Last Friday, I wrote an article about how money has completely changed the landscape of college football. My message was simple: If you want to compete, then you better open up your wallet.
As much money as college football draws, it uses more than ever before. For decades, college football helped fund other sports such as swimming, tennis, and wrestling, and the rest.
However, things have changed. Now if you want to compete with the best, you have to pay the best. Building a great college football team isn’t cheap. Just ask Ohio State who reportedly spent over $20 million for the 2024 team. Over $20 million for a national championship football team?! While some may say that’s crazy, I say that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Mark my words, the cost of talented players will continue to climb, unless something changes. Of course, this is much easier to pull off when you are in a conference like the Big Ten or SEC due to the fact that they make more money than anyone else.
But what about the smaller schools? Unfortunately, we are finding out the answer to that question the hard way. Less than 24 hours after my article, Cleveland State University announced it will discontinue NCAA sport programs in softball, wrestling and women’s golf.
As crazy as it sounds, Cleveland State’s softball team actually won the Horizon League title last season and within eight months announced that this upcoming season will be the final year of softball.
Now I know what you may be thinking, what does Cleveland State shutting down certain programs have to do with the Big 12? Well, unfortunately the same thing may end up happening with schools larger than Cleveland State.
Related: Big 12 Basketball Power Rankings: Two Changes in the Top 3
Could Big 12 Schools Suffer?
Every school not in the Big Ten and SEC is trying to find as many revenue streams as possible. And lets be real here, the schools in the Big 12 don’t have money like an Ohio State or Alabama. Paying over $20 million to put together a football team is off the table.
Big 12 schools, as well as others, are going to try and save as much money as humanly possible and to keep the money-making sports like football and basketball thriving. But to do that some of the other sports may have to go away simply because they don’t bring in enough revenue.
I absolutely hate the thought of certain sports going away. Think of how many scholarships that would go away. Every sport that gets cut means that an opportunity is taken away from an athlete. Not every single athlete is going to be good enough to get a scholarship from a big-time school and if a smaller school doesn’t even play the sport they are in then where are they supposed to go?
Like it or not, what is happening at Cleveland State and other schools is the harsh reality of where college athletics is today. Until this current model of college athletics changes, I am afraid that we are going to see more of this in the coming years.
And who knows, maybe your school will be the next. Let’s hope not. Things need to change, and need to change fast.
