Cuban is off to a terrible start.
Quote:"The only thing that's kept them from doing it is a lack of capital, which I can deal with.
No, lack of capital has NEVER been the issue. A few phone calls to the networks and that is taken care of.
He thinks dangling a fat check will do it? Proven sports marketing company offered contract for just a playoff that was more than double the entire take of all bowls.
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/70454...-work.html
Quote:"Say, 'Look, I'm going to give you X amount every five years. In exchange, you say if you're picked for the playoff system, you'll go.' "
No that will be an annual payment. College athletic departments work on a simple principle. Spend every unrestricted nickle you get as fast as you get and then borrow some.
Quote:It's an inefficient business where there's obviously a better way of doing it,"
They aren't worried about efficiency. If they were worried about efficiency they sure as hell aren't going to let some dot-com billionaire sit down at the table with them as a business parter and take a cut for setting up the deals they already know how to set-up. The Big 10 knows how to start a network from scratch and get it into more households than Cuban has done with his network. Every conference has negotiated multi-million dollar deals. One reason the BCS is working is because it has very low overhead. Somewhere on the order of 98% of all BCS revenue is distributed to members. I'm guessing Cuban isn't going to be able to make this a profitable investment if he's sending 98% of all revenue to the schools.
Cuban has already failed because he fails to understand the issue.
The issue is the presidents maintain very little control of top athletic programs as it is. Get in a fight with the AD at Texas, Ohio State, or LSU and chances are pretty decent that the AD is going to win. They don't want Mark Cuban pumping another $375 million into the system.
That's really not very much money. $375 million with a piece going to ever school and big schools taking more is maybe $15 million more for Texas. The Longhorn Network is supposed to produce $15 million a year. If you are Texas or Arkansas State for that matter, which is more valuable: $15 million that only you get? Or $15 million that you and your competitors get? Texas gains nothing if TAMU and OU are getting the same increase as you are.
Remember that the presidents don't just answer to fans. They answer to students, faculty, accrediting boards, and often state government. In an era where faculty is being told don't make copies because we can't afford copy paper, or are having their pay frozen, or getting nominal raises that don't keep pace with the increase in their health insurance premiums and increases in co-pays and deductibles and students are being hit with tuition and fee increases and state government is saying we don't have any more dollars for you and are going to give you fewer dollars, walking out smiling and announcing a fat cash windfall for the athletic department is not going to be a successful press conference.
Until you find a way to cap spending on athletics in a legal manner that isn't the fault of the presidents and excess athletic revenue flows over to support the university, talk of a playoff is wasted effort.
If Mark Cuban had said, "Here's my idea. I want to start a joint venture with the colleges to have a playoff. Fair play and amateurism are important to me so no one can participate unless they "purchase" a membership and understands that they can only be a member if their athletic and athletic related spending minus scholarship costs are capped at $100 million a year which will be adjusted annually for inflation. They need to have a broad athletic department and sponsor at least 16 sports initially but will sponsor at least 18 by 2018. Members will have to graduate student-athletes at the median level for that sport or at a level higher than their student body. Student-athletes will have to meet certain initial and continuing eligiblity standards. If you can't meet these standards, you don't get be in."
If he had done THAT rather than his stupid and oblivious comments about colleges not having the money to pull it off and implying that they will dance for him if offers enough money, he might have had a chance.