Alabama Athletics
Instant Reaction to 12 Things Alabama Fans Are Talking About: All Things CW
Even though it's the "slow" time of the year for college athletics (Ha!), there's a lot going on this week.
Here are some quick-hit thoughts about what's going on with the Crimson Tide heading into the weekend.
1. Nick Saban is heading to Washington DC next week help the SEC lobby Congress for NIL legislation. The guess here is that a lot of politicians will be lining up to get a photo with the coach.
2. Saban saying an "NFL model" would work better than the current situation doesn't mean that's what he wants. It means that things are getting so bad that unionizing college football and making it a different kind of NFL would be more preferable.
3. The SEC adopted an eight-game schedule with no divisions for one season, when Oklahoma and Texas join the league in 2024. It's a shame the league couldn't figure out how to make a nine-game schedule work in time, and it's going to come at the cost of seeing some big-time rivalry games not played next season. But what would everyone else want? The SEC to have a bad nine-game schedule that the league couldn't significantly alter later due to the lack of agreement?
4. This is only going to be a bigger issue the more the league grows and continues to expand.
5. Whatever the league comes up with for a nine-game schedule may be short-lived anyway. The odds of college athletics seeing dramatic changes next year are pretty high.
6. How about this for an idea: Base the schedule on how much revenue teams and athletes are making. Rank the programs by revenue into tiers and then have teams play the same number of opponents in each tier.
The only problem with that is Texas A&M would be a top-tier program. But it's still better than some of the other things being suggested.
7. Instead of by revenue, have the schools decide what factors they want to have included for consideration (strength of program, etc.), factor those equally to devise the overall list and tiers.
8. Texas A&M athletic director saying Saban calling out Texas A&M as big NIL spenders is ‘Hearsay.’ Everyone else in the SEC had the same reaction: "Are you kidding me?"
9. Simple solution to fans rushing the field: Every time it gets done the school loses a scholarship for that sport for the duration of the next class (five years) in addition to a hefty fine. Will the SEC do it? No, because it's a real penalty.
10. Summer is sort of becoming commitment season for Alabama football, which is about to have the first of its first big weekends for visitors. One guy we're keeping a close eye on is cornerback Charles Lester III from Venice, Fla.
11. Nate Oats is already going after the top big men in the transfer portal, including Grant Nelson, Arthur Kaluma and Jarin Stevenson. Don't be surprised if he lands more than one.
12. Patrick Murphy had no reason to insert Montana Fouts (hyperextended knee) after softball fell into a big hole against Tennessee in the first game at the Women's College World Series. The guess here is that the rest of the tournament is hers to pitch as long as Alabama can stay alive.
Prediction: The baseball team, and its ability to play so well after the coaching scandal, will be the story of the year for Alabama.
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