How the Internet Will Lead to Death of College Football

College as we know it is about to change, and that is bad news for athletics programs.

In the next 10 to 20 years, big-name universities will undergo a transformation that will render the brick-and-mortar university a thing of the past. The force behind this change, of course, is the Internet.

Universities appear to be as unaware and unprepared for this revolution as the music, travel and newspaper industries were before being crippled by the Internet age. When it hits them, there will be drastic cuts, and in all likelihood, big-time universities will be forced to drop football.

Read about this coming revolution in my latest column for Covers.com.

Covers is second to none in coverage of industry news, statistics and advice. Be sure to check Covers' excellent matchups page for this week's games, featuring previews, trends and line moves.

Comments

[wheaton4prez]

Some interesting points. However, I think the prognosis assumed is probably too severe. There will always be value in having a place and face-time with professors. And there will always be a value in college football programs at a college to attract students.

Whatever problems are coming for universities, I doubt they touch football. Most football programs around the country are already supported substantially by state funding. If cost was going to kill college football, it would have happened a long time ago.

I see this development as a good thing (just as it also has been for news, music, etc. in my opinion). Our education is already over-priced. They can afford to slim down and innovate. All of this is made quite clear by the disparities between cost and test results compared to higher education in other developed nations.

[Dave]

With all due respect, your article is utter nonsense.

You are trying to extrapolate way to much into the future and are missing too many important facts.

For instance, how are you going to do chemistry, biology, or many engineering experiments/lab classes in an "on-line classroom".

College students not only want an education but an experience. For many folks it's one of the best times of their lives. They will pay more for the experience. Many want to live away from home. If I followed your logic, the travel industry should also collapse since everyone can now see the places they want on-line, why pay to go there. There are also networking opportunities in more than just the Ivy leagues.

Finally, football is a money maker for most major programs. Many universities are trying to squeeze money out of football programs when times are tough rather then cut them (see Penn State for an example).