Technical Tidbits 1/27

Georgia Tech is preparing their budget to allow for a $1,600 stipend which will be given to each of the 225 scholarship athletes currently enrolled in the school. This stipend, which was allowed following a vote by the newly autonomous "power five" schools, is designated to cover cost-of-living for student athletes. The amount of money awarded will vary by school and will likely become a big recruiting advantage for some higher-budget programs, which is just one reason that I'm against an unfixed stipend for the student athletes. While the difference between the stipends of one school and another could very well be negligible, the ability to pay a player more than another school is still an advantage for the paying school and a disadvantage for everyone else.

You can take a look right here for a more broad perspective on some of the impacts of this newly-granted power five autonomy. One thing that I feel absolutely has to come with a payment for student athletes is improved behavior by some of the athletes. Guys who constantly misbehave and are being suspended over and over again shouldn't be rewarded, and paying them to come and goof around in college is a borderline incentive for misbehavior. As I said earlier, I'm not a very big fan of paying student athletes, but that doesn't mean that I'm unwilling to recognize that paying them does have some benefits. The overall effect will be good, but it isn't the universal solvent for the NCAA's problems.

Former Georgia Tech wide receiver commit Brandon Singleton, who decommited from Tech just a few days ago, has announced that he will play out his college career over on the West Coast with the Cal Golden Bears. It isn't hard to see the appeal of playing in California, but Cal itself is a school which hasn't won 6 games since the 2011 season. Their struggles in a solid Pac-12 have prevented any great success in terms of wins, but the new school should give Singleton an opportunity to make a more immediate impact than he would have at Tech.

When you think of Paul Johnson's triple-option offense, balanced is probably not the first word that comes to mind. As much as you would probably like to see the passing game more integrated into the offense (although 2014 proved that passing is for people who can't run), the general trend across all of college football is heading in the direction of the run game. Very few teams still have a power-run scheme because most schools have either transitioned to passing attacks or Oregon style spread-option offenses, but the role of running the football has begun to grow once again in college football.

What do you think about the stipend for student athletes?

Have a great Tuesday!