Rob Long: Why College Athletes Leave
ESPN.com is reporting the four coaches in the men's NCAA Final Four have earned quite a hefty bonus each for their team's success.
Now, I think the coaches ought to be rewarded for their parts in going out to find the right players to fit their programs and motivating those young men to achieve one common goal. The problem comes when those young men who are being motivated have to go outside the lines to afford shoes and other "gear". Many of these young men have a difficult time affording to go out on a date. Yes, a date. That's what college kids do.
According to ESPN.com, [John] "Calipari already has earned an extra $50,000 for capturing the Southeastern Conference regular-season title, $100,000 each for making the regional semifinals and finals and $150,000 for beating Baylor and taking the [Kentucky] Wildcats back to the Final Four. Winning the basketball-mad school's eighth NCAA tournament title would net another $350,000." I personally don't believe there was any chance Anthony Davis was going to return for his sophomore year, but if he was considering coming back, this report would be the deal breaker for me. I'm gone.
With so much money being tossed around, and the fact that this is the information age and kids have access to the salaries, how can you expect this athletes to have loyalty towards a program? Coaches, like Calipari, will go out and replace the current roster and earn more bonus money. This, my friend, is why college athletes leave.
Rob Long
