Texas A&M quarterback and reigning Heisman winner, Johnny Manziel, has become the poster boy of his school, the NCAA and a movement. A movement that has turned this same poster boy into the face of a timeless debate about college athletes and the money they bring into their respective schools.
Manziel orchestrated a Cinderella-story season last year and capped it off with a Heisman Trophy. It was a motion-picture-type performance that warranted the attention of the casual fans and more importantly — for those not on the field on game day — filled the pockets of those against said movement.
CBS had their pockets in mind when they announced earlier this week that they would be implementing a “Johnny Cam” when Alabama visits the Aggies this Saturday. The camera lens will act as a magnet to all things Manziel, aiming to catch whatever antics Manziel offers us, whether it’s on or off the field.
But while schools like Alabama and Texas A&M fill their stadium with more than 80,000 fans on a consistent basis, mid-majors like Long Beach State offer an arena that, on a good night, has just about 5,000 people in attendance.
This puts the majority of schools without a football team at a disadvantage and makes it difficult to foresee any type of student athlete getting paid in the near future. Paying student athletes of one sport would mean paying student athletes of all sports, and for a school like LBSU, that just isn’t an option.
One might think a lack of success is the reason for fiscal shortcomings, but the track record for LBSU is better than most mid-majors.
Since the 49er football team was shut down more 20 years ago, the school has won four national championships, one in men’s volleyball, two in women’s volleyball and another in women’s sand volleyball. The Dirtbags baseball team has made two trips to the College World Series, and the men’s basketball team made the NCAA Tournament five times. The women’s soccer team has gone four times, the crown jewel being an Elite Eight run in 2011.
In an ideal world, a portion of the profits from the black and gold athletics merchandise sold online or on campus would be split up equally among the teams. But because those sales pale in comparison to a school with an elite football program, the likelihood of that happening is just as likely as the Walter Pyramid changing colors overnight.
Without a football team, there certainly isn’t enough money to be shared equally among the student athletes. Unless LBSU ever gets a football team that can generate the revenue that comes from big-time TV contracts and significant tickets and merchandise sales, it will be unable to join this movement that “Johnny Football” has become the face of.