GP1

I would say it isn't as corrupt. In almost every way, it is worse. At least on Wall Street and in government contracts, the end producers get paid for their services and they are free to go elsewhere to work if they wish. Nobody is forced to work on Wall Street and nobody is forced into a government contract. If a high school player wants to play college sports, that person is forced into a contract by a monopoly called the NCAA. That person is forced into signing away their rights to make money off of what the NCAA is making off of them for the rest of their lives. Many of the athletes, and their families, signing the contracts have no understanding of contract law or the language used in the documents they are signing. Even if they had enough money to hired a lawyer to represent them, they would be unable to change the terms of the contract between the school and the player. Many of those people signing the NCAA contract are under the age of 18 so the NCAA is basically taking advantage of a child. If that isn't a form of corruption worse than what goes on in Wall Street and government contracts, I don't know what is. Given all of that, I don't think it is too much to ask to allow a young adult to have the ability to make a legal income while playing sports in college.

The last time I really got loaded on Yinzling was in State College, PA. It was the night before the Zips played PSU and it rained the day of the game. Between the rain and the hangover, I couldn't make it out of my hotel room to go to the game. I love noon starts, but that was one day I could have used a 3:30 start.

There is an old saying, "Sunlight is the best antiseptic." Bringing the money into the sunlight will kill a lot of the corruption. College football can then focus on....I don't know....this thing called "college football" and not who is taking money from drug dealing tat parlor owners. Remember, it isn't the money that causes the corruption, it's the secrets the money creates that causes the problems. I guess if the ability to pay players in legal jobs is make or break with my scenario, the Ivy League should become the #1 conference in the country. They have the most wealthy and influential alumni in the US.....unless it isn't all about the money.

Pickens has been trying to buy a championship for years at OSU. It hasn't worked yet. There is no evidence he can pull it off. Anytime Pickens has done anything, he has received something in return. In the case of building stadiums, he gets tax deductions. He might throw a little money around for jobs, etc., but I would bet not as much as you might think. He was all for saving the world with wind power, until he realized he couldn't make any money at it. He would be all for guys getting paid until he realized there was nothing in it for him.

This could take place but it I doubt it would be too widespread. I don't think there are that many people out there who would be able to give away that type of money. Would this scenario be any different than the kid taking the money under the table? Money under the table is worse because it becomes criminal activity. The guy with $20,000 to give away would probably be a smart businessman. My guess is he would want something for his 20K. Right now all he gets is a chance to sniff jock. Let's say he was a car dealer. The conversation might be, "I'll pay you 20K, but you are going to be at my dealership for three Saturdays in June, July and August signing autographs for four hours." Professional athletes can do this, actors can do this, any of us could do this if we could get the dealer to pay us. Why not the player? If you treat them like adults, they might just act like adults. Right now, they get treated like children and they act out like children.

This situation wouldn't take place if it was OK for a kid to have a job whenever he wanted to while in college. The current rules create the situation you just described. The ncaa has become like the IRS. The irs now has so many rules, we have all become criminals even though we may not realize it. The ncaa now has so many rules, a 19 year old can't follow them all. I heard the ncaa manual was something like 400 pages long. That's as crazy as tax code.

Seems to me the NCAA hypocrisy extends to this issue as well. What about the teams that suck? They don't get as much or anything. Good guys/teams make more than the bad guys/teams. The teams that suck should get the swag too.

High school kids shouldn't get paid by their schools to play football. College kids shouldn't be paid by their schools. If a high school kid can play football, keep up his grades and have a part time job while playing football, why can't a college kid do the same thing? I know a guy who played high school football, graduated first in his high school class and worked at nights to earn money because his parents were broke. What did he do after high school? He want to the Naval Academy, graduated fourth in his class while playing basketball, served on a nuclear submarine and now is a Vice President for a company that designs nuclear power plants. He is in charge of 50 designers. Why is having a job OK for a high school player and not a college player? It would seem to me that an adult would do a better job of managing his time than a child in high school, but the ADULT isn't allowed to behave like an ADULT.

Increase visibility? Yes. Let's hope in a good way. Exposure to recruits? Maybe. We get plenty of exposure for the recruits we look at. National respect? If we win, yes. If we lose...no, but we care more about the ooc games against high majors than the rest of the country does. It takes a boatload of winning for a mid major to get national respect. Increase opportunity for at-large bid? Maybe. We can't beat Miss St and then fall flat against the likes of Cleveland State. The Zips need to go on a huge ooc run next year. The talent is there, the coaching is there and the experience is there. They need to make it happen.

As long as you aren't one of the people making the calls, it is a great place to work. The real sad part is, 30 years ago people would have laughed at the idea of a telemarketing company being a top employer in NE Ohio. It's really a statement of what has happened to NE Ohio and less of a statement about InfoCision. I worked at Republic Steel in Massillon during the summers while in college. My job was in the accounting area and I calculated bonuses for "production" workers (and I am using that term in protest). Guys were making 100% bonuses every week for the amount of product coming off their machine. Trouble was...none of it was usable...all scrap. They ran the machines so fast that the small hot steel would run off the tracks. Before they could shut it down, it would pile up on the floor as "spaghetti". A good friend and fellow Zip also worked with me but in the plant. He had another full time b during the day and slept in the supervisors office at night while getting paid at Republic. The saying amongst Republic workers was "if you work at Republic...it is your own fault". Machines would be idle for days because workers on a machine could not make minor fixes and had to wait on the union maintenance department. I could site many other cases. Now...who was at fault?? The union for forcing those work rules or management for agreeing?? Who knows. But one thing for certain....where once thousand or so acres of manufacturing plant is now an empty grass field. THAT is your statement about NE Ohio. People are gravitating to more business friendly states like North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Florida. I have a business in Hayward California. Do you know it is against the law to smoke ANYWHERE in Hayward except in your own private residence?? Not in your back yard...not in your driveway...not in your car. In San Francisco you can't but soda pop in vending machines or buy cigarettes at Walgreens. They want to eliminate "Happy Meals" at McDonalds. Soon you will not be able to buy potato chips...or pay a hefty penalty tax. So...I am leaving California. I invested over 150K in Bali and will invest 150K more over the next 12 months. Do you think I am the only one taking their investments out of the country?? And I love the USofA. Joined the Navy after college. I have traveled to more than 40+ states. But the business here climate sucks. So you say they raised money for Republicans?? I say they did not do a good enough job!! And I am a Blue Dog Democrat :-( As long as it is a free society people will give money to scoundrels over the phone or online. Look how much money Obama raised during his campaign (online). Record amounts from little old ladies and many who could not afford it. NE Ohio?? A workforce that is productive and readily available. But....not business friendly. Few consider Ohio for big production investments. Be glad for those that stay or develop there. What does any of this have to do with InfoCision? You wrote: "The real sad part is, 30 years ago people would have laughed at the idea of a telemarketing company being a top employer in NE Ohio. It's really a statement of what has happened to NE Ohio" Understand?? No.

The company is much more than just web design. The web design is only part of what they do for customers.

My wife's company is and they are paying top dollar for those freaks.

This is very common at big time programs. Not really a scandal. Sounds like legalised prostitution to me. Maybe. Or, none of these girls are putting out. Or, when they do put out, it is not part of the gig they are being compensated. The hostesses at Auburn have been around since the 1970s. I guess if there was some prostitution going on, it would have seen the light by now. Many on this board are used to the mac where you couldn't get enough girls at any one school interested in doing something like this to have a hostess program. That isn't the case at bcs level schools. I worked with a lady once who did this at Florida. It is very common. She wasn't the type of lady who would have put out for money or the school. I'm sure it isn't too hard to find a skank outside of the hostess program to bang a recruit if you needed. Getting one of the hostesses to do it wouldn't be necessary.

As long as you aren't one of the people making the calls, it is a great place to work. The real sad part is, 30 years ago people would have laughed at the idea of a telemarketing company being a top employer in NE Ohio. It's really a statement of what has happened to NE Ohio and less of a statement about InfoCision. I worked at Republic Steel in Massillon during the summers while in college. My job was in the accounting area and I calculated bonuses for "production" workers (and I am using that term in protest). Guys were making 100% bonuses every week for the amount of product coming off their machine. Trouble was...none of it was usable...all scrap. They ran the machines so fast that the small hot steel would run off the tracks. Before they could shut it down, it would pile up on the floor as "spaghetti". A good friend and fellow Zip also worked with me but in the plant. He had another full time b during the day and slept in the supervisors office at night while getting paid at Republic. The saying amongst Republic workers was "if you work at Republic...it is your own fault". Machines would be idle for days because workers on a machine could not make minor fixes and had to wait on the union maintenance department. I could site many other cases. Now...who was at fault?? The union for forcing those work rules or management for agreeing?? Who knows. But one thing for certain....where once thousand or so acres of manufacturing plant is now an empty grass field. THAT is your statement about NE Ohio. People are gravitating to more business friendly states like North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Florida. I have a business in Hayward California. Do you know it is against the law to smoke ANYWHERE in Hayward except in your own private residence?? Not in your back yard...not in your driveway...not in your car. In San Francisco you can't but soda pop in vending machines or buy cigarettes at Walgreens. They want to eliminate "Happy Meals" at McDonalds. Soon you will not be able to buy potato chips...or pay a hefty penalty tax. So...I am leaving California. I invested over 150K in Bali and will invest 150K more over the next 12 months. Do you think I am the only one taking their investments out of the country?? And I love the USofA. Joined the Navy after college. I have traveled to more than 40+ states. But the business here climate sucks. So you say they raised money for Republicans?? I say they did not do a good enough job!! And I am a Blue Dog Democrat :-( As long as it is a free society people will give money to scoundrels over the phone or online. Look how much money Obama raised during his campaign (online). Record amounts from little old ladies and many who could not afford it. NE Ohio?? A workforce that is productive and readily available. But....not business friendly. Few consider Ohio for big production investments. Be glad for those that stay or develop there. What does any of this have to do with InfoCision?

I agree. Went to the Big East tournament one year for the early Friday session. After the first few rows, it is extremely dark in the seating area. Makes is like watching a game on television. Very strange sensation.

Today is one of my favorite days of the year as it is the longest day of the year. Enjoy it while it lasts.

This is very common at big time programs. Not really a scandal.

No wonder they are so bad. Their players play with their britches half way down. Makes it very difficult to run.

I like it. The ticket information is the most clear they have ever presented on the web site. I'd like to see their calendar of events more full for July and August. This calendar should be full of speaking engagements for KD, JKest and Coach I. As it stands now, they have zero events scheduled.

Why in the world is Dennis Rodman in Akron?

As long as you aren't one of the people making the calls, it is a great place to work. The real sad part is, 30 years ago people would have laughed at the idea of a telemarketing company being a top employer in NE Ohio. It's really a statement of what has happened to NE Ohio and less of a statement about InfoCision.

I never once said it was a modern day sweatshop. What I have always said is InfoCision is a company built off of scaring little old ladies into giving $25 at a time. The only reason I say that is because that's exactly what they did. Before they had respectable clients like Newt Gingrich and formerly Alan Keyes , they worked for any Evangelical conman from the 1980s who would allow them to fundraise for their wacky church or cause or whatever reason they were using to pocket money in the name of God. InfoCision was right in the middle of all of it. Later, many of those same Evangelical conmen became mainstays in the Republican Party (Pat Robertson, Ralph Reed, etc.) and they were able to use the same methods to raise money for the Republican Party. Gary Taylor is a brillianat businessman. He would bill these non-profits on the basis of a "completed call". He would also offer a "break even guarantee" which meant that the non-profit stood no risk of losing money on the program. However, the non-profit did not make a dime until the program broke even. InfoCision could repeatedly call clients for a period of time until the program did break even. Google "InfoCision break even guarantee" and you can see some of the law cases, it is all public record. If you look hard enough (ABJ reporters), you can find actual signed proposals from InfoCision to their clients in the internet. Basically, InfoCision raised money for itself in the name of these clients. It was a fantastic marketing concept for InfoCision. They were in control of everything from fulfillment letters, the PO Boxes they went to, the sweeping of those boxes and then sending the money to a local Akron bank, to the bank account the money went into. It was a great deal for the non-profits as well. InfoCision would develop lists for them that paid (oops) off down the road. All of the PO Boxes, accounts, etc. were agreed upon by the non-profit. InfoCision provided a great turn key service for them. While it is all disgusting on many levels, it was never illegal. The completed call billing was the real genius. InfoCision used this billing method to back the Brinks truck up to their doors and unload cash. Most companies were biling around $32 per hour, per sales agent in the early 1990s. InfoCision did not bill by the hour because they used a completed call method. What the client never knew was InfoCision knew exactly what they were billing per sales agent hour, but the non profit didn't. They had a goal of billing $60 per sales agent hour. They were operating at almost double the hourly billing rate of the rest of the industry. Their employees would fly around in private jets to go see these non-profits, but they were strictly informed never to tell the clients how they traveled. InfoCision made their money the way they made it. People have the right to cast their own moral judgements upon it. If anyone believes they made their money in an honorable way, then they are entitled to that opinion. On some level, they are correct. On other levels....well...ask that little old lady who is concerned about where she will end up after she dies. Think of that the next time you are watching a game in the Big Dialer in lieu of the Rubber Bowl.

Link

I've thought about posting what I'm about to post for a while. You post made a good segway for me. It isn't just the people who come and go who are the problem. There are lots of people in the Athletic Department who have seen many ADs over the years. I'm not sure that's good for the school. The Athletic Department needs change, and I don't just mean the AD. If you look at the highest levels of the Athletic Department, some of those names have been around for a long time. I'm not so sure that is good for the Department and I'm not sure that is good for those people as well. I would take the following steps if I was Dr. Proenza: 1. Fire the AD. This guy is in over his head. 2. Get some help hiring a new AD. He didn't do a very good job last time and he may need better advice. 3. Require new AD to start searches for positions at highest levels of the Athletic Department. This task can be accomplished with recruiters. Don't let new AD hire his friends. 4. Require existing employees in those positions to re-interview for their jobs and demonstrate they are rowing the boat in the same direction as Dr. Proenza and the new AD. Keep those who are...can those who aren't. Get rid of the rats. I'm sure within the University, there are those who know who the rats are and they should be released. 5. Change culture of Athletic Department by repeating steps 3 & 4 all the way down to kids in work study. A cultural change is badly needed and a culture involves more than just the guy at the top. One guy can't do it alone. EVERYONE needs to be rowing the boat in the same direction. Sharpen your axe Dr. Proenza...and hurry up about it. While you are at it, sharpen one for the new AD as well and tell him to use it liberally.

A different perspective.