COLUMN: Are football coaches overpaid?
IN DEPTH:
Coach's salaries:
OU football coach Bob Stoops was paid $4.55 million in 2012. If you think that's a lot, consider the highest paid coach in the U.S., Alabama's coach Nick Saban. He was paid almost $5.317 million in 2012 alone, according to USA Today's database of college football coaches' salaries.
As a full-time student, I don’t have all the money in the world to spend on things. I have to be frugal with the little money I’ve earned from my past jobs so that it’ll last me throughout the school year. It’s not like I have the salary of a football coach.
College students have a lot of important things to pay for, but every student deserves to splurge on something fun every once in a while.
College football games fall into the fun category. All college students should have the opportunity of experiencing at least one game, but some students who are tight with money may not be able to afford them.
Student football tickets vary in price; sometimes they are around $25, while others are worth up to $75. The university puts a lot of attention toward encouraging Sooner pride but limits student access to sporting events that are a key part of the student experience.
If student ticket prices decreased, more students could afford to attend a game or two a season.
It is disappointing that prices are so high, especially when a portion of that ticket purchase contributes to the exorbitant yearly salary of the football coach.
The average salary for college football head coaches in America is $1.64 million.
If head coaches get paid millions of dollars per year, students should not have to pay as much for a football ticket. If OU can afford to pay Bob Stoops a rather large salary, the school clearly has the funds available to allow a decrease in ticket prices.
Some people are not football fans, and they probably could care less about the price of a ticket because they will never buy one.
But students who do not have season tickets, or those students who work one, two and sometimes even three jobs each semester just to make enough money to pay for tuition, food and other important necessities may be unable to afford a couple of football tickets. It’s not fair to them.
Since students keep the university running, they should be considered and student ticket prices should be lowered.
More times than not, OU football games are completely worth attending, even if just once. When you are in the stadium, the Sooner spirit is so powerful and captivating-- it is awesome to see so many people come to life and cheer throughout the game. Even if you are not a football fanatic, you should definitely try to experience an OU football game during your time at OU.
Football games are not the only games students should experience at OU of course. If students can save $5 on a football ticket, they can use that money elsewhere, like at a basketball game. The decrease in football ticket costs give students the additional opportunity to support more than just one sports team at OU while staying within budget.
Lowering ticket prices for students is not asking too much. If OU paid Stoops a smaller salary and put the available funds toward tickets, students could secure a greater opportunity to attend more football games thanks to affordable football tickets.
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