Can we quit buying the facade? Please

[UTE98]

The Big12 benefits by destabilizing the Pac. So have they hired a PR firm? I think the answer is yes. The more they can seed uncertainty among Pac fans, ADs, and Presidents the better for them. Problem is if cooler heads prevail, Ol’ George Bailey doesn’t lose his mind and Potter doesn’t take over the Savings and Loan.

The PAC has more value than the Big12 as currently constituted. The only thing which can screw up the Pac is if teams splinter off and seek deals without consideration of the conference as a whole. Do Oregon and Washington want unequal revenue sharing? Sure, but what will it cost them if they force the issue? Oregon St and Washington St aren’t going to pony up to that deal, and neither should the rest of the Pac. When this is all done I think we’ll all be pleasantly surprised.

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again, Option A for Pac12 expansion WAS Utah and Colorado, Option B was Texas and Oklahoma, Option C when that deal didn’t work… See Option A. I knew of Option A due to a friend who was HS friends with one of the Utah coaches. I don’t have an insider now, but if our board expert says don’t panick, DON”T PANIC! The PAC if it stands together is in great shape. Only if teams go rogue ala USC, UCLA does the Pac fall apart. And right now I don’t think the options are there long term for anyone to do better other than in the PAC.

[Ted Lasso]

I gotta be honest man, if the PAC did have more value than the B12, don’t you think they would already have a media deal by now? Most sources are reporting the tv deal to be lower than B12 payouts and now you have the four corner schools talking with the B12. 

I really want the P12 to stay together, but like, Im just trying to be a realist if that makes sense? I think the P12 is a deeper, more valuable conference on paper, but I honestly believe the issue lays with leadership (Kliavkoff). But this is just all my opinion and speculation and I honestly don’t know what I’m talking about lol so take what I say with a grain of salt. 

[chinngiskhaan]

I don’t think that is necessarily the case. The problem with the media deal (and the comparatively low money amount) may be the result of perceived instability rather than a reflection of the value of a stable pac 12.

Could a stable Big12 be worth more than a stable Pac12? Of course. Is it clear that this is the case though? Nope, there are other explanations for the money disparity.

[EagleMountainUte]

I am just going to say something that may be wildly unpopular. All these schools with their massive money deals and endowments. While they have been raising tuition consistently for years. They just laugh while millions of former students are crippled with student debt and the Supreme Court hears arguments of making millions of other Americans bail them out.

It disgusts me. Especially after there is nothing for those who responsibly paid back their student loan debt.

F**k all of the schools for their greed.

[UteBacker]

Not only that, EagleMountain, but you could argue that the results these schools are producing have dwindled.  I have several clients that hire overseas help because they come out of school much more knowledgeable and prepared to start their careers.

[dystopiamembrane]

All of the schools?

[Charlie]

EagleMountain does highlight a real issue. College sports likely evolves to a lower pro league separate from schools, as an example a farm league to the NFL. Universities need to get their act together and do better at preparing students for an actual job. Student loans are an issue because of degrees that are unrelated to jobs or in numbers that don’t make sense. Trade schools also use loans but don’t have repayment issues like universities. Degrees without jobs are hobbies plain and simple. Next, ask why the military can get you prepared for an IT career in 12 weeks on par with a college degree? I know this because I have completed military training, UofU degree and grad school at another top University. The military does not give you 3 hours of class a day then let you sit on the lawn. They offer subsequent levels of education but only after work accomplishments validate additional education is earned and useful. You can master IT quicker, cheaper, and better in the military than thru the university but it requires sacrifice of the choice of work location, change of mind etc. Universities need to approach this efficiency since most of us require more freedom of path.

[dystopiamembrane]

Alternative: Universities exist to create an educated populace, rather than a better-skilled workforce.

[dystopiamembrane]

Although, I suppose one might consider ‘becoming educated’ a hobby.

[Charlie]

A ‘liberal education’ in this day and age is completly easy without college.  An education without job skills is very near useless, education on top of job skills is wonderful, job skills with little education is much better than the first but less desireable than the second.  Think of it this way, would you prefer an engineering degree in demand in the market with only general ed and elective classes to round out education or would you prefer a degree in a field with little market demand with only minimum requirement for math, tech or analytical skills?  Which one has great value, which one can be aquired in my spare time with mostly reading?  In general, a college degree leads to greater income, however, some degrees do not and others bring the average up considerably.  The next question, is useful social change driven most by people with skills or by people lacking skills?  I would recommend an education in addition to skills but not as an alternative to skills.  Sadly, we have HS and college grads with scarry lack of critical skills, I am not aware of problems related to skillful folks with scarry lack of education.  Will our competitors attack our lack of education or our lack of skills?  My brother was a history major, an interest of mine but I considered it a hobby.  When confronted with job opportunities, he returned to grad school to obtain a skill.  He would agree there are easy alternatives to persue that hobby.  Maybe I was responding to what I thought was a business case.

[dystopiamembrane]

Most are not as intelligent and motivated as you, and, thus, require a more formal structure to become educated.

[Charlie]

I don’t mean to belabor this but I don’t see an issue of motivated to be educated, I see an issue of survival for our kids. In an old world of manual labor some workers were better than others, maybe twice or three times better for stronger or more skilled workers. In the new world involving tech now it is common for some workers to be 20 or 30 times more productive. Actually, the best are infinitely better than many when you consider they can complete complex tasks that others with the same job description can not complete with unlimited time and resources.
At one point in my work career I had the necessity to contract overseas IT labor from the Philippines. I had two ladies come work with my team for 3 months before returning to code a large part of a big system with an offshore team. The schedule allowed substantially for a single cycle of development, test, fix and implement. I had done this role for an overseas client myself before so I knew it required a home run. I was reluctant. After the first couple of months with the two ladies I was in complete shock with their level of production and quality. I had worked with hundreds of engineers and IT people and did not expect this gap. They assured me that their entire company works at their level and it was due to a very competitive education and selection process driven to produce high skill levels. Their product was more than outstanding. I have no idea how rounded their education is but it did not involve a high profile university. These people and others are who we will soon be in direct competition with for our very way of life. Not to panic too much, I later had the opposite result related to a large code base I contracted for from India.
I believe knowing how to code as well as other tech skills in the near future will be similar to being literate in the 17th century. Smaller groups of 20x to 50x more productive people will out compete and literally push around much larger groups of 1x productive people. I hope our kids will be able to compete.

[dystopiamembrane]

Humanity will adapt.

[Author]

Posts