Tate Money has flooded world of college athletics

And it's no more obvious than in once-amateur college sports where the flood of TV and donor dollars has thoroughly consumed it. For decades, college athletes competed for scholarships. Overnight — just since the COVID-19 pandemic — we've seen more erratic and court-altered changes than in the previous 100 years.

Football and basketball have become undeniably professional, requiring head coaches of those sports to oversee the apportionment of multi-millions in "appropriate" amounts to their athletes. It's more important for coaches to be CEOs than play callers. The teams with the most ultra-rich contributors have jumped to the front, if they weren't there already.

Back in November 2024, the second-richest man in the world, Oracle's Larry Ellison, and his wife, Jolin, helped flip quarterback Bryce Underwood to Michigan with a four-year deal worth over $10 million. We are left to wonder how dozens and dozens of other more secretive salaries are negotiated. From perennial doormat to champion As fans, we accept awkward 18-team conferences, expanded playoffs and all the legal maneuvering with: "When the ball is tossed up or kicked off, it feels the same.

We're lost in support of our favorites. " That's where we are. And in a few years, when the Atlantic Coast Conference inevitably breaks up, the makeup of conferences will become more irrational than ever.