Write your search in the input below and press enter.
Esc to close.

The Sports Doc Chalk Talk with Dr. Chris Stankovich

Peak Performance:
Not Just for Sports, for Life

  • Products
    • Toolkits
    • Audio
    • Videos
    • Books
    • Apps
  • Services
  • Chalk Talk
    • Recent
    • Athletes
    • Coaching
    • Sports Parenting
    • Sports Administrators
    • Life
    • Administrators
  • About Dr. Stankovich
  • Testimonials
  • Contact
  • Products
    • Toolkits
    • Audio
    • Books
    • Videos
    • Apps
  • Services
  • Chalk Talk
  • About Dr. Stankovich
  • Testimonials
  • Contact

Hello. Sign In

My Account
  • Login
  • Register
0
The Sports Doc Chalk Talk
Subscribe
The Sports Doc Chalk Talk with Dr. Chris Stankovich
  • Recent
  • Athletes
  • Coaching
  • Sports Parenting
  • Life
  • Administrators
Home / Blog / Minor League Pro Football – with College on the Side

Minor League Pro Football – with College on the Side

By: Dr. Chris Stankovich | @DrStankovich | Jan 25, 2017

No Comments

The University of Michigan football team became the first known program to begin paying assistant football coaches over a million dollars a year.  The simple view of these huge coach contracts, to some, is “Bravo, capitalism at its finest!”  The wider view, however, tells of a more complex picture where coach salaries have a direct impact on the caliber of student athletes recruited, and the lengths some coaches and programs go in order to keep high-caliber talent eligible to compete.

Higher learning…or football?

Now that a new million-dollar threshold for assistant college football coaches has been established, the divide between the importance of academics versus football becomes more stark.  Colleges are purportedly institutions of higher learning first and foremost, but when you now have assistant football coaches making ten times the amount as full-time professors earn it does make you wonder what colleges have become?  If academics are what they’re supposedly selling, why are professors earning pennies on the dollar compared to football coaches?

How this relates to watching your favorite players

Even if you could care less about the concerns around what colleges are prioritizing these days (school or sports), if you’re a die-hard football fan you should still tune in to the rest of the growing issues related to bloated coach salaries.  Specifically, as the salaries for coaches, including assistant coaches, grows into the 7 figure range, the emphasis on winning to keep those salaries grows as well.  What does that mean, and why is it concerning?  In order to win — and keep those high-paying jobs — the single most important piece in the equation is finding terrific talent and then keeping them eligible, regardless the cost.

Finding talent, even if the talent has not been prepared for the rigors of college study, is the first goal.  Once the talented student athlete steps on campus all efforts then go toward keeping him eligible, and the means in which colleges do this varies dramatically (with countless colleges having been accused of cheating).  The higher the coach salaries, the greater the need to win in order to keep those jobs, and the greater the need to keep talented athletes on the field in order to win.  This paradigm creates a big problem when programs are caught cheating, student athletes suspended, and entire programs barred from conference championships and bowl games.

Who to blame?

When football fans become disgruntled after hearing their favorite players (or entire teams) are ineligible, perhaps the blame should go as much toward the current NCAA college athletic system as it should the individual student athlete who simply couldn’t keep up with academic requirements.  It’s also unfair what many supporting athletic department personnel are put through in order to keep their jobs — either do what needs to be done to keep athletes eligible, or move on to another job.  Remember, there aren’t big bonuses for GPA’s, but there are huge financial incentives to win.

This is America and employers can pay employees whatever they see fit.  In the case of college athletics, however, there are many moving parts that need to be examined in order to prevent bigger problems from occurring.  What if faculty members begin to band and speak out at the huge and growing disparities in salaries between them and coaches?  What if even more stories of cheating, corruption, and lacking integrity surface simply because winning was prized far more than seeing that student athletes take school seriously?  Yes, Michigan was the first to break the million-dollar-assistant-coach salary threshold, but there will inevitably be many more colleges to quickly follow suit.  Is this a good thing for college “amateur” sports?  What about for faculty at these colleges who are supposedly the real assets of the institution?  And most importantly, for student athletes who will be facing even more pressure when it comes to the means necessary to stay eligible, which often includes taking “dummy majors” and enrolling in classes of eligibility?

www.drstankovich.com

 

assitant, cheating, coach, michigan, NCAA, psychology, salary, sport

  • Author
  • Comments
  • Details
Get to Know the Author

Dr. Chris Stankovich

Dr. Stankovich has written/co-written five books, including Positive Transitions for Student Athletes, The ParentsPlaybook, Mind of Steel.

Latest Blog Posts

  • June 29, 2022 Don’t Discount the Value of Fun, Unstructured Play for Kids Mental Health
  • June 20, 2022 Sports Parents & Coaches Can Use Youth Sports as a Mental Health Boost for Kids
  • June 15, 2022 Show Kids How Much You Care Before You Teach Them What You Know
  • June 14, 2022 Study Finds Team Sports May be Best for Kids & their Mental Health
  • June 8, 2022 Accepting that Life is Difficult is a Healthy 1st Step Toward Life Success

Comments are closed.

PREVIOUS POST

Learn 5 Ways to Quickly Break Sport Slumps

NEXT POST

The Athlete’s Mind: RESPECT THE REF’S

Category

Amateur , Athletes , Athletic Counseling , Athletic Department , Coach , Coaching , College , Eligibility , Leadership , Leadership and Role Modeling , NCAA , Off Field Issues , Prep , Pro and College Sports , Social Responsibility , Sport Psychology , Sports Administrators , Sports Performance Science , Uncategorized , Violations

Tags

assitant, cheating, coach, michigan, NCAA, psychology, salary, sport

  • Recent Posts
  • Most Read
  • Don't Discount the Value of Fun, Unstructured Play for Kids Mental Health
  • Sports Parents & Coaches Can Use Youth Sports as a Mental Health Boost for Kids
  • Show Kids How Much You Care Before You Teach Them What You Know
  • Study Finds Team Sports May be Best for Kids & their Mental Health
  • Accepting that Life is Difficult is a Healthy 1st Step Toward Life Success
  • Overcome the Fear of Failure, Improve Mental Toughness, & Experience Success
  • How Much Impact Does a Coach Have on Sports Team Success?
  • Avoid the Dangers of "Whataboutism" for Better Relationships & Improved Mental Health
  • Help Kids Maximize Youth Sports by Using Athletic Transferable Skills
  • Improve Mental Health by Means of Catharsis & Purging Negative Thoughts
  • The Sports Doc on TV

    Catch Dr. Stankovich’s tv, radio, and print interviews and columns here!

    Dr. Chris Stankovich Watch Videos
  • Sport Performance Assessment

    Dr. Chris Stankovich Quickly and accurately test your level of mental toughness in just a few minutes using the Sport Performance Assessment.

    (SPA), an easy-to-use sport psychology system specially designed to help you REACH YOUR FULL ATHLETIC POTENTIAL.

    learn more
  • SportsSuccess360

    Life strategies for performance and character development for coaches, parents, and student athletes competing in youth and interscholastic sports.

    Life Strategies learn more
  • Contact Dr. Stankovich

    1395 Grandview Avenue Suite 6, Columbus OH 43212

    (614) 561-4482
    Media & General Inquiries
    information@drstankovich.com
    Sales & Product Support
    sales@drstankovich.com
  • About Dr. Stankovich

    • Media
    • Blog
    • Testimonials
  • Products

    • Toolkits
    • Videos
    • Books
    • Audio
    • iPhone Apps
  • Services

    • Athlete Performance Training
    • Parent Community Forum
    • Coach Education & Development
    • Athletic Crisis Response and Intervention
    • Drug & Alcohol Assessment
    • Life Success Programs
    • Counseling & Consulting Services
  • Blog
  • YouTube
  • twitter
  • facebook

All rights reserved © 2022 Advanced Human Performance Systems™

↓ ↓