11-07-2021, 07:42 AM
In my mind, the CTE issues will eventually end football as we know it. The science will improve and the lawsuits will roll in, given time. So football won't be sustainable forever. But whether it takes a decade or a couple of generations I can't tell. Already the participation levels in football in high school is declining amongst the classic Stanford demographic recruiting population. So there does need to be a long-term plan for life after football
To me, the big question is whether in the intermediate future our other sports could survive without football. Will the rules permit us to compete at the highest DIV I level in basketball, baseball, soccer, etc. if we do not have a football program? For example, could we remain in the Pac 12 for WBB, for example, if we opted out of football? I doubt the league would permit that. So it has to be viewed as part of a package.
And I suppose it isn't necessary to remind everyone that we all had this conversation just before Harbaugh arrived. Harbaugh/Shaw shocked a lot of folks by showing that it was still possible for Stanford to compete at the highest level of football while maintaining its academic standards. Before that many had reached the conclusion that such success was a naive, overly optimistic pipe dream. Much has changed, and perhaps the football environment is even harder now than it was then. But I have been surprised before.
Futhermore, Shaw will not be fired this year. It just won't happen. He will get another year after this to turn things around. And perhaps he will surprise us one more time. If next year looks like Buddy/Walt, then the seriousness of this conversation will skyrocket.
To me, the big question is whether in the intermediate future our other sports could survive without football. Will the rules permit us to compete at the highest DIV I level in basketball, baseball, soccer, etc. if we do not have a football program? For example, could we remain in the Pac 12 for WBB, for example, if we opted out of football? I doubt the league would permit that. So it has to be viewed as part of a package.
And I suppose it isn't necessary to remind everyone that we all had this conversation just before Harbaugh arrived. Harbaugh/Shaw shocked a lot of folks by showing that it was still possible for Stanford to compete at the highest level of football while maintaining its academic standards. Before that many had reached the conclusion that such success was a naive, overly optimistic pipe dream. Much has changed, and perhaps the football environment is even harder now than it was then. But I have been surprised before.
Futhermore, Shaw will not be fired this year. It just won't happen. He will get another year after this to turn things around. And perhaps he will surprise us one more time. If next year looks like Buddy/Walt, then the seriousness of this conversation will skyrocket.