Who Killed College Football?

Steven Godfrey and Ryan Nanni
  • 4.9 (160)
  • FOOTBALL
Who Killed College Football?

College football has undergone radical, sometimes alarming changes in recent years, and this show explores the motives, history, and power behind six different suspects who have reshaped an American sport right before our eyes. wkcfb.substack.com

  1. Bonus Episode: Government Q&A

    12/16/2024

    Bonus Episode: Government Q&A

    This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wkcfb.substack.com The epilogue may be out, but Steven and Ryan are not done reviewing questions submitted by the wise and learned paid subscribers to the Who Killed College Football Substack. A free preview of the episode is available to everyone, but if you’d like to unlock the full episode and be able to submit questions of your own for future mailbags, become a paid s…

    17 min

  2. 12/06/2024

    Epilogue: The Case File That Won't Stay Closed

    We’ve looked at six different parties who have shaped the direction of college football over the last fifty years (or longer): television, conferences, the NCAA, the NFL, coaches & agents, and the government. So now it’s time to ask a few tough questions. Are any of those six directly and solely responsible? Is college football actually dead or dying? And why won’t Nick Saban sit down to chat with Steven Godfrey?Producer: Michael HenahanResearcher: Alex McDaniel This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wkcfb.substack.com/subscribe

    38 min
  3. Suspect Number 6: The Government

    11/27/2024

    Suspect Number 6: The Government

    From Richard Nixon to the United States Senate to the Virginia Governor’s Office to the California Board of Regents to the Supreme Court of the United States, college football has been subject to grandstanding, criticism, and scrutiny at all levels of government. But can our nation’s elected institutions (or its courts) actually solve the sport’s problems, and do they even have the ability to do so? Producer: Michael HenahanResearcher: Alex McDaniel This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wkcfb.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 9m
  4. Bonus Episode: Coaches Q&A

    11/23/2024

    Bonus Episode: Coaches Q&A

    This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wkcfb.substack.com Steven and Ryan tackle questions from paid subscribers to the Who Killed College Football Substack community about Suspect Number Five: Coaches and Agents. A free preview of the episode is available to everyone, but if you’d like to unlock the full episode and be able to submit questions of your own for future suspects, become a paid subscriber today!

    10 min
  5. Suspect Number 5: Coaches & Agents

    11/15/2024

    Suspect Number 5: Coaches & Agents

    From its earliest days, college football has had a tense relationship with players and money. But it wasn’t until the market for coaches started exploding that the gulf between what coaches earn and what players cannot really started to look outlandish. Agents, of course, helped usher the age of absurdity in, by winning contract terms that gave their clients more and more, even if they weren’t successful. As their pay skyrocketed, coaches were mostly silent about structural issues popping up in the sport, and for good reason: the status quo was entirely too good to overturn. Producer: Michael HenahanResearcher: Alex McDaniel This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wkcfb.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 10m
  6. Bonus Episode: NFL Q&A

    11/13/2024

    Bonus Episode: NFL Q&A

    This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wkcfb.substack.com Steven and Ryan sit down once again to review questions from the paid subscriber community on Substack, this time about Suspect Number Four: The National Football League. A free preview of the episode is available to everyone, but if you’d like to unlock the full episode and be able to submit questions of your own for future suspects, become a paid subs…

    10 min
  7. Suspect Number 4: The NFL

    11/05/2024

    Suspect Number 4: The NFL

    Once upon a time, the NFL shaped its Draft policies (and date) around not angering college football. The power and popularity of The Shield have increased dramatically over the last four or five decades, but the league spent many of those years keeping underclassmen out as a default, and it took years of pressure from players like Barry Sanders, Cris Carter, and Herschel Walker to eventually open up a pro pathway for juniors. Why has the NFL shied away from taking on college football, and what has it meant to the college game to keep players trapped in one system for most of the sport’s history?Producer: Michael HenahanResearcher: Alex McDaniel This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wkcfb.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 10m
  8. Bonus Episode: NCAA Q&A

    10/29/2024

    Bonus Episode: NCAA Q&A

    This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wkcfb.substack.com As we do after every suspect is revealed and investigated, we turned it over to the paid members of the Who Killed College Football Substack community to interrogate us about the NCAA episode. Topics include why the Association and its members failed to plan for the future, the death penalty vs. just kicking a school out of the NCAA altogether, and what…

    7 min
See All (16)

4.9
out of 5
160 Ratings

About

College football has undergone radical, sometimes alarming changes in recent years, and this show explores the motives, history, and power behind six different suspects who have reshaped an American sport right before our eyes. wkcfb.substack.com

Information

You Might Also Like

To listen to explicit episodes, sign in.

Stay up to date with this show

Sign in or sign up to follow shows, save episodes, and get the latest updates.
Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada