Sorry for the rant. DEEPLY frustrated today after it was announced that Byrd is returning to San Diego State for his senior year. Projected as a second round pick, he came back.
This is an SDSU program that has - at BEST - about 1/3 to 1/2 of our sucky NIL budget. There are NOT whales contributing - because bluntly it is San Diego. Madsen makes 500,000 MORE than Brian Dutcher. It is MADDENING that they are so much better a program.
You used to be able to chalk it up to that it was a joke of a school. It has gotten increasingly competitive and being tangentially involved with SDSU faculty politics I can tell you that it isn't some SEC school where athletics wag the dog. Indeed, SDSU athletics has operated historically at a pretty significant deficit.
PS. I promised so will not go too much about how I think that playing in the reformed Pac12/MWC aligns SDSU with the level of support it has. I think an SDSU in the ACC would very quickly get creamed. I always thought an SDSU in the old Pac12 would be embarrassed - largely because while SDSU has a ton of alums the level of sports craziness as measured by whales willing to donate huge $$$ isn't really there.
PPS. But what SDSU does so much better than Cal is act business like and they have alumni connected to certain decisions that act like the best predatory private equity capitalists. How they "rolled" the city (and competitors) at the old Qualcomm site was masterful to watch.
This is an SDSU program that has - at BEST - about 1/3 to 1/2 of our sucky NIL budget. There are NOT whales contributing - because bluntly it is San Diego. Madsen makes 500,000 MORE than Brian Dutcher. It is MADDENING that they are so much better a program.
You used to be able to chalk it up to that it was a joke of a school. It has gotten increasingly competitive and being tangentially involved with SDSU faculty politics I can tell you that it isn't some SEC school where athletics wag the dog. Indeed, SDSU athletics has operated historically at a pretty significant deficit.
PS. I promised so will not go too much about how I think that playing in the reformed Pac12/MWC aligns SDSU with the level of support it has. I think an SDSU in the ACC would very quickly get creamed. I always thought an SDSU in the old Pac12 would be embarrassed - largely because while SDSU has a ton of alums the level of sports craziness as measured by whales willing to donate huge $$$ isn't really there.
PPS. But what SDSU does so much better than Cal is act business like and they have alumni connected to certain decisions that act like the best predatory private equity capitalists. How they "rolled" the city (and competitors) at the old Qualcomm site was masterful to watch.
