Urban Meyer's Predicament Exemplifies the Business of NCAA Athletics

Whether the headaches and chronic chest pains are anything more than products of the job we will never know, at least not until Urban Meyer exposes more personal details about his health, but suffice it to say that the University of Florida football coach isn’t the only one.

A day after Meyer announced to the nation that he would be stepping down as the head coach at Florida, the Gator legend rescinded his words and said only a leave of absence would be necessary.

Meyer checked into a hospital after the SEC Championship game against Alabama to be treated for “dehydration,” but nothing more than faulty smoke alarms and hysteria spurned from that. I think there’s more to it, but I’ll listen to the medical reports for now.

In a press conference Sunday, Meyer confirmed he will be coaching the Gators on New Year’s Day against the Cincinnati Bearcats in the Sugar Bowl (what, you thought there was even a remote chance Meyer would miss Tim Tebow’s last game?) and then taking a little break from his duties as the caretaker of one of America’s most prestigious college sport programs.

Despite his obvious desire to get away from football and the strenuous time constraints that come with the job, Meyer expects to still be the coach at Florida next fall.

“I do in my gut believe that will happen,” Meyer told the Associated Press. “To not try would not be the right thing to do.”

Not exactly.

Surrendering himself to the long hours it takes to build a national champion—and the enormous stress that comes with such expectations—would not be the right thing to do if his short or long-term health are in legitimate jeopardy.

Proceeding in a waffling manner and not giving athletic director Jeremy Foley a definitive answer as to whether or not he needs to search for a new head coach would not be the right thing to do.

However, stepping down to make sure that, at 45 years old, Meyer is healthy enough to live many more happy years with his wife and three children, would have been a perfectly honorable decision.

A man must take care of himself so he can take care of his family. They're called priorities. It’s called perspective. Nobody would have knocked Meyer for showing a little bit of both.

Sure, Florida’s swamp of relentlessly loyal fans would have been disappointed to see the man who brought them two national championships in five seasons walk away so early, but they would have understood.

Now, I’m sure they are giddy that Meyer intends to continue to coach. If he’s healthy, that’s great. You can only live a dream so long.

This decision may impact Gainesville more than any other town in America, but the story behind the madness does not. It hits them all.

Meyer is not the only coach to experience headaches, chest pains, dizziness, high stress, and any other symptoms that eat away at your soul and mind. 

That reality is a ubiquitous one for college athletics.

The all-encompassing role of head coach evolved in the early 1980s when major cable networks began to negotiate broadcasting contracts with universities independently.

Suddenly, head coaches had to, in theory, operate the largest revenue-generating vehicle at their universities in addition to merely coaching a winning team.

College football broadcasts began before World War II, but it wasn’t until 1950 when prominent football programs were able to formulate contracts with networks via NCAA supervision.

The University of Pennsylvania struck a deal with ABC for $150,000 to broadcast all home games while Notre Dame hooked on with the DuMont Television Network.

After the 1950 season, the NCAA forced Penn and Notre Dame out of their respective contracts over fear that broadcasts would discourage fans from attending games. Threats of antitrust hearings drove the NCAA to allow some sold out games to be broadcast the following season.

Over the next 30 years, the NCAA would alter its grand plan of restrictions to allow eight nationally televised games a season.

The Big Ten conference pressured the NCAA to allow regional telecasts, as well. By 1955, the NCAA agreed to allow regional telecasts during five handpicked weeks of the season.

This agreement was sufficient until the University of Oklahoma decided to challenge the NCAA.

Unhappy with the limited ability to broadcast, and market, its football program, Oklahoma sued the NCAA in 1981, accusing the institution of antitrust violations. The Sooners weren’t happy with simply being part of the NCAA’s ultimate cash cow.

If universities are supplying the product, why should a glorified cartel reap the majority of the benefits?

College football programs experienced newfound freedom when, in June, 1984, the Supreme Court declared the NCAA violated the Sherman Antitrust Act with its crooked television plan.

The NCAA v. Board of Regents of University of Oklahoma case officially allowed universities and conferences to negotiate their own contracts with broadcast networks, initiating a boom in the cable television industry while increasing the proximity of college football’s most glamorous brands.

Programs didn’t leap at the opportunity during the formative years, however. Most universities didn’t want to be the pioneers of the movement, so they continued to negotiate their broadcast contracts through the College Football Association (now defunct).

Programs began sprinting for the money after Notre Dame unconditionally shunned the CFA by signing an exclusive deal with NBC in ’91. A subsequent mass movement constructed the fundamental framework for what Division 1-A football has become, a $2 billion-per-year enterprise.

Whether Urban Meyer, or any other coach in the country, likes it or not, life isn’t hitting the rewind button. This is the age of new media and new technology, and all industries continue to be transcended by the decade.

Money talks, even when it comes to our universities and student-athletes.

Head coaches are at the mercy of their programs, cable networks, and boosters. When the SEC signs a $3 billion cable deal with CBS and ESPN, athletic directors demand winning athletic programs, especially football and men’s basketball (the moneymakers).

When some universities enjoy more than $100 million in revenue from their sports programs, you better be up for doing whatever it takes to recruit, market, coach, or wine-and-dine alumni. Whatever. Just find a way to put a winner on the field—personal lives and families be damned.

In the 2007-'08 academic year, Meyer’s football program generated approximately $66 million for UF. Florida, which enjoys its slice of the SEC cable cake, stands to make close to $90 million more over the next 10 years due to radio, television, and sponsorship deals with Sun Sports, IMG, Nike, and others.

As a result of the exorbitant revenues, Meyer is being compensated with a $4 million-per-year deal.

It’s a contract, mind you, that Meyer now says he will not walk away from. I personally believe there are some legitimate health concerns with Meyer because some condition had to be bad enough for him to come to his first decision, right?

To continue to coach is Meyer’s call, but this isn’t a personal cry for better health. This is simply part of what it means to head a major athletic program.

When cable deals expanded, along with other mediums of revenue for NCAA athletics, sacrifice came with it. There are hundreds of coaches across the country that are knowingly destructing their bodies and minds in exchange for this lifestyle.

You want the wealth and fame that comes with such positions? Then you must take the headaches, stress, high blood pressure, and gray hair that comes with them. It’s that brutally honest.

I sincerely hope Meyer isn’t putting the cash above the health of his heart. With the success he has earned, and the accrued wealth, struggling through 16-hour workdays and national recruiting binges isn’t worth it.

But if Meyer is still screaming at referees in the intense Florida heat come next September, he must know his health and family are riding in the back seat.

It’s a risk shared by many, not just Meyer.

Coaching college sports is big business, and greed trumps all. 

You can reach Teddy Mitrosilis at [e-mail].