As Penn State’s new wide receiver Trebor Pena hauled in one of his seven pass receptions from QB Drew Allar in the Nittany Lions opening day 46-11 win over Nevada, the TV talking head remarked, “Trebor had a great season at Syracuse last year (84, catches, 941 yards, 9 TDs) but they couldn’t afford him anymore.”
Penn State fans cheered, and the cash register went ‘cha-ching.’
It remains to be seen how many catches or TDs Pena will contribute this year to PSU’s drive for a national championship, but they won’t be coming cheap. The Pena/Allar combo is definitely living in the ‘high-rent district.’ Pena left Syracuse after the Orange failed to meet his $2 million asking price (it’s unknown how much Pena is making in Happy Valley), while Allar is “reportedly making” at least $3 million to throw him the ball.
The college professional football scene has changed. The rich are shelling out big bucks to allure talent. The not-so-rich are scurrying for the crumbs left under the table.
While none of this money-madness directly affects the D-III level, Lycoming College athletic director and head football coach Mike Clark took the time to share his thoughts with Webb Weekly.
“I’m a little bit old school on this one. It is a drastically different world. Fifteen to twenty years ago, colleges were making incredible amounts of money off student-athletes. Then Ed O’Bannon led the charge to help athletes receive some of that income. I think it shows you how much money is out there. It is a rapidly evolving world, and there will continue to be changes.
“But for traditionalists, I think there are a lot of emotions that, as a fan, you experience. Players are on new teams every year, but at the end of the day, it is a business. It always has been, and if the schools are making that much money, maybe the players do deserve a percentage. But it has completely done a 180 in the past few years, and I think more work needs to be done on the issue.”
WW: Do you think there will be a ‘trickle down’ effect where talented players, perhaps not good enough to get paid, will choose to play at DII or DIII schools?
“Players are still getting full scholarships at the Division I level, and the schools have so much money. As I understand it, there are Big Ten and SEC kids who are backups making six figures a year. At those high DI levels, those kids are making real money, so I don’t think you’ll see many walking away from that.”
WW: Does this movement at the big schools have any effect on how you recruit at Lycoming?
“Because of free agency – and that’s what it really is- at the highest level, those kids can change teams every year. As a result of this freedom to move, the big schools are looking more at transfers to fill their roster each year than high school kids. That means there are more talented high school kids who could fall to our level. For us, that could be a good thing.
“Then there are developmental issues. A player could sign with us and ask if we can help them transfer to a scholarship school in a couple of years. That is not ideal for us. We develop the player, and then when he can really help us, he transfers out. In some cases, when younger players have instant success at any level, they are looking to move up and gain a financial reward. It changes recruitment, but our model hasn’t changed significantly. I don’t want to be a JUCO for larger schools.”
WW: Do Lycoming players receive financial help?
“Like all of our Lycoming College students, it’s all based on financial need. With the DIII model, our policy is that everyone we admit is going to get some sort of merit-based scholarship. They all follow the same process. What additional financial aid they are eligible for is determined by each family’s financial situation.
WW: Looking into the future, do you think college football, as it now exists, can survive?
“As much as I hate to say it, I think down the road it could involve into being a few super conferences. The current college football playoffs are not NCAA championships. The highest NCAA football championship is the FCS. We all know what the men’s basketball tournament is in terms of revenue. It’s like a billion-dollar thing. If the NCAA doesn’t have that football money from the football playoffs, could the colleges do their own thing?
“I think there is a world where the SEC and the Big Ten, and maybe the ACC if it survives, could create their own world. I think in the NCAA settlement from this summer, those conferences are all linked to the settlement for several years. If they were to leave to do their own thing, they would still be on the hook for the money the NCAA is paying for the NIL settlement. That amounts to millions of dollars a year.
“Now, when that agreement expires in a few years, could they do their own thing? I think they could. Those conferences have more money and more resources. I do think there is a world when that possibility could happen.”
