Readers say Day should use salary to pay his players or give to charity
Editor’s note: Unfortunately, we don’t have room in the print edition for all of the great reader feedback we’re getting. For more of the letters, go to Dispatch.com. Have more comments, questions? Reach out to me at bwhite1@dispatch.com.
On Ryan Day
To the editor: $13 million to keep college football players from deserting the roster? Why does this evolution in college sports make me sick to my stomach? If Ryan Day wants to keep his job, perhaps he could pay them directly out of his $9.5 million annual salary? But judging from the way youth have to make their way in this profit-driven world, a better investment of this money would be in helping them with their values and mental health. But, hey, lives only matter if you are winning.
Susan B. West, Athens
To Susan: I’m no math major, but if Day pays the $13 million a year needed to save his job, and he makes $9.5 million a year and doesn’t have some secret big trust fund, he’d still have a job but be deeply in debt. So then Day would need a huge raise, and the Mailbox column would be filled with even more letters about Day’s salary!
To the editor: Enough already about Ryan Day’s enormous salary, and let’s discuss the amount the coach gives to charity. We should challenge coach Day to give 10% of his salary to Ohio charities. Maybe coach Day can challenge fellow coaches Nick Saban and the jerk up north to be leaders in the 10% charitable club. That would truly set an example for all Ohio State fans and give us something meaningful to compare and contrast. Michael Oser, Columbus
To Michael: I stay away from telling people what to do with their money, but knowing a little about Day’s background and the efforts he has put into Nationwide Children’s Hospital, it wouldn’t surprise me if he indeed does give a hefty chunk of funds to charity. But a little coach-giving contest wouldn’t be unwelcome.
To the editor: Of course, Ryan Day would likely be an “average” coach in the SEC, just as he’d likely be average elsewhere in the Big Ten. At OSU he was blessed to be given an elite
program loaded with a roster of elite athletes. At most other Big Ten schools, he wouldn’t have the record he has with the Buckeyes. Similarly, put him at Tennessee or Kentucky or another average SEC school, his program would still be trailing Alabama, Georgia and LSU.
Tom Severns, Westerville
To Tom: I agree Day wouldn’t have the same record at Purdue as he has at Ohio State, but that doesn’t make him an average coach. He can be both an elite coach and someone who was handed a program loaded with superb players. If he ever figures out how to build a defense, it would be a perfect storm for Ohio State fans.
On Big Ten expansion
To Brian: I wonder when they’ll schedule a Big Ten conference championship game in the Rose Bowl now. For those of us who are no longer young, another game there between USC and Ohio State would be fun for old time’s sake, even if it would be a month early. Dennis Singleton, Dayton
To Dennis: There are all kinds of weird things happening with this move. For instance, one of our Ohio State football beat writers, Joey Kaufman, a USC grad, tweeted this on Friday: “Woke up as a Big Ten grad for the first time.” First he married a fine Indiana woman. Now this. Finally, Joey is a true Midwesterner.
On Ohio State and NIL
Dear Mr. White: Ah, yes, the law of unintended consequences, NIL division. While we are all too familiar with “One and done” in college basketball, we’ll now need to embrace “Two and through” in college football. Five-star recruit Eddie Edge Rusher – his sevenfigure
NIL haul safely ensconced in a Fidelity index fund – has decided, after two 10+ sack seasons, to forgo his third year of eligibility in order to “get ready for the combine.” Scribes quickly dubbed this The Nick Bosa Plan.
When 3-point sharpshooter Billy Buckets arrived at Tech it was assumed he’d be off to the NBA after a season of academics-lite college hoops. So, it comes as a surprise that Buckets is petitioning the NCAA for a fifth year of eligibility. Cushioned by a seven-figure NIL account at Schwab, Buckets has discovered he rather enjoys the perks of college life, and his obsession with learning about biomedical science caused him to miss one entire season. License plate on his brand new Rolls Royce: GO 2 CLAS.
And, finally, kudos to coach Day for putting a number on OSU’S NIL needs: $13 million. Is that a total or a balance due? And what about next season? Do we start all over from scratch?
Jon Armstrong, Columbus
To Jon: Yes, Day’s estimate of the $13 million needed is annual. And like most other “salaries,” I assume it would go up in time. Different world, right?
On THE Ohio State
To the editor: You all must really be hard up for original content if the Gainesville Sun is a source of humor. Between the AP, USA Today and all the other local far-left columnists, the paper just ain’t what it used to be.
Jon Lewis
To Jon: We have plenty of content to pick from to put in our limited space, but I think an occasional sample of what respected writers outside our Ohio bubble think of the local football team is interesting. This one was representative of what many think of OSU trademarking the word THE.