OT: D1

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I always thought there should be an age limit for players able to be in the NFL..like 22.

Why? Every other sport they can sign much younger. Hell, MLB teams can sign drastically younger.

I understand football is very violent and most aren't near physically ready at 18.

[IUP24]

Why? Every other sport they can sign much younger. Hell, MLB teams can sign drastically younger.

I understand football is very violent and most aren't near physically ready at 18.

The NFL requires any player attempting to enter the NFL draft or wishing to be part of the free agent pool to be a minimum of 3 years removed from high school.

So while it’s not an age restriction, it’s an age restriction.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

The NFL requires any player attempting to enter the NFL draft or wishing to be part of the free agent pool to be a minimum of 3 years removed from high school.

So while it’s not an age restriction, it’s an age restriction.

I know the rule. Just questioning it.

[IUPNation]

Why? Every other sport they can sign much younger. Hell, MLB teams can sign drastically younger.

I understand football is very violent and most aren't near physically ready at 18.

The other leagues should be the same.

[TheBigCat2192]

I know the rule. Just questioning it.

The owners have no real incentive to want it lower since it would mean paying players longer and handling the cost of development. Enough of the rank and file NFLPA members don’t want the age limit lowered since it would mean more cheap young competition for their roster spots. So as long as the league and NFLPA keep agreeing to the current rule there’s little chance of it changing. Maurice Clarett tried to sue his way in but after winning in one court a Circuit Court reversed the decision and I don’t believe anyone has tried since.

[IUP24]

Sounds a lot like Curt Cignetti will be the new head football coach at Indiana (Bloomington).

Probably not the easiest job. But I hope he does well and wish him the best. Congrats to him and his family. Curt’s personality is night and day compared to when he was at IUP. I will be rooting for him to succeed.

[IUPNation]

Sounds a lot like Curt Cignetti will be the new head football coach at Indiana (Bloomington).

Probably not the easiest job. But I hope he does well and wish him the best. Congrats to him and his family. Curt’s personality is night and day compared to when he was at IUP. I will be rooting for him to succeed.

So he’s going to Fake Indiana University.

[EyeoftheHawk]

Sounds a lot like Curt Cignetti will be the new head football coach at Indiana (Bloomington).

Probably not the easiest job. But I hope he does well and wish him the best. Congrats to him and his family. Curt’s personality is night and day compared to when he was at IUP. I will be rooting for him to succeed.

I’m excited for him too, BUT, he might be going to a lesser job. I’m guessing the paycheck will be quite a bit bigger but man, things are really stacked against you coaching at a basketball school in the BIG. I don’t see any way Indiana reasonably competes with the top teams in that conference, especially with the addition of four more major football schools in 2024. I might have held out for a better opportunity either after this season ended, or roll the dice and wait until next year. Now he runs the risk of being buried in the lower third of the standings and being totally forgotten about.

I guess another way of looking at it is he might be fine with all of that and the sizable pay hike that comes with it. He’s in his early 60’s so maybe he doesn’t want to coach for the next 10 years. He may not have higher aspirations and he’s not going into a situation where they’re expecting to win championships. It doesn’t come with nearly the pressure of a Texas A&M job, for example. Bloomington is also one of the nicer towns in Indiana and it’s a really nice campus.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

So he’s going to Fake Indiana University.

Sounds like Duke is also interested in him, although the BIG (even at Indiana) is much more appealing than the ACC.

[IUP24]

I’m excited for him too, BUT, he might be going to a lesser job. I’m guessing the paycheck will be quite a bit bigger but man, things are really stacked against you coaching at a basketball school in the BIG. I don’t see any way Indiana reasonably competes with the top teams in that conference, especially with the addition of four more major football schools in 2024. I might have held out for a better opportunity either after this season ended, or roll the dice and wait until next year. Now he runs the risk of being buried in the lower third of the standings and being totally forgotten about.

I guess another way of looking at it is he might be fine with all of that and the sizable pay hike that comes with it. He’s in his early 60’s so maybe he doesn’t want to coach for the next 10 years. He may not have higher aspirations and he’s not going into a situation where they’re expecting to win championships. It doesn’t come with nearly the pressure of a Texas A&M job, for example. Bloomington is also one of the nicer towns in Indiana and it’s a really nice campus.

Agreed with all of that. I'm honestly not sure Indiana is a better job, or I'll say, a "better situation" than James Madison currently. He's coaching at the best program in the best Group of 5 conference. A lot to be said for that, especially considering the playoff expansion next year. Even with the loss to App State, in next year's format, they still would have had a great opportunity to make the playoff as the highest ranked G5 team.

There's just not a lot of significant coaching movement (yet) this year. And I'm saying that in terms of large or substantial head coach openings. Texas A&M was a big opening, but hiring Mike Elko from Duke didn't necessarily set off a wave of dominoes like it would have if say a Dabo or Ryan Day went there.

Duke (if they are in fact interested in him) may be a better job, all things considered, than Indiana. The immediate response to that statement is money. Mike Elko was making 3.5 million at Duke. Tom Allen was making 4.9 million at Indiana (I recognize that's a big difference). 3.5 million is still a lot of money, assuming they would provide him a similar salary. Duke's been able to attract good players there (not enough to be competitive with Clemson or Miami), but I think you're opportunity in Durham to win games with similar expectations is greater than it is at Indiana.

I actually felt that he could have been a good candidate for Michigan State to zero in on, but I would think long and hard about taking that job given the situations they are facing. Obviously that ship has sailed already.

[IUP24]

Sounds like Duke is also interested in him, although the BIG (even at Indiana) is much more appealing than the ACC.

I wonder when (for football at least) these super conferences will ultimately start cannibalizing themselves. What's Indiana bringing to that league for football? Or Illinois or Northwestern? Rutgers? Same thing in the SEC, what's Vandy offer to SEC football other than a cool spot for Georgia fans to drive to 3 hours from Athens to drink at for 3-4 days every other season?

The money is so significant now in those leagues, administrators and figure heads at the 1% schools are going to start asking those questions. Ohio State is going to wonder why Illinois and Indiana are getting the same money as them when nobody gives two red cents about Hoosier or Illini football outside of Bloomington or Champaigne. It's almost as if the ACC's model of unequal revenue distribution based on success, where you finish, and other factors (which are all orchestrated into their television deal that is structured to grow in dollars annually) is actually a good model.

So for now, yeah, I agree that the revenue distribution which creates larger salary pools certainly exists for those in the "two-gated communities of college athletics" (I'm stealing that line from Fran Fraschilla). And because of the money and the current stability within those two leagues, it's a "better job." But I do wonder what that actually looks like a few years from now.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I wonder when (for football at least) these super conferences will ultimately start cannibalizing themselves. What's Indiana bringing to that league for football? Or Illinois or Northwestern? Rutgers? Same thing in the SEC, what's Vandy offer to SEC football other than a cool spot for Georgia fans to drive to 3 hours from Athens to drink at for 3-4 days every other season?

The money is so significant now in those leagues, administrators and figure heads at the 1% schools are going to start asking those questions. Ohio State is going to wonder why Illinois and Indiana are getting the same money as them when nobody gives two red cents about Hoosier or Illini football outside of Bloomington or Champaigne. It's almost as if the ACC's model of unequal revenue distribution based on success, where you finish, and other factors (which are all orchestrated into their television deal that is structured to grow in dollars annually) is actually a good model.

So for now, yeah, I agree that the revenue distribution which creates larger salary pools certainly exists for those in the "two-gated communities of college athletics" (I'm stealing that line from Fran Fraschilla). And because of the money and the current stability within those two leagues, it's a "better job." But I do wonder what that actually looks like a few years from now.

Well, Curt is 62. So, a few years from now (if it doesn't work out) he can sail in to the sunset with a boatload of cash.

[CHIP72]

I think it's how you approach the entire conversation. I've been in SEC stadiums, and also went to a Pitt game in Knoxville. I had a fantastic experience going to the Pitt game in Neyland Stadium. The Tennessee fans were some of the nicest folks I ever interacted with at a sporting event.

Most believe they are already better than everyone else in football, so they tend to not take on much aggression in the conversation (when it comes to talking to other fans). My good friend is a Georgia fan and lives in the south. He goes to a game somewhere every year. Has nothing but good things to say about his interactions with other SEC fans in opposing stadiums. But again, they think they are already better than everyone else anyways. So if Georgia beats Auburn on the road, the War Eagle fans will wish the Dawgs wearing spiked shoulder pads luck and ask them to beat Bama in Atlanta for them.

I've attended a few SEC games too (3 games at Mississippi State, 1 each at Alabama and Mississippi; all but one were all-SEC games). I think the quickest way to way piss off SEC fans is to say you care more about the NFL and consider the college game minor league football (which it is in all honesty).

[Fightingscot82]

I wonder when (for football at least) these super conferences will ultimately start cannibalizing themselves. What's Indiana bringing to that league for football? Or Illinois or Northwestern? Rutgers? Same thing in the SEC, what's Vandy offer to SEC football other than a cool spot for Georgia fans to drive to 3 hours from Athens to drink at for 3-4 days every other season?

The money is so significant now in those leagues, administrators and figure heads at the 1% schools are going to start asking those questions. Ohio State is going to wonder why Illinois and Indiana are getting the same money as them when nobody gives two red cents about Hoosier or Illini football outside of Bloomington or Champaigne. It's almost as if the ACC's model of unequal revenue distribution based on success, where you finish, and other factors (which are all orchestrated into their television deal that is structured to grow in dollars annually) is actually a good model.

So for now, yeah, I agree that the revenue distribution which creates larger salary pools certainly exists for those in the "two-gated communities of college athletics" (I'm stealing that line from Fran Fraschilla). And because of the money and the current stability within those two leagues, it's a "better job." But I do wonder what that actually looks like a few years from now.

What the conference consolidators forget is that no matter who is in your conference, everyone can't win every game. You'll have stacked teams losing more games than they win. Then they fire their coach and hope for a different outcome with the new guy. Even though there are teams who haven't been on top for a while, you still only have one champion team whether the conference has 10 teams or 20. I honestly am surprised there hasn't been a creation of more conferences so more teams can be champion and play more OOC games. That probably would have been more favorable than these future Space Ghost Coast to Coast conferences.

Indiana and Illinois both have spurts of goodness. IU is only a few years removed from going 6-1 in the Big Ten and finishing 12/13 in the polls. That same year Northwestern finished #10 in both polls. Actually, going back a decade Northwestern has finished in the top 25 5 of 10 years. Remember, there are 133 FBS teams so finishing #25 is still in the top 20%. Finishing #10 puts you in the 93rd percentile. It also shows the consistency of Ohio State and Michigan. Northwestern actually has more Big Ten championship game appearances than Penn State, but that's probably more reflective of the imbalance between their divisions.

Also, Georgia fans live in Atlanta. Athens is the size of greater State College and only 70 miles from center city Atlanta.

[iupgroundhog]

I am happy for Curt Cignetti. I think IU is an ideal move for him. As previously mentioned, the expectations aren't that high but he also has the opportunity to elevate the program. It's the Big 10. He gets to coach against PSU, OSU, and Michigan. At this stage of his life, I think his time at IU will define him as a coach.

I also think it's a major coup, considering that when he became the HC st IUP he had to shake a reputation of being a career assistant.