With all the excitement of the NCAA bringing The University of Hawaii and Cal Bears Down Under for the opening game of the 2016 college football season; it got me thinking. What would Australian sport look like if we completely overhauled everything we have known about sport?
These days we increasingly see the AFL following the trends set by American sport; the draft, the introduction of free agency, and most recently the trading of future selections.
As a society, we are far more familiar with the NBA and NFL than we ever have been, and this could be down to many factors.
Jarryd Hayne making the 49ers squad, Matthew Dellavedova’s grit during last season’s NBA Finals, and the overall coverage and media attention these sports now receive here have all contributed.
I’m an unashamed devotee of Mike and Mike and College Football Gameday.
One particular aspect of American sport has shot to prominence recently – college sport.
Just say the name Ben Simmons and I’ll bet most sports fans around the country could tell you he’s the 6’10” superstar forward from LSU, who was born and raised in Victoria. So, would college sport work here in Australia? How? What would be the benefits?
Imagine Mick Malthouse coaching the best 18 to 22-year-olds from LaTrobe University against the finest from Flinders University coached by Graham Cornes. Think of the amazing talent currently playing in the AFL that falls into that age bracket and it suddenly becomes a very tantalising prospect.
There is so often talk of raising the draft age in the AFL. I was always against this idea, mainly because I wanted to see the stars of the game play for longer. But as the game evolves and becomes faster and more demanding on the body, it’s less and less likely we will ever see another Brent Harvey-type career.
Introducing a college competition provides a structured, national platform for athletes to put themselves on show, compete against the very best on a weekly basis and of course it also gives Aussie fans another team to support.
The benefits are vast, this provides incentive for kids to concentrate on study and also begin to think about life post football, which we know can be a very tough road for some past retirees. Imagine playing four years of ‘uni ball’, going pro and also having a degree completed!
Discipline? Check. These days we are bombarded constantly with yet another AFL or NRL player in some incident in a bar, restaurant, club or motor vehicle.
Now, I’m not pretending that university football will eradicate all discipline problems. As we all know, there are still discipline problems in American sport, look no further than the controversy surrounding Dallas Cowboys defensive end Greg Hardy. But generally, and given the population difference, I’d be willing to say that the percentages of better-behaved players may just sway in favour of our Star Spangled cousins.
Is that down to a college education? Everyday structure? It may very well be. One thing is for sure, playing in a nationally televised, supported and exposed environment must prepare these athletes far better for the jump to the big time.
I’m not bagging our game or our players. Generally, our athletes are amazing members of society and perform a great deal of community service that often goes unheralded. But I just wonder if there is a way we could take something great and make it even better.
Think Nick Saban at Alabama or Urban Meyer of the Ohio State Buckeyes. To take charge in college it’s so much more than being just a good football coach. You have to be a life coach, set boundaries, provide structure and guide young men at their most fragile and impressionable ages.
These men mentioned here are statesmen of the game in the USA and set solid principles for their athletes to follow. Bad grades? Benched. Trouble with police? Benched. Coaches in the AFL are younger and younger, wouldn’t it be nice to see the statesmen of the AFL – men that have seen it all – guide young players through the transition of university to pro, from boy to man?
What about the benefits to us, the fans?
Just imagine the school spirit, the alumni all coming along to watch opening day. Music students playing on the field as the team runs out to the cheers of their classmates. We have more than 40 registered universities in Australia. Okay, some are small or predominately online institutions, but surely there are plenty to make a strong and truly national competition with ready made fan-bases.
What about all that extra sport we can watch on TV?
Surely this would open up a brand new revenue stream for the universities too and provide some much-needed extra funding funnelling through our education system. Just think tickets and jerseys for a start.
Maybe it’s a pipe dream and obviously a monumental change, but as we get our little taste of college football next year, perhaps the heavy hitters, the fans and media networks here in Australia may become a little more than just curious spectators.
Chris Vick
Roar Rookie
I'm aware of university sport, university games etc. Aussie rules teams from the universities are represented in amateur leagues as well. With and without students. The point I was making (and it was purely a thought) was raising draft ages (particularly for AFL) and setting up a national competition purely for university students & being drafted from there. I think people might watch if you had the best players between 18-22 playing.....Chad Wingard, Jesse Hogan, Ollie Wines, Marcus Bontempelli just for an example. Just a very hypothetical article.
Chris Vick
Roar Rookie
Don't know why you'd want to be the quarterback at Alabama, they have rarely made an impact in the NFL in recent times!
Chris Vick
Roar Rookie
I was referring more to the state of Texas having many teams, obviously Dallas & Houston are different cities!
pete bloor
Guest
Yep I think it's an ill thought out article
Jeff Williamson
Roar Pro
We already have college sport in Australia. But nobody takes much notice. I represented my college/uni at local level and even in a national collegiate championship. It was good for the students, but not hugely supported. It's only when a uni gets into a top level competition that people take notice. For example, Sydney University play in the Sydney first grade rugby comp and has been successful over many years. But the team are not all students and the crowds are not large. I think the strong club competitions we have in Australia do not leave much space for a US style college comp.
Pat Malone
Guest
Yeah,you would have been the quarterback at Alabama. Tough luck I guess
Pat Malone
Guest
You need to know geography better. Those colleges are in different cities Austin, college station, Waco etc
Timmuh
Roar Guru
The biggest pointer as to whether it might work in Australia is probably high school sports. They are also big in the US, the whole school and many former students (not just parents) will watch the "football", a few hundred might watch the basketball. If that is any guide, "college" sports would not translate here. And Australians tend to only watch the best regularly available level as it is. Shield and ListA cricket, pretty near zero; VFL/QRL/NSWRL/SANFL/WAFL, only the SANFL could be said to get a "crowd" the rest barely get an attendance. The BBL is an exception, but there isn't regular international T20 and that is a different sport to cricket. The A-League is arguably an exception, but there is nothing higher with regular at-the-ground access and it is the highest regularly available Australian game.
Swampy
Guest
I went to uni. Came from a poor family. Was average academically. I was left with a significant hecs debt. I was also quite good at a number of sports. If I'd have grown up in the USA I most likely would have gained a scholarship to uni and not had to spend the first eight years of my working life paying back my hecs and uni loans. Plus I'd have loved the actual sporting component and the opportunity to test myself against a wider field of competition. My mates and I often discussed how much fun it might have been growing up in the U.S. System as opposed to the Australian system. It's always much more fun to play in front of a crowd. Not to mention the pathway to the pros is so much better defined than in Oz.
nevil
Guest
This would be something only for the second or third tier unis . Can't see the Go8 unis being involved just as in the States the Ivies only do participant sport and not big spectator sport . Remember the big football and basketball schools in the US take their athletes from an academic level even much below their pretty ordinary standards for their general students and have much lower -if any - ongoing academic requirements for their athletes . This can be understood as they are rainmakers for the college both in the local community but especially among alumni . Do you reaaly want that here ? And of course the NCAA system is the feeder league for pro sport and always has been .It is -yawn - different here
Chris Vick
Roar Rookie
Of course, the NFL players have their problems too, but I was suggesting on a "per capita" basis I think they do pretty well. But yes Hernandez, Hardy, Ray Rice don't paint the prettiest picture.
Tigranes
Guest
Look at South Africa's varsity competition for rugby as a better example - its gets good crowds and good ratings, but again -Rugby has a national footprint across the country -There are some intense rivalries (i.e. UCT v Stellenbosch) that are derived from Afrikaans v English South Africans I dont think the college type system would ever work in Australia...in terms of the NFL, career options are limited, apart from CFL and NFL, and most of the players do degrees that will never get them a job in real life. NFL players make NRL and AFL players look like choirboys...and a lot of these problems start in college, when players get away with misdemanours because they are good football players...Aaron Hernandez is a good example.
no one in particular
Roar Guru
Currently, there are nearly half a million student-athletes in 23 sports. Which ones are being exploited?
Chris Vick
Roar Rookie
Not at all, I love the debate and discussion. Like I said, I just wanted to wonder "what if"
Joey Mornier
Guest
"I have this old fashioned idea that universities are for studying and research." I think the idea of university sports comes from the days when schools were intended to shape all aspects of the individual, a sound mind in a sound body with good moral and personal character. They have retained prominence in the US more so than in other countries due to the fact that independent junior competitions are virtually non-existent and pro leagues need to get players somewhere.
Joey Mornier
Guest
Not attempting to throw water on your idea, but a national junior comp or 2nd tier comp would do the same thing albeit without the festive atmosphere and built in audience of US college sports of course.
Tim Reynolds
Roar Pro
Why do we need to look to societies like the USA for inspiration, in sport or anything else? The trash-talking that we hear from its mega rich sports people is so foreign to our culture. Even the use of "college" is inappropriate in an Australian setting. Colleges are for secondary school kids. We don't need the glitzy pantomimes that parade as sport in the USA, just as they will never play cricket - although they once did, before they developed baseball!
Chris Vick
Roar Rookie
Not wanting to force players into a college system, of course its not going to be for everyone. But lots of AFL players are juggling tertiary study during their playing career, I am simply suggesting a way for them to still play in a structured competition while setting up for life beyond football. As far as discipline problems in college football......of course it has its problems! I think we can all agree that we will never see a 100% record of good behaviour, we are all humans and all make bad judgements at time. I agree it would need good support, and I suppose my hope would be that it would trigger a "School spirit" type supporter base. I don't believe it will happen, just interesting to think about.
Pamela Buccini
Guest
Some excellent points worth considering
no one in particular
Roar Guru
What you are suggesting is the formation of a feeder or development league, something college sports is not. Most pro sport evolved out of college sports. It wasn't until the merger that the pro football began to overtake college. Also, college sport isn't built on regional sports like Australian rules, but national sports. The fanbase is built on a) current students, b) former students, and c) local affiliation. Nobody here cares about sort at their nearest university You want 18-21yo to play in college, but not in the AFL. They aren't allowed to make a living and you are forcing them into the college system? No one is forced into the US college system, they are there by choice. Football players aren't allowed in the NFL until they are three years removed from high school for safety reasons, but they can play anywhere else. Basketball players can play elsewhere. Baseball players can go straight from high school into the minors. Soccer players can go and play in any league, golfers can go pro. Discipline? http://www.foxsports.com/college-football/outkick-the-coverage/the-most-arrested-college-football-teams-in-america-081815 Coaches set principles for their athletes and you mention Urban Meyer? http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-football-news/2178871-urban-meyer-florida-ohio-state-ncaa-violation-recruiting-drugs-program-will-musc Not to mention the costs will be astronomical. The Foxtel Cup failed for this reason, and the NRC bleeds money and only stubborness keeps it going