Really happy for the kid and hope he continues to grow. The cynical side of me wonders how many years he spent at Stanford that he could have been contributing to the Monarchs and/or the first team.
Wow! I thought some other rookie from some other MLS team (that is from LA, Seattle, NY or Atlanta) would win the honor.
The smart side of me tells me that he will do quite well when he finishes his started degree at Stanford. Nobody should go hungry with a degree from Stanford.
I guess that depends on what his degree is in from Stanford. I don't think there is big demand for graduates from the School of Underwater Basket Weaving.
Exactly. A young soccer athlete would be foolish to decline a Stanford scholarship unless they have a very high chance to make huge bank as a pro pretty quickly.
this is why, like @irondeepbicycle keeps bringing up, the club would be smart to partner with the U. No, it's not Stanford, but you'll get a degree from a highly respected university.
What would that kind of partnership look like? The team can provide scholarships and help the players get to lectures, sure, but I'm not sure I see what role the University would play.
I'm confused on your question here. Are you asking what the U gains in this? The "role" they play is a university to get these players a degree while they also are professional athletes. What does the U gain? Publicity/Advertisement come to mind.
I just don't see that as a partnership, I guess. Unless there's some expectation for the university to enroll the players outside of their normal acceptance process. Would there be any difference than when Will Johnson was taking classes at the U while a player here?
Several MLS teams have partnered with colleges that have a large online presence. I could go on a rant as to why the U and all Power 5 conferences should sponsor men’s soccer but that’s a rant for another day
I don't know what the enrollment trends are at U of U or in Utah. They may be on the rise. Nationwide, however, universities are competing for fewer and fewer students. Therefore, literal butts in seats who are paid for is good for the U, besides the fact that they can tout being "Education Partner with Real Salt Lake".
I sure that places could be found at those fine institutions if the candidates had the right credentials (read: money). UU/USU: "No, sorry, we are full right now." RSL" "Really? I was told that if a candidate had the right references by a certain Mr. Benjamin and his friends, you would be able to find a place." UU/USU: "Wait, what's that. Excuse me, I have a call on another line. Just a second........Well, this is your lucky day. We suddenly have found as many places as your Mr. Benjamin requires." RSL: "Thank you".
https://www.forbes.com/sites/chrissmith/2018/11/14/mls-most-valuable-teams-2018/ Spoiler alert: RSL not in #1 position.
At least it's not a slideshow. I wonder why SKC is a full $100 million more than RSL. If that's true, there's probably a lot of room for RSL to improve revenue.
According to Trey (who isn't with the club but still has an RSL avatar...) "Forbes value diminished due to market size, lack of media rights options, outlet undervaluation of relevance, infrastructure, etc."
Kind of shocking though how few teams actually make money. It looks like only 7 teams made any money, RSL being one of them.
Would that be because clubs are still in the team building process? It's rather interesting that RSL made money considering the infrastructure investments the team has made. Are the Academy and Training Center separate? Does it all come down to TV revenue? What percentage of the other sport ball team revenues based on the massive TV deals?