10 I Tuesday, December 7, 2010 | The Red & Black
SPORTS
College football buried beneath financial kickbacks
W e sports fans have
known for a long time
that college football has
gone green and become a mon
ey-driven industry.
It is now clear that greed is
exploding out of control and
ruining amateur sports for fans
that once appreciated it for the
competition.
On one hand, we have head
coaches and administrators
cashing big paychecks outside of
their already ridiculously high
contracts — Georgia’s Mark
Richt with his Ford truck com
mercials, Oregon’s Chip Kelly
with his $4.3 million in bonuses
and future contract guarantees
— while players and fans endure
endless scandal.
On the other, we have allega
tions that Auburn quarterback
Cam Newton’s father attempted
to auction his commitment for a
sum of $180,000.
And though the NCAA gave
no indication that its decision to
allow Newton to retain his eligi
bility was about money, any dis
cerning fan must wonder wheth
er the decision was at least in
part driven by the desire for a
» * David
'f MITCHELL
more high-profile team in the
national title game.
I must have missed some
thing. Isn’t football supposed to
be about — football?
The fact is, this sport hasn’t
really been about football for a
long time. It’s about TV con
tracts, bowl payouts and what
ever else can increase the bot
tom line.
If that means ignoring its own
bylaws to allow the eligibility of
the top-athlete on the country’s
top-team, then so be it.
You’re a top-notch team with
a smaller national market?
Tough luck. Whatever makes the
most money.
Personally, I’m getting sick of
it. If I want to watch old men
and women quibble over politics,
I’ll flip it to C-SPAN.
It’s time for a change.
It’s time we started focusing
on the competition again.
College football is loved for
the rivalries and the underdogs,
the tailgating and the upsets.
It’s loved for the classic match
ups as well as the new. We love it
so much that we are willing to
spend ungodly amounts of
money to participate in the
events.
In return, we are repaid with
scandal over some of the
nation’s top players and annual
controversy over the BCS.
Of course, saying that each
season is an expensive undertak
ing is like saying A. J. Green may
have a future in football. But
there is a point when public ser
vice becomes excessive greed.
We passed that point a while
ago.
If we ever want this sport to
provide the entertaining compe
tition on the field without the
baggage off, those with the
power in this sport need to take
off their green spectacles and
focus on what this sport should
really be about — football.
— David Mitchell is a sports
writer for The Red & Black
WES BLANKENSHIP The Red & Black
A Head coach Mark Richt’s salary, valued at more than
$3 million per year, is evidence of just how dedicated
athletic programs are to finding success on the gridiron.
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SPORTS NOTEBOOK
Dismissed
Dogs’ QB
commits
to LSU
By NICK PARKER
The Red & Black
When Georgia heads to
Baton Rouge to face LSU
in 2013, a familiar face will
be donning the purple and
gold — former Georgia
quarterback Zach
Mettenberger.
Mettenberger, now a
quarterback at Butler
Community College in
Butler, Kan., committed to
LSU over offers from
Alabama, Texas A&M,
Arkansas and Arizona
after throwing for 2,678
yards and 32 touchdowns
this season for Butler.
Mettenberger and his
Butler teammates recently
won the junior college
national
champion
ship.
He was
the talk of
the G-Day
game for
Georgia last
spring, but
was kicked
off the team
following a
guilty plea
on two misdemeanor
counts of sexual battery on
a female.
From there, he explored
transferring to another
Division I school but
wound up at Butler, where
he became one of the most
highly sought after junior
college prospects in the
country.
The Watkinsville native
went to nearby Oconee
County High School and
was seen on the Georgia
sidelines against Georgia
Tech two weeks ago as a
spectator.
His mother, Tammy is a
long-time administrative
assistant in the Georgia
football office.
Mettenberger will enroll
at LSU in January and will
compete right away for the
starting quarterback job
with seniors Jordan
Jefferson and Jarrett Lee.
He will have three years
remaining eligibility with
the Tigers.
METTENBERGER
Houston named to
All-SEC first team
Georgia outside line
backer Justin Houston was
named to the Associated
Press All-Southeastern
Conference first team
Monday after finishing sec
ond in the SEC in sacks
and tackles for loss.
Wide receiver A.J.
Green, left tackle Clint
Boling, place kicker Blair
Walsh and linebacker
Akeem Dent were all
named second team All-
SEC.
Georgia-Eastern Kentucky
game time changed
The Georgia vs. Eastern
Kentucky basketball game
has been moved up an
hour from a 2:00 p.m. tipoff
to a 1:00 p.m. tipoff on
Dec. 31.
The switch was made to
avoid conflict with the
Georgia football team’s
participation in the
AutoZone Liberty Bowl at
3:30.
