Red tide

Occasionally, the (harmful) algae grow very fast or "bloom" and accumulate into dense, visible patches near the surface of the water. "Red Tide" is a common name for such a phenomenon where certain phytoplankton species contain reddish pigments and "bloom" such that the water appears to be colored red. The term "red tide" is thus a misnomer because they are not associated with tides; they are usually not harmful; and those species that are harmful may never reach the densities required to discolor the water. Unfortunately, a small number of species produce potent neurotoxins that can be transfered through the food web where they affect and even kill the higher forms of life such as zooplankton, shellfish, fish, birds, marine mammals, and even humans that feed either directly or indirectly on them. -- Source: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution webpage

Nick Saban's $4 million-a-year contract to become Alabama's football coach is good news for other top coaches negotiating new contracts. But some college athletics administrators fear that Saban's windfall will trigger others, and that continuing increases in coaches' salaries may result in congressional scrutiny.

Saban will become the highest-paid coach in college football by a wide margin, according to a USA TODAY study of head coaches' contracts. This year's leader was Oklahoma's Bob Stoops, at $3.45 million, not including benefits or the value of other perks. Iowa's Kirk Ferentz will clear the $3 million threshold in 2007. Both coaches in Monday night's Bowl Championship Series title game have contract provisions that could soon result in renegotiations. Florida's Urban Meyer already is making more than $1.5 million and Ohio State's Jim Tressel more than $2 million.

"I'm concerned … about the finances and how it will affect the rest of us in the years to come," said LSU athletics director Skip Bertman. "Congress is already talking about 'What can we do?' And presidents are saying 'What can we do?' This will not just fuel the fire. This will set off all the alarms."

Question to college presidents—who is in charge here? Everyone seems eager to pay top dollar but then they beg for someone to save them from themselves. Reminds me of pro baseball owners.

And I love the “not including benefits of the value of other perks” clause. Speaking fees, lavish expense accounts, product endorsements/apparel deals, TV shows—it’s amazing how many different places the income can be delivered. While I think schools like Alabama are crazy for what they are doing (disclaimer—I went there), it’s their money to waste. The funds are coming out of their athletic department’s income. But for many other schools the salaries are paid from the general fund—tax dollars, in other words. The quickest way to screw it up for colleges and fans is to have Congress look at it. Any action Congress takes is sure to mess things up forever except for those that can take advantage of the loopholes sure to be available.

The economics of college sports is extremely interesting. For the top schools, college football is a license to print money. For most everyone else, it is a pride or vanity thing, hemorrhaging a school’s money at the expense of other programs. Be sure and check out the database of coaches’ salaries and other sources of income also provided by USA Today.