College football is one of America’s favorite games, and despite all of the chaos surrounding the sport in recent years, it still resonates with fans when fall comes around.
That doesn’t mean everything is great, though. College athletics, in general, is going through one of the rockiest times in history, and it’s affected everyone in the industry.
Unfortunately, football programs around the country are about to feel one of the heaviest burdens that we’ve seen come to the sport yet, as rosters are going to be cut down significantly. In years past, teams were allowed to have as many players on their roster as the wanted, as long as they remained below the scholarship limit of 85 players.
It’s not uncommon to have rosters of 130+ players, but now, that’s going to change. When the House vs. NCAA settlement is approved—a final hearing is scheduled for April 7—there will officially be a roster limit of 105 players. That means dozens of player across hundreds of rosters will see their dreams of playing college football come to an end later this month when roster trimming begins.
Recently, Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman spoke with media about this very issue, and one that clearly doesn’t sit well with the veteran ball coach.
“Off the field,” he said on Wednesday, “I still think the industry of college football is a disaster.”
“We have got to remove a lot of kids from the program, and it sucks,” Klieman said. “I’ll be honest with you, there are a lot of kids that want to be here and want to stay here that we can’t have in the program. They are kids that are paying their own way, kids that have put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into this place, kids that are invested academically.
“Now, those kids have got to make a choice. And it’s frustrating to me, because I don’t understand how the number came to be 105. Why don’t we kind of slowly bring it down? I don’t know who decided it.”
He wasn’t finished, either. Klieman went on to make sure it was very clear where he stands on the issue.
“I’m not in favor of this at all,” Klieman said. “We have got a lot of kids that want to be in the program that are not going to be able to be in the program.”
Some things have been tough to stomach over the last few years, but this one is truly taking away from the spirit of the sport. Walk-on stories and players that are using football to get an education has always been at the core of the game.
Now, as with everything else in modern times, those nuances are taking a back seat to the almighty dollar and television ratings.
It’s not right, and good on Klieman for saying what we’re all thinking.
