baker
MORGANTOWN — Understand that football is king in West Virginia.
This state has much to be proud of, from the beauty of the land that transforms its hills and trees, rivers and lakes into living works of art, to its people whose work ethic and morals make this region the perfect place to live. place known as “Almost heaven” And some people may hope that the descriptive nickname will be a good fit when they retire.
But fall weekends belong to West Virginia University football.
West Virginians love their mountaineers as well. Whether they earned a college degree or simply developed a degree of pride through their association with the football team, it’s their pastime. It’s the pepperoni roll of their lives, so to speak.
However, it is important to recognize that this relationship between fans and WVU’s football tradition remains strong. Because we are experiencing a time when the foundations on which we build our foundations are being undermined by forces.
It’s not dad’s game anymore.
Both on the field and in the boardroom on campus. We live in an era where the numbers on a scoreboard are often not as important as the numbers in the annual financial report.
Think of it this way. In sports, especially in England and its national sport, soccer, the word “nil” is used to describe numbers on a scoreboard, and you might hear someone say, “Nil” is used to describe numbers on a scoreboard. “Damn, they lost to us 3-0.”
In American football, nil is now written in uppercase to represent Name, Image, and Likeness. Perhaps this is a passing step to devise a system that gives players a financial stake in the game and allows lawyers to get rich. The players will be financial partners, splitting revenue of about $20 million a year between each school.
As a result of the game’s evolution, game statistics have been replaced by financial statements, and coaches are paid between $4 million and $7 million a year to coach the game, inflating almost every year and, in some cases, giving way to the game’s statistics. As a coach, I was sometimes paid more than half that amount.
Now, in this little corner of the world where you choose to waste your 4-5 minutes of reading, financial management has proven time and time again to be far beyond my area of expertise.
All it takes is a glance at my monthly bank statement or a few minutes of chatting with a financial advisor to find out. Every day, you can find them in the Grandstand at Churchill Downs selling the day’s specials to race enthusiasts.
But I make financial calls the same way Jordan Leslie makes defensive calls, so instead I turned to the work of my colleague at 247Sports, Mike Casaza. I aimed it. He has a great nose for numbers and is about as solid an investigative reporter as you’ll find in this little haven.
These books are not complete or published, but he has found enough sources to know about the economic situation of the mountaineers, and he has drawn as much as he can without using any red or black paint in his mouth. I was able to draw a picture. .
His initial conclusion was that WVU’s athletics aren’t poor, but considering how aggressively WVU promotes its products and knocks on internet doors asking for donations, you might wonder. That’s what you may have thought.
But he does say he’s dipping his fingers into the sugar bowl with his players, and it could end badly, with Wren Baker’s hand in a postseason decision about Neil Brown’s departure. I pointed out that it was completely stupid to call them, given their gender. It’s also wealthy.
They’re in a position like an 8-1 thoroughbred at the front of the straight where you bet your last two bucks, and he’s leading by two lengths, but they’ve got some pretty good closers. Running towards him… The game of knowing the shifting sands of college makes everything uncertain.
The numbers Casazza presents will never bore you. I’m sure he’d be happy to have you visit his website and take advantage of his research, but he ties in more deeply at the end with the decision Baker has to make about Brown. I would like to say that it makes a lot of sense. A more economical number than wins and losses.
In addition to the Big 12 Conference’s big guns, undefeated Penn State and Pitt have also already dealt early blows to the Mountaineers and are poised to finish the final four games of the regular season on track.
Only Mr. Baker knows what his intuition is telling him, and Mr. I wish they would listen more to their intuition, but they are experts in their fields. Baker, at least for now, has continued to strive while being insightful regarding coaching decisions.
As mentioned earlier, it is premature to draw a line in the sand at this point as this is a time when the sands are shifting and we will only know in which direction WVU needs to move when the sand in the hourglass runs out. is.
