That is the question one man posed to each of the presidents of Ohio's Division 1-A public universities. In the context of increased concussion-related litigation and the skyrocketing cost of attendance that many schools use to fund athletics, each president was given one month to answer a very simple question about the future of the program burning the candle at both ends. Each president's response was the same: there wasn't one.
From the website:
With states across the country cutting funding for higher education, the head of any state-supported university faces serious budget concerns. One multi million dollar cost that's now on the president's plate is the potential cost of concussion litigation. Unlike the NFL, the university's mission is not to maximize profit and entertain. The university's mission is education. Unlike the NFL players who are represented by a union, college players have no representation. So how do those two differences between the NFL and college football affect the risk of litigation? What's the potential cost?
He also gets a couple of attorneys to weigh in on topics ranging from the NCAA's founding purpose (spearheaded by Teddy Roosevelt to protect the safety of college athletes) to the concept of assumption of the risk. It's all a little out there, maybe, but that's a legitimate question he's asking and someone in charge should answer it.
Here's a version of the letter he sent to, among others, the presidents of The Ohio State University, Kent State and Cincinnati.
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