Over the past decade college football has not only doubled in size, but its elite programs have become a $2.5-billion-a-year entertainment business, with lavishly paid coaches, lucrative television deals, and corporate sponsors eager to slap their logos on everything from scoreboards to footballs and uniforms.
Gilbert M. Gaul twice won the Pulitzer Prize and has been shortlisted for the Pulitzer four other times. For more than thirty-five years, he worked as an investigative journalist for The Washington Post, Philadelphia Inquirer and other newspapers. He has reported on non-profit organizations, the business of college sports, homeland security, the black market for prescription drugs and problems in the Medicare program. He was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University and a Ferris Fellow at Princeton University. The author of three previous books of investigative reporting, Gaul lives in New Jersey.
"College football is no longer just a game. Gilbert M. Gaul
contends precisely that in his persuasive new book . . . . A
penetrating examination of how the elite college football programs
have become 'giant entertainment businesses that happened to do a
little education on the side.'"
--Mark Kram Jr., The New York Times "Billion-Dollar Ball compels us
to see . . . a money-making spectacle that 'has challenged the
notion of universities as places of learning and reflection.' . . .
[Gaul] casts a sober eye on the economic landscape of college
football--the tax breaks, television deals and corporate
sponsorships that create staggering revenues for powerhouse
programs. . . . Gaul comes across like a bemused accountant trying
to make sense of these absurd numbers. But occasionally, he's more
of a modern-day Twain, visiting college campuses and asking all
sorts of people all sorts of questions."
--Ihsan Taylor, New York Times Book Review "A hard and challenging
book, but one that I hope college football diehards will join me in
reading. . . . When we cheer for our schools and our teams, we're
also supporting a powerful and autonomous entertainment business
that monetizes every aspect of the game, an operation that is not
only divorced from the mission of higher education but that often
undermines it. . . . The book skillfully chronicles and quantifies
the more mercenary aspects of the game that many fans have long
avoided."
--Carlos Lozada, The Washington Post "Outside the United States,
university is where you study. But for thousands of supersized
American males, it is where you go to run into other men of similar
proportions like particles in the Large Hadron Collider. . . . In
recent years critics have accused American universities, which
together earn $10 billion a year in athletic revenue, of exploiting
an unpaid labour force. Moreover, numerous players have filed
lawsuits demanding a piece of the pie. In Billion-Dollar Ball
Gilbert Gaul, a journalist, eschews these criticisms in favour of a
more fundamental angle of attack: that running such large
entertainment businesses is incompatible with the core task of
universities. . . . Mr. Gaul's decision to shift the focus from the
'narrative du jour' of harm to players to the huge resources
universities pour into football could conceivably provide a
valuable contrarian perspective."
--The Economist "Innocents might wonder why a book on US college
football--an amateur sport, they might think--belongs in a business
books section. Americans, however, know it is a very big business,
with a model, as Gilbert M Gaul explains in his meticulously
researched and wickedly well-written volume, which any corporate
mogul should learn and digest. . . . College football also reflects
contemporary US society; not only do the rich get richer and the
poor struggle to survive but the big football programmes are run
totally independently of the universities they represent. College
presidents joke about this but they have decided that a successful
football team enhances the school's brand. It is not unlike banks
being too big to fail."
--Jurek Martin, Financial Times "Just as the college football
season opens, investigative reporter Gilbert M. Gaul blows the
whistle with Billion-Dollar Ball. . . .Thanks to television
contracts, he says, football-power campuses are awash with cash, to
the detriment of lesser schools, where student fees pay for sports.
. . . Gaul notes that college athletics were originally designed to
enhance the college experience for students, not to swell the
coffers of big-power campuses. But as he tours big-power campuses
like Texas, Alabama and Oregon, he muses that the lure of big-money
has blindsided idealism."
--Harry Levins, St. Louis Post-Dispatch "Almost nobody is spared in
Gilbert M. Gaul's latest book, Billion-Dollar Ball. . . . [Gaul
examines] how the revenue the successful teams bring in keeps
growing--and how those dollars are spent: on ever-increasing
coaches' salaries, improved facilities (needed or not) and keeping
athletes eligible in various ways from tutors to walkers (people
paid to make sure the players go to class)."
--Roman Augustoviz, Minneapolis Star Tribune "[Billion-Dollar Ball]
details how elite gridiron programs have come to dominate the
institutions they represent, distorting higher education's supposed
balance between athletics and academics. . . . Noting that elite
football schools tend to tout their gridiron success more than
their academic offerings, Gaul says college presidents have
embraced big-time football as a branding mechanism and a lure for
alumni and prospective students. For most schools, though,
football's a losing financial proposition, absorbing millions of
dollars 'that might otherwise be used for building a new lab or
lowering tuition.' . . . And Gaul puts the eye-popping financial
figures he cites in thought-provoking perspective when he writes,
'It is impossible to exaggerate how football dependent many of the
largest, best-known universities have become.'"
--Alan Wallace, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review "The two-time Pulitzer
Prize-winning journalist turns his investigative eye on the
big-time business of college football, where he says elite schools
are monetizing the sport for record profits. Texas schools and the
Big 12 are well-represented throughout, and former Notre Dame and
Kansas coach Charlie Weis is singled out for being paid more than
$23 million by the two schools not to coach."
--Celeste Williams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram "A commercial
entertainment juggernaut has conquered academe, argues this
incisive, acerbic expose of Division I college football. . . .
Gaul's mix of shrewd financial analysis and colorful reportage
makes for an engrossing account of America's most sentimental yet
mercenary sports culture."
--Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Gaul follows the money
straight into the end zone, locker room, and alumni skybox. . .
Gaul's reporting is unassailable, but watch as his conclusions stir
up a furor in the sports press. You don't even have to hate
football to find this book valuable--and certainly worth
reading."
--Kirkus Reviews "With the depth and clarity that have defined his
distinguished investigative reporting career, Gilbert Gaul takes
readers on an enlightening if sobering tour of modern college
football. What does a 'walker' do for players at Kansas? Why does
Princeton have nearly twice as many varsity athletes as Texas?
Billion-Dollar Ball not only has the answers, it raises the right
questions."
--David Maraniss, author of When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of
Vince Lombardi "Billion-Dollar Ball is really a book about piracy.
Two time Pulitzer prize winner Gil Gaul exposes the schemes by
which a small group of honchos have hijacked universities and
diverted the profits of college sports which equal those of large
corporations, into their own pockets without answering to anyone.
It's a ground-breaking work of reporting that cries out for a
federal investigation."
--Sally Jenkins, Washington Post columnist and author of The Real
All Americans and The State of Jones "With an uncanny combination
of tenacious investigative reporting and effervescent prose,
Gilbert Gaul has written an urgently important and immensely
readable book. Even for a college football fan like me,
Billion-Dollar Ball raises painfully disquieting questions."
--Samuel G. Freedman, author of Breaking the Line and Letters to a
Young Journalist "This book is timely and important. Gil Gaul
paints a devastating picture of the transformation of what once at
least resembled a college sport into 'an elaborately rich
entertainment.' The forces that have driven this evolution cannot
be reversed by reforms from within. It is going to take some
combination of the courts and federal legislators to force real
change--and probably the dismemberment of the NCAA as we know it
today. Things probably have to get worse before they can get
better."
--William G. Bowen, President emeritus of Princeton University and
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
College football is no longer just a game. Gilbert M. Gaul contends
precisely that in his persuasive new book . . . . A penetrating
examination of how the elite college football programs have become
giant entertainment businesses that happened to do a little
education on the side.
"" ""Mark Kram Jr.", The New York Times"
"Billion-Dollar Ball"compels us to see . . . a moneymaking
spectacle that has challenged the notion of universities as places
of learning and reflection. . . . [Gaul]casts a sober eye on the
economic landscape of college football the tax breaks, television
deals and corporate sponsorships that create staggering revenues
for powerhouse programs. . . .Gaul comes across like a bemused
accountant trying to make sense of these absurd numbers. But
occasionally, he s more of a modern-day Twain, visiting college
campuses and asking all sorts of people all sorts of questions.
Ihsan Taylor, "New York Times Book Review"
Ahard and challenging book, but one that I hope college football
diehards will join me in reading. . . . When we cheer for our
schools and our teams, we re also supporting a powerful and
autonomous entertainment business that monetizes every aspect of
the game, an operation that is not only divorced from the mission
of higher education but that often undermines it. . . . The book
skillfully chronicles and quantifies the more mercenary aspects of
the game that many fans have long avoided.
Carlos Lozada, "The Washington Post"
Outside the United States, university is where you study. But for
thousands of supersized American males, it is where you go to run
into other men of similar proportions like particles in the Large
Hadron Collider. . . . In recent years critics have accused
American universities, which together earn $10 billion a year in
athletic revenue, of exploiting an unpaid labour force. Moreover,
numerous players have filed lawsuits demanding a piece of the pie.
In "Billion-Dollar Ball" Gilbert Gaul, a journalist, eschews these
criticisms in favour of a more fundamental angle of attack: that
running such large entertainment businesses is incompatible with
the core task of universities. . . . Mr. Gaul s decision to shift
the focus from the narrative du jour of harm to players to the huge
resources universities pour into football could conceivably provide
a valuable contrarian perspective.
" The Economist
" Innocents might wonder why a book on US college football an
amateur sport, they might think belongs in a business books
section. Americans, however, know it is a very big business, with a
model, as Gilbert M Gaul explains in his meticulously researched
and wickedly well-written volume, which any corporate mogul should
learn and digest. . . . College football also reflects contemporary
US society; not only do the rich get richer and the poor struggle
to survive but the big football programmes are run totally
independently of the universities they represent. College
presidents joke about this but they have decided that a successful
football team enhances the school s brand. It is not unlike banks
being too big to fail.
Jurek Martin, "Financial Times"
Just as the college football season opens, investigative reporter
Gilbert M. Gaul blows the whistle with "Billion-Dollar Ball. . .
."Thanks to television contracts, he says, football-power campuses
are awash with cash, to the detriment of lesser schools, where
student fees pay for sports. . . . Gaul notes that college
athletics were originally designed to enhance the college
experience for students, not to swell the coffers of big-power
campuses. But as he tours big-power campuses like Texas, Alabama
and Oregon, he muses that the lure of big-money has blindsided
idealism.
Harry Levins, "St. Louis Post-Dispatch"
Almost nobody is spared in Gilbert M. Gaul s latest book,
"Billion-Dollar Ball.""." . . [Gaul examines] how the revenue the
successful teams bring in keeps growing and how those dollars are
spent: on ever-increasing coaches salaries, improved facilities
(needed or not) and keeping athletes eligible in various ways from
tutors to walkers (people paid to make sure the players go to
class).
Roman Augustoviz, " Minneapolis Star Tribune"
["Billion-Dollar Ball"] details how elite gridiron programs have
come to dominate the institutions they represent, distorting higher
education's supposed balance between athletics and academics. . . .
Noting that elite football schools tend to tout their gridiron
success more than their academic offerings, Gaul says college
presidents have embraced big-time football as a branding mechanism
and a lure for alumni and prospective students. For most schools,
though, football's a losing financial proposition, absorbing
millions of dollars that might otherwise be used for building a new
lab or lowering tuition. . . . And Gaul puts the eye-popping
financial figures he cites in thought-provoking perspective when he
writes, It is impossible to exaggerate how football dependent many
of the largest, best-known universities have become.
Alan Wallace, "Pittsburgh Tribune-Review"
The two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist turns his
investigative eye on the big-time business of college football,
where he says elite schools are monetizing the sport for record
profits. Texas schools and the Big 12 are well-represented
throughout, and former Notre Dame and Kansas coach Charlie Weis is
singled out for being paid more than $23 million by the two schools
not to coach.
Celeste Williams, "Fort Worth Star-Telegram"
A commercial entertainment juggernaut has conquered academe, argues
this incisive, acerbic expose of Division I college football. . .
.Gaul's mix of shrewd financial analysis and colorful reportage
makes for an engrossing account of America's most sentimental yet
mercenary sports culture.
" Publishers Weekly" (starred review)
Gaul follows the money straight into the end zone, locker room, and
alumni skybox. . . Gaul's reporting is unassailable, but watch as
his conclusions stir up a furor in the sports press. You don't even
have to hate football to find this book valuable and certainly
worth reading.
" Kirkus Reviews"
With the depth and clarity that have defined his distinguished
investigative reporting career, Gilbert Gaul takes readers on an
enlightening if sobering tour of modern college football. What does
a walker do for players at Kansas? Why does Princeton have nearly
twice as many varsity athletes as Texas? "Billion-Dollar Ball" not
only has the answers, it raises the right questions.
David Maraniss, author of "When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of
Vince Lombardi"
"Billion-Dollar Ball" is really a book about piracy. Two time
Pulitzer prize winner Gil Gaul exposes the schemes by which a small
group of honchos have hijacked universities and diverted the
profits of college sports which equal those of large corporations,
into their own pockets without answering to anyone. It's a
ground-breaking work of reporting that cries out for a federal
investigation.
Sally Jenkins, "Washington Post" columnist and author of "The Real
All Americans "and "The State of Jones"
With an uncanny combination of tenacious investigative reporting
and effervescent prose, Gilbert Gaul has written an urgently
important and immensely readable book. Even for a college football
fan like me, "Billion-Dollar Ball" raises painfully disquieting
questions.
Samuel G. Freedman, author of "Breaking the Line" and "Letters to a
Young Journalist"
This book is timely and important. Gil Gaul paints a devastating
picture of the transformation of what once at least resembled a
college sport into an elaborately rich entertainment. The forces
that have driven this evolution cannot be reversed by reforms from
within. It is going to take some combination of the courts and
federal legislators to force real change and probably the
dismemberment of the NCAA as we know it today. Things probably have
to get worse before they can get better.
William G. Bowen, President emeritus of Princeton University and
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation"
"A commercial entertainment juggernaut has conquered academe,
argues this incisive, acerbic expose of Division I college football
. . . .Gaul's mix of shrewd financial analysis and colorful
reportage makes for an engrossing account of America's most
sentimental yet mercenary sports culture."
" Publishers Weekly" (starred review)
"Gaul follows the money straight into the end zone, locker room,
and alumni skybox. . . Gaul's reporting is unassailable, but watch
as his conclusions stir up a furor in the sports press. You don't
even have to hate football to find this book valuable and certainly
worth reading."
" Kirkus Reviews"
With the depth and clarity that have defined his distinguished
investigative reporting career, Gilbert Gaul takes readers on an
enlightening if sobering tour of modern college football. What does
a walker do for players at Kansas? Why does Princeton have nearly
twice as many varsity athletes as Texas? "Billion-Dollar Ball" not
only has the answers, it raises the right questions.
David Maraniss, author of "When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of
Vince Lombardi"
"Billion-Dollar Ball" is really a book about piracy. Two time
Pulitzer prize winner Gil Gaul exposes the schemes by which a small
group of honchos have hijacked universities and diverted the
profits of college sports which equal those of large corporations,
into their own pockets without answering to anyone. It's a
ground-breaking work of reporting that cries out for a federal
investigation.
Sally Jenkins, "Washington Post" columnist and author of "The Real
All Americans "and "The State of Jones"
With an uncanny combination of tenacious investigative reporting
and effervescent prose, Gilbert Gaul has written an urgently
important and immensely readable book. Even for a college football
fan like me, "Billion-Dollar Ball" raises painfully disquieting
questions.
Samuel G. Freedman, author of "Breaking the Line" and "Letters to a
Young Journalist"
This book is timely and important. Gil Gaul paints a devastating
picture of the transformation of what once at least resembled a
college sport into an elaborately rich entertainment. The forces
that have driven this evolution cannot be reversed by reforms from
within. It is going to take some combination of the courts and
federal legislators to force real change and probably the
dismemberment of the NCAA as we know it today. Things probably have
to get worse before they can get better.
William G. Bowen, President emeritus of Princeton University and
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation"
With the depth and clarity that have defined his distinguished
investigative reporting career, Gilbert Gaul takes readers on an
enlightening if sobering tour of modern college football. What does
a walker do for players at Kansas? Why does Princeton have nearly
twice as many varsity athletes as Texas? "Billion-Dollar Ball" not
only has the answers, it raises the right questions.
David Maraniss, author of "When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of
Vince Lombardi"
"Billion-Dollar Ball" is really a book about piracy. Two time
Pulitzer prize winner Gil Gaul exposes the schemes by which a small
group of honchos have hijacked universities and diverted the
profits of college sports which equal those of large corporations,
into their own pockets without answering to anyone. It's a
ground-breaking work of reporting that cries out for a federal
investigation.
Sally Jenkins, "Washington Post" columnist and author of "The Real
All Americans "and "The State of Jones"
With an uncanny combination of tenacious investigative reporting
and effervescent prose, Gilbert Gaul has written an urgently
important and immensely readable book. Even for a college football
fan like me, "Billion-Dollar Ball" raises painfully disquieting
questions.
Samuel G. Freedman, author of "Breaking the Line" and "Letters to a
Young Journalist"
This book is timely and important. Gil Gaul paints a devastating
picture of the transformation of what once at least resembled a
college sport into an elaborately rich entertainment. The forces
that have driven this evolution cannot be reversed by reforms from
within. It is going to take some combination of the courts and
federal legislators to force real change and probably the
dismemberment of the NCAA as we know it today. Things probably have
to get worse before they can get better.
William G. Bowen, President emeritus of Princeton University and
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation"
This book is timely and important. Gil Gaul paints a devastating
picture of the transformation of what once at least resembled a
college sport into an elaborately rich entertainment. The forces
that have driven this evolution cannot be reversed by reforms from
within. It is going to take some combination of the courts and
federal legislators to force real change and probably the
dismemberment of the NCAA as we know it today. Things probably have
to get worse before they can get better.
William G. Bowen, President emeritus of Princeton University and
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation"
"This book is timely and important. Gil Gaul paints a devastating
picture of the transformation of what once at least resembled a
college sport into 'an elaborately rich entertainment.' The forces
that have driven this evolution cannot be reversed by reforms from
within. It is going to take some combination of the courts and
federal legislators to force real change--and probably the
dismemberment of the NCAA as we know it today. Things probably have
to get worse before they can get better."
--William G. Bowen, President emeritus of Princeton University and
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
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