HOOVER, Ala. – William Blake wrote “the road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom” in 1793.
More than 200 years later, Blake’s words still ring true, and in addition to his place in history as a poet, add college sports prognosticator.
Here in this Birmingham suburb this week, 1,300 media members are gathered for Southeastern Conference football media days, an annual event that has expanded like a pop culture Chia Pet on steroids.
In May, SEC schools each received checks for more than $30 million as part of broadcast revenues and football bowl game payouts. This week, Michigan agreed to a 10-year deal with Nike worth almost $170 million for its athletes to wear the company’s merchandise.
College sports has become a business with tens of billions of dollars being passed around. Television contracts have become monster revenue streams for the monster programs of the power five conferences.