Big 10 vs. AAC Financial Positions

NFL Players Infographic

Let me start by saying, I really love infographics. If done well, I think they are a great tool for displaying information in an interesting, quick and visually appealing way. I use infographics in my stories whenever possible.

Anyway, I chose one of my favorite simple infographics for this post, the “most mentioned NFL players” from 2012. Though this graphic is not new or flashy, I’ve always felt that it gets the job done and I really appreciate the creativity.

To me, this graphic satisfies all of Tufte’s tenants and the basic principles of design. It shows contrast in a very blatant and easily understandable manner, and does not contain any jargon. There is also a helpful explanation for the criteria used to determine the “most mentioned players,” so the information seems verifiable and not arbitrary. Additionally, the use of simple bar graphs adds a great deal to this graphic without overwhelming a reader. The audience could spend 10 minutes looking through each bit of information in this graphic, or take one look at it and have the gist – Tim Tebow was the most popular. To me, that is a huge factor in making a successful infographic.

Georgia Tech Volleyball

2015 Coaches’ Salaries

Name	Position	Salary
Michelle Collier	Head Coach	$114,800
Randi Raff	Assistant Coach/ Recruiting Coordinator	- New
Taylor McColskey	Assistant Coach	$47,799.96
Rafael Silva	Volunteer Assistant Coach	-
Carla Gilson	Athletic Trainer	$58,027.68
Whitney Burton	Academic Services	$48,812.72
Maya Prestes	Director of Operations	- New

American Athletic Conference

2014

Financial Category	Source	Amount
	Contributions and Grants	$266,000
	Program Service Revenue	$93,357,934
	Investment Income	$1,520
	Miscellaneous Income	$139,988
Total Revenue		$93,759,442
	Grants	$75,426,667
	Compensation to key employees	$1,614,550
	Other salaries	$2,988,381
	Other employee benefits	$798,456
	Payroll taxes	$247,449
	Legal	$328,753
	Accounting	$21,132
	Other Expenses	$15,843,026
Total Expenses		$97,268,414
Distribution to Members
	University of Connecticut	$10,719,740
	University of South Florida	$8,514,325
	Rutgers University	$8,329,728
	University of Cincinnati	$10,141,389
	University of Notre Dame	$500,000
	Temple University	$4,824,143
	University of Central Florida	$7,396,733
	University of Houston	$6,430,713
	University of Louisville	$8,627,642
	University of Memphis	$4,968,733
	Southern Methodist University	$4,973,517
Salary of Commissioner	Mike Aresco	$1,583,077
Salaries of Highest Paid Employees
	Paul Brazeau Sr. Assoc. Commissioner	$252,885
	John Marinatto Former Commissioner	$250,00

Personal Story Ideas

Age Regulations in the NBA and NFL

As I’ve mentioned before, I think it would be interesting to look into the long term impacts of draft eligibility rules regarding age. More than 10 years after the NBA adopted the “one and done” rule, it would be interesting to take a broad look at the players who left college early and how their careers turned out. The same holds true for football.

2. Bilateral Advantage

One of the topics I’ve come across while studying for the Paralympics is the idea of “bilateral advantage.” This is the theory that double-amputee athletes, like Oscar Pistorius, have an athletic advantage over single-amputees and able-bodied athletes. I’m hoping to dig deeper into this topic in Rio.

3. Athlete Dismissal

“Off the field issues” and program dismissals have always been points of contention in college sports. Many coaches and athletic directors have been scrutinized as being too lax on athletes who get into legal trouble or otherwise violate conduct policies. Others are known to dismiss athletes without a second thought. Still, other programs have reputations for taking on athletes with “troubled” pasts at other schools. I’d love to look into this.

4. NCAA Regulations and “Likeness”

Keeping with my interest in law, the NCAA’s monopoly over college athletes is a hot topic. I would like to look into the NCAA’s policies regarding athletes and both sides of the argument about paying athletes and the use of their likeness. I think this is a good opportunity to look into big-time schools’ compliance programs and notable punishments.

5. Title IX in the SEC

Our discussion about the equestrian team sparked my interest in how other big football programs, in the SEC and across the country, balance their men’s programs to satisfy Title IX requirements. To me, the idea of such a massive equestrian team to ensure UGA football can continue is a bit crazy but very creative. I’m sure other schools have come up with other solutions and this would be a good opportunity to look into this and revisit the idea of Title IX to see if current athletes believe they are being treated fairly.

6. Liability of teams and personnel for injuries

One more just for kicks. An important legal debate in sports is the liability of teams and coaches – let’s say at the college level – for injuries sustained by players. Hundreds of civil suits have been filed against athletic departments and coaches, as players and their families have alleged negligence that resulted in injury. This begs the question, what are the obligations of a team/organization/coaching staff to protect players from injury? This could also be extended to mental health.

Age Regs Background

So, I’m not sure that I want to dedicate my personal story to this topic, but I have always found it really interesting. That being said, here are some stories I’ve found on the topic.

This story, written in 2014 shortly before the Kentucky Wildcats played for the national championship, laments the “one and done” rule since all five freshmen expected to start for UK were expected to leave for the NBA. This journalist believes the regulations exploit athletes during college and then deprive them of an education.

I also found this opinion piece, which makes an interesting point. Most people know the names and legacies of Coach K, John Calipari, Tom Izzo, etc. but would be hard-pressed to name a player on their current roster, because nearly the entire roster changes from year to year. The writer also believes that the quality of college basketball has deteriorated since the rule was implemented in 2006.

In this story, the journalist suggests the NBA adopt a new draft eligibility policy similar to the NFL’s policy. Under this new rule, basketball players would not be eligible for the draft until three years after their high school graduation, perhaps extending their time in college.

In terms of football, the plight of age regulations is not so severe. However, many players choose to leave school early and enter the NFL draft. As this story points out, 37 percent of players who leave early are not picked in the first seven rounds, jeopardizing their chances at making a roster and a living in football.

Finally, this article discusses Nick Saban’s view on his players declaring for the draft before graduation. Saban generally supports his players that receive first- or second-round looks, but tells the others they should wait it out. He also brings in speakers to caution his players on the woes of short NFL careers with no college degree.

If I were to write on this topic, I think my main driving questions would be:

Does leaving early for the draft (NBA or NFL) increase a player’s profitability or span of his career?

What percentage of professional players have college degrees?

If basketball players were allowed to enter the draft right after high school, how many would actually be ready for NBA play?

What is the average length of a pro career in each of these leagues?

What do retired professional athletes typically do for a living after playing?

Would staying in college longer and/or graduating typically hurt a player’s chances to be drafted?

Saving String

Clark has some great suggestions and tips on preparing for writing in general, most of which I do to some extent but have never consciously considered. I think I could do better on “doing my homework” in some cases, as I find myself having to ask follow up questions while writing some of my stories.

I also have a goal for this semester to read more for form than content. More often than not, I skim quickly through stories by journalists I love on the bus, and then never think to read them again. As a writer myself, I know the amount of time and painstaking effort that goes into writing a story and I feel that I’m being a bit disrespectful for not taking my time and appreciating the writing.

In terms of saving string, I’m excited about this class because I don’t think I have ever taken on a story that allows for so much time and research. This will likely be my biggest string-saving endeavor to date. I’m a sucker for having physical copies of my material, so I usually keep a folder with printed copies of articles I’ve found pertaining to my topic. I also make notes in journals or notebooks, often sketching potential outlines or infographics when I get an idea. Though not directly related to writing, I save string for upcoming events, like my law school application. I’ve printed the application information and keep it in a folder with my LSAT scores and the business card of an advisor from my dream school. I’m a bit of a pack rat so I like the idea of saving string, but during this semester I want to make more of a concerted effort to look for information about my topics and give myself more than enough information to write these stories.

The Out-of-Door Academy

I spent my first two years of high school at a massive public school in Sarasota before transferring to a small private school for my junior and senior years. I chose to find an article on the latter and came across this little gem of a story. I was in fourth grade when this article was written, and my school did not yet have a football program. But the basketball team was well-known and my best friend’s big brother was a senior and ODA’s star player. Essentially, this story is about the fact that my small school did not have a regular point guard and instead relied on contributions from two talented seniors to take on that role. This team was exceptionally talented for such a small school and sent multiple players to all-conference teams.

I really enjoyed finding this story because I went to just about every home game during the 2004 season with my best friend and am still close with the players featured in the story. My friend’s brother, David, walked on at Vanderbilt the following year and is a real grown up now, but I sent him the link to this story to remind him of how awkward and shy he was in high school!

Age Regulation Questions

The topic of age regulations for professional leagues has been debated for years. In order to develop a feature on age regulation, it is important to discuss both the philosophical ideals behind the regulations, as well as the facts of their impact.

Many of these questions would require extensive research and talking to multiple sources, but I would look to answer these general questions in my feature.

When did NBA and NFL age regulations begin? Who was the driving force behind them?
What is the main idea behind these regulations?
How many athletes would be ready for professional play out of high school?
How does leaving early for professional leagues effect graduation rates at premier college programs?
Which NCAA school has the most players utilizing the “one and done” protocol?
How many players in the NFL and NBA have college degrees?
What percentage of players go back to college during or after their playing career?
How do top high school and collegiate athletes feel about age regulations? Do they generally want to get a college degree?
What are the other options for players to wait out the age regulations if they do not go to college?
How would eliminating age regulations effect the quality of college sports?
What does the typical NFL or NBA player do for a living after their career? Is a college degree usually necessary?
How do other sports, like baseball, handle age regulations and draft restrictions?

Surprising – Age Regulations

For anyone who pays attention to sports, this may sound like beating a dead horse. But, I have always been fascinated with the age regulations for professional leagues, namely the NFL and NBA.

For basketball, the rules for the draft stating that players must be 19 years old and have at least one season between high school and NBA play have created the notorious “one and done” phenomenon. As a college basketball fan, this is a point of contention for me. On one hand, I root for these athletes and respect their decision to move on to professional play, but at the same time it is frustrating to see so many players leaving programs and not graduating. This story discusses the continuous back and forth on this rule.

For the NFL, college football is more of a necessity because of the three years out of high school rule. Still, many athletes choose to declare for the draft before graduation. I can vividly recall the national reaction when Johnny Manziel declared for the draft as soon as possible. And look how that turned out… I don’t know the best solution or if these regulations do their job, but it is a big sacrifice of education and athletes foregoing a college degree to pursue a professional career.