Copyright 2017 Spokane Spokesman-Review
Spokesman Review (Spokane, WA)
Friday: "Money, it's a gas. Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash. New car, caviar, four-star daydream. Think I'll buy me a football team."
Pink Floyd had it right oh so many years ago, even if the band was singing about soccer, not the football we know.
College football, and all college sports, revolve around money. No program can be successful without it.
That point has been highlighted in the pages of The Spokesman-Review the past week.
Jim Allen wrote about Eastern Washington's need for more money for its athletic programs. Correspondent Peter Harriman had a story on Idaho partnering with the local timber industry on its proposed arena and there was another on an innovative idea to improve concession sales. On Friday, Jacob Thorpe wrote about Washington State athletic director Bill Moos' evolving philosophy concerning financial issues.
Every college program around here needs to "grab that cash with both hands."
Heck, even Gonzaga, with all its success on the basketball scene the past few years, needs funds. It's what allows the little school from Spokane to compete with the big boys with resources backed by multimillion dollar football programs.
You think those trips to Europe to find the next great post player are free? Nope, they cost. As does every aspect of every sports program.
So where does the money come from? There is not one source. Even Oregon, with the seemingly unlimited Nike-branded wallet, has to mine multiple resources.
When you are one of the a smaller schools in your conference, like WSU, or isolated on the Palouse, like Idaho, or still climbing the ladder of success, like EWU, it's harder.
But it has to be done, and done well. Thinking outside the storage bin is imperative. So is maximizing connections. Without money, there is no way to maximize your fans' and players' four-star daydreams.
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