ans: No, not at all. Certainly no more than any other random sample of 85 Stanford students, some of whom aren't there to play school either. I think Goose suggested the players are 'our lads' because we have something in common. Maybe. But more likely, no, the players are not 62-year-olds who attended Stanford for 9 months in the 1985-86 academic year. Got it, we went to the same place at different times, but there really isn't more connection to them than to my fellow commuters on 101, whomever the hell they are, because we all have something very in common. (Hopefully no direct connection that leads to insurance claims, blocked traffic, or worse.)
Once upon a time I had a more visceral connection to high profile college athletes because they were classmates, frat bros, and in the case of a future NFL player and Super Bowl coach, a lab partner in CE 4214, Concrete Structural Components. Graduating Spring Quarter (no final!). Taught by Cookbook Caseman (no choice!), who liked to spend class and homework time on rote ACI code stuff (i.e. real life) and then spring esoteric parabolic beams on us for the tests so he could 'separate the smart ones from the idiots.' My lab partner, who lead Tech to a tie with #1 Notre Dame the year before I arrived; the -1 in a 1-9-1 record) was preparing for the NFL Combine while wrapping up his degree in civil engineering. He was clear-eyed that he would never be a civil engineer, but he said he wanted to finish what he started and he picked CE because he could say he had a degree in engineering and at least it wasn't insane like AE or EE. Anyway, tons of respect for the guy schlubbing with the likes of us, who also had a foot out the door of impending graduation. Even Caseman was looking at retirement. But there he was, figuring out long column slenderness effects and eccentric loads. (Caseman was an eccentric load....) I had other athlete classmates from walkons doing real work, to the real (Dream Teamer) Mark Price doing real work, so some dudes phoning it in. Did I care? No, as long as Ken Whisenhunt held up his end of the project bargain (he did), that's no different than any other potential project partner holding up their end or not holding it up.
Today, frankly, I could not care less what sort of effort any student at GT or Stanford puts out. Their business. And the business of athletes like it or not, is to entertain the masses, make alumni open up their feel-good checkbooks, make the school known to all the people in sports bars, and that brings us to the second question:
2. BostonCard - 'What are we even doing here?'
Wow, what a great question. At some point the new/old model of paying players but now above the table and the new model of pickup squads really will implode and schools can either be in the NASCAR league, or set up DII/III-like programs where you play because you love the sport, want the education, and people don't think you are worthy of a salary. I hope Stanford doesn't take its ball and go home because the only glory left is watching the 2015 Rose Bowl on Youtube. Luck isn't here to do that. But, still, a great question: "What are we even doing here?" I asked my AI research assistant /overlord that question. "Why do prestigious colleges play big time football?" Kind of what you'd expect -
1. Historical roots. Many elite universities were among the first to adopt football in the late 19th century when the sport developed. (Ref: Harvard-Yale and Army-Navy)
2. School Identity and Pride. Big-time football is a unifying force for students, alumni, and fans. And get this, without me asking about any specific prestigious university, "Iconic programs - like Notre Dame, Michigan, and Stanford - build a sense of belonging and pride that extends far beyond graduation." (So, are these 3 schools some sort of AI cabal or something?)
3. Financial and Branding Power - Successful football programs generate significant revenue through ticket sales, television deals, sponsorships, and merchandise. The visibility of football raises a school's profile nationally, which can help with student recruitment, alumni donations, and even research funding through increased institutional prestige. Shorthand for MONEY.
4. Alumni Engagement - Football Saturdays often double as alumni gatherings, strengthening the network of of graduates who contribute time, money, and connections back to a school. High-profile games often keep alumni emotionally and financially invested in the university for decades. Shorthand for MONEY.
5. Recruiting Beyond Sports. A vibrant athletic culture can make a school more attractive to prospective students, even those who never plan to play sports. Schools like Stanford and Northwestern (holy crap - again unprompted) use the visibility of football to compete with other elite institutions for top talent in academics and athletics.
6. Media and Cultural Influence. Football connects colleges to the broader American sports culture, allowing even academically focused universities to gain mainstream recognition. Bowl games, playoff appearances, and media coverage provide marketing that no ad campaign could match in reach and emotion.
So, we're all cool with being a Palo Alto version of Carnegie Mellon (no insult to that fine institution in a surprisingly fun city)? Do you want the brand to be 'No Fun Stanford Spitting Out One Elizabeth Holmes after Another' or 'Christian McCaffrey might go for half a mil against Iowa. You have to watch this!'
I now Chat GPT searches and regurgitates talking points from places like this, but there seems to be validity to these points. We are doing this because the branding and........MONEY.......far outweigh some people transferring in or out or not thinking Stanford is the greatest experience in their life or whatever. Stanford ran a freaking shopping center for decades and continues to lease out commercial property for all sorts of uses that have zero to do with education. How again is playing football to win and accrue the age old benefits of doing so going to crater the university's educational standards any more than Donor X Junior is walking around because we need Donor X Dollars? Or anything else going on around campus.
Stanford can pull up its football stakes, but what a horrible look that would be and its not a threat (they won't miss my relatively meager donations and the one prof who use to have me guest lecture is retired) but reality. Stanford would just be a place I spent nine months when the Talking Heads were a pretty bid deal all things considered.
1. Calfan - does it bother me if players aren't here to play school?
Ans: No, not at all. Certainly no more than any other random sample of 85 Stanford students, some of whom aren't there to play school either. I think Goose suggested the players are 'our lads' because we have something in common. Maybe. But more likely, no, the players are not 62-year-olds who attended Stanford for 9 months in the 1985-86 academic year. Got it, we went to the same place at different times, but there really isn't more connection to them than to my fellow commuters on 101, whomever the hell they are, because we all have something very in common. (Hopefully no direct connection that leads to insurance claims, blocked traffic, or worse.)
Once upon a time I had a more visceral connection to high profile college athletes because they were classmates, frat bros, and in the case of a future NFL player and Super Bowl coach, a lab partner in CE 4214, Concrete Structural Components. Graduating Spring Quarter (no final!). Taught by Cookbook Caseman (no choice!), who liked to spend class and homework time on rote ACI code stuff (i.e. real life) and then spring esoteric parabolic beams on us for the tests so he could 'separate the smart ones from the idiots.' My lab partner, who lead Tech to a tie with #1 Notre Dame the year before I arrived; the -1 in a 1-9-1 record) was preparing for the NFL Combine while wrapping up his degree in civil engineering. He was clear-eyed that he would never be a civil engineer, but he said he wanted to finish what he started and he picked CE because he could say he had a degree in engineering and at least it wasn't insane like AE or EE. Anyway, tons of respect for the guy schlubbing with the likes of us, who also had a foot out the door of impending graduation. Even Caseman was looking at retirement. But there he was, figuring out long column slenderness effects and eccentric loads. (Caseman was an eccentric load....) I had other athlete classmates from walkons doing real work, to the real (Dream Teamer) Mark Price doing real work, so some dudes phoning it in. Did I care? No, as long as Ken Whisenhunt held up his end of the project bargain (he did), that's no different than any other potential project partner holding up their end or not holding it up.
Today, frankly, I could not care less what sort of effort any student at GT or Stanford puts out. Their business. And the business of athletes like it or not, is to entertain the masses, make alumni open up their feel-good checkbooks, make the school known to all the people in sports bars, and that brings us to the second question:
2. BostonCard - 'What are we even doing here?'
Wow, what a great question. At some point the new/old model of paying players but now above the table and the new model of pickup squads really will implode and schools can either be in the NASCAR league, or set up DII/III-like programs where you play because you love the sport, want the education, and people don't think you are worthy of a salary. I hope Stanford doesn't take its ball and go home because the only glory left is watching the 2015 Rose Bowl on Youtube. Luck isn't here to do that. But, still, a great question: "What are we even doing here?" I asked my AI research assistant /overlord that question. "Why do prestigious colleges play big time football?" Kind of what you'd expect -
1. Historical roots. Many elite universities were among the first to adopt football in the late 19th century when the sport developed. (Ref: Harvard-Yale and Army-Navy)
2. School Identity and Pride. Big-time football is a unifying force for students, alumni, and fans. And get this, without me asking about any specific prestigious university, "Iconic programs - like Notre Dame, Michigan, and Stanford - build a sense of belonging and pride that extends far beyond graduation." (So, are these 3 schools some sort of AI cabal or something?)
3. Financial and Branding Power - Successful football programs generate significant revenue through ticket sales, television deals, sponsorships, and merchandise. The visibility of football raises a school's profile nationally, which can help with student recruitment, alumni donations, and even research funding through increased institutional prestige. Shorthand for MONEY.
4. Alumni Engagement - Football Saturdays often double as alumni gatherings, strengthening the network of of graduates who contribute time, money, and connections back to a school. High-profile games often keep alumni emotionally and financially invested in the university for decades. Shorthand for MONEY.
5. Recruiting Beyond Sports. A vibrant athletic culture can make a school more attractive to prospective students, even those who never plan to play sports. Schools like Stanford and Northwestern (holy crap - again unprompted) use the visibility of football to compete with other elite institutions for top talent in academics and athletics.
6. Media and Cultural Influence. Football connects colleges to the broader American sports culture, allowing even academically focused universities to gain mainstream recognition. Bowl games, playoff appearances, and media coverage provide marketing that no ad campaign could match in reach and emotion.
So, we're all cool with being a Palo Alto version of Carnegie Mellon (no insult to that fine institution in a surprisingly fun city)? Do you want the brand to be 'No Fun Stanford Spitting Out One Elizabeth Holmes after Another' or 'Christian McCaffrey might go for half a mil against Iowa. You have to watch this!'
I now Chat GPT searches and regurgitates talking points from places like this, but there seems to be validity to these points. We are doing this because the branding and........MONEY.......far outweigh some people transferring in or out or not thinking Stanford is the greatest experience in their life or whatever. Stanford ran a freaking shopping center for decades and continues to lease out commercial property for all sorts of uses that have zero to do with education. How again is playing football to win and accrue the age old benefits of doing so going to crater the university's educational standards any more than Donor X Junior is walking around because we need Donor X Dollars? Or anything else going on around campus.
Stanford can pull up its football stakes, but what a horrible look that would be and its not a threat (they won't miss my relatively meager donations and the one prof who use to have me guest lecture is retired) but reality. Stanford would just be a place I spent nine months when the Talking Heads were a pretty bid deal all things considered.