Based upon the coaching, hitting, fielding, pitching, and base running seen this season (with a few exceptions), it could be that it was the exactly correct amount of money. Perhaps less than desired, but possibly still correct, nonetheless.
That can be either a lazy excuse for poor performance or a legit reason for weak competitiveness, and at this point in the new college athletics landscape I have no idea which it would be. After a handful of years things will most likely settle down and be more or less peaceful, but I'm convinced there will be realigned strata, primarily with the moneyed schools solidifying their positions of recognition in the rankings and the not-so-moneyed sliding into relatively secondary roles. Sort of "the rich get richer" kind of thing. Whatever the result, it should be interesting to watch, but I think there will be fewer upsets, surprises and dark horse candidates.
As far as the “interesting to watch” part, I beg to differ. I think it’s all a gigantic bore.
Crazily, he looked more comfortable at the plate than the big left handed transfer. Loved the young man, but he was lost. Breaking ball down strike one; slider under the hands strike two, gas in or change away, sit down. Felt sorry for him.
It’s all changed. I don’t think it’s set in yet for some.
"I have no idea who is still on the team beyond a few kids, and honestly I have no interest in trying to keep track."
I used to know all the football scholarship players, and many of the walk ons. Now, by the time the season starts, I know most of the 2 deep, but even that takes a lot of effort.
In general, no. A couple of schools have a rep for paying, looking at you LSU, and a few of the draftable HS guys do, but the rest don't get much (if anything). What is going to help TCU is with the law suit settlement, TCU can choose to give every roster player a full scholarship, not just 11.7 equivalents. This starts in 2025, and will level the playing field a lot.
