The End of College Football. Nathan Kalman-Lamb and Derek Silva.

 

The End of College Football. On the Human Cost of an All-American Game. Nathan Kalman-Lamb and Derek Silva.

The end of college football is not likely to come any time soon.  However, authors Nathan Kalman-Lamb and Derek Silva argue that the sport should come to an abrupt closure unless certain and several changes are made for the betterment of student-athletes.    There is no doubt the title of this book is a likely eye-catching and potentially engaging attraction for many college football fans, players and coaches around the world.   While the request is unlikely, the rational inside is an opportunity for growth in a sport that is changing rapidly in recent years. 

The book is only 205 pages long but is not best described as an easy read.    The authors, both Canadian born, American professors, use a heavy academic writing prose to convey their messages and firmly, if not boldly, assert their many findings.    The authors interviewed no fewer than twenty-five former college football players.    They project their thoughts and comments about the hard issues extensively throughout the six chapters and with an additional conclusion chapter, too. 

It is one thing for an author to be critical of a certain set of existing circumstances but not provide many solutions.   It is a great challenge when authors can be critical and declare change but also provide some suggestions with potential.    One of many ideas that caught our attention is the notion of lifetime scholarships being offered to college football players.    While this is not currently afforded to college athletes it is an idea that could become more common among the bigger universities.   Kalman-Lamb and Silva both advocate for this policy because their findings reveal that many college football players fail to complete graduation requirements during their time spent at the university.    In addition, many athletes, particularly college football players, are often denied the option to pursue the majors of their choice.    This last point leads to another argument for why college football should be ended according to the authors.

Later in the book the college football scene on campuses for the large power conference schools is labeled by the authors as an “Academic Plantation”.   The idea being that college football players, black student athletes in particular, are being “exploited” by the white powers that be in the programs.   In addition, the authors assert a wage theft exploitation by the white powers in place such as the coaches, administrators and other stakeholders benefiting from the players labor and toiling while not sharing the mass revenue with those that generate it.    While the book does address the new concept of Name Image and Likeness and the ability for players to now be paid for their services, the interviews with players that were eligible to earn such monies seem to suggest that this plan is not all that it is purported.  

Another key assertion found in The End of College Football pertains to the concepts of structural and status coercion.  Inside the book the notion of “players signing up for this” is criticized.   While it is a fact that prospective players may know some of the physical risks involved within this sport, they may not, however, understand the many constraints that are in place limiting athletes’ chances of flexibility, advancement or even time to recover from injuries or simply use more time to devote to studies.   Because powerful, often older, white coaches, at predominantly white institutions, hold such power at the schools and of the football program, players feel a need to not succumb to injuries, not miss practice, keep up with conditioning, not miss film study and give one hundred percent effort during each outing.    Many testimonies support this narrative with the result benefiting the program much more than the players.   

The narrative of the authors is very strong and pervasive throughout the book concerning their ideal of a poor system in place for most if not all players.   It is worth noting that the authors only interviewed a small sample size of players with some being newly out of school and others away from the programs for nearly a decade.     The players’ identities are not revealed either.    In addition, there is a feeling of one sidedness as the authors do NOT provide any input from coaches or administrators of the universities.  In addition, the authors realize that their long-term goal of ending college football is improbable.   They do, however, attempt to use the book as a literary platform, augmenting change for the better for those they feel are unfairly and unjustly exploited.  

Although this book is not breezy, it is worth the time and effort for those fans and other interested parties that want to learn more about players’ experiences and their struggles to get more out of the opportunities.    The narrative, however, is more a tolerance rather than an enjoyment and thus this opus is simply not for everybody.   This is likely best consumed for the football and collegiate sports scholars or the media to discuss on their talk shows or sports centers.      

 

• ·       You might like to read this book if you are a fan of college football.   
• ·       You might like to read this book if you are a fan of college sports.
• ·       You might like to read this book if you seek ideas for change to the collegiate sports model. 
• ·       You might like to read this book if you want to learn more about what a college football player experiences on a day-to-day basis.   

 

Learn more about the authors on X:   https://x.com/nkalamb & https://x.com/Derekcrim