Crimson Red Sports

I was at a softball meeting tonight and found out that Bama has lost commitment Sydney Littlejohn to Louisiana Lafayette. Littlejohn is the pitcher from Texas that was supposed to fill Traina's place when Traina graduates. It seems more scholarship money was offered her by Louisiana Lafayette and Bama couldn't match it. The states that have a lottery can provide more scholarship money than those that don't. This was a big loss for the program. All I hear from the naysayers of the lotteries is that they don't really help education any, well I know better now.

Also, Denae Hayes suffered a broken nose from being hit by a softball in practice and will be limited at what she can do for awhile.

That is bad news. Littlejohn was highly recruited and I was looking forward to seeing her play for Alabama. The lottery money is a big issue in baseball and softball where you have limited scholarships and big rosters.

 :(

I can tell you first hand that the lottery helps, at least here in Florida. I have 3 daughters that went to college, 1 on a full ride(when she came to her senses and transferred from NYU), and 2 on 75%. I understand the implications of gambling to those who feel it is not right, I'm not an advocate of it, myself, but Alabama now has gambling in other forms that are more serious than the lottery. If the state can approve those, even though much of it is Native American owned, they should certainly entertain having a lottery.

Just my 2 cents.

I have been saying this for awhile. Softball and baseball and non revenue sports are hurt by not having lottery schollys. I'm in TN and it has definitely helped kids go to school. My wife sees it on the other end with dollars going into the classroom. She is a teacher. The state of Alabama needs to get with it.

I don't really understand how the state lottery impacts scholarships in this instance.  Everyone follows the same NCAA limit on how many scholarships they can provide.

I think the idea is that the player gets an athletic scholarship, but then they also get a lottery scholarship to go with it, like any other regular student has access to.  That gives the student more money for other stuff.  So the lottery states essentially get a stipend while states like Alabama do not.

You can get cost of tuition funded by Hope scholarships for in state players leaving more NCAA athlectic scholarships available.

Another big issue is that the lottery states will have a ton more walk ons because the kids can use their lottery scholarship to go to school.  Some of those walk ons will pan out and be contributors.

Softball can offer 12 scholarships and baseball 11.7. They each have over 20 players. They are mostly given out as 25% or 50% to make them go further. A lottery (Hope) scholarship is approximately worth a 50% athlectic scholarship.

Are these SEC limits, NCAA, or the university? I don't understand why we are so limited.


 ???

I have never understood why the voters are so stupid on the issue of the lottery. Mississippi has CASINOS for gosh sakes, which are much more dangerous to have due to influence from the Mafia. A lottery is impervious to that and is quite harmeless and don't tell Georgians the lottery does not work in education. They love it! I would like to hear from someone on this forum who is against the lottery. I would like to hear their specific reasons they are against it. Not looking to flame anyone, just would like to see why some folks are opposed. I think a lottery could pass the voters in our state if it is properly explained and especially with the need for more money in the state coffers.


 :popcorn2:

OK great question and thanks MD for asking it. I will not flame any one at all. I just believe in my heart as a Preacher of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that gambling is wrong for all, simply because the Roman Soldiers gambled for Christs' clothing. Now, with this said yes, I am against the lottery because of how people use it also whether they have food or not they would still gamble. Let me add to this that, the Bible teaches me that if man drafts a law then we are to follow that law to the best of our understanding. So, if man voted the lottery in, I would only say I will abide by the law because that is the right thing to do.
Now this may not make any sense to you or others, but it is the feeling that I have in my heart. This is what I have to live with and I hope this does explain why. If you have any questions on my reply please, please feel free to tell me or others. RTR!

I was against the lottery for a long time because my granny said it was bad and would tan my hide if she thought I was for it.  :lol:  The lady was a saint and I respected every word she ever uttered.

Then I started thinking for myself, and I was still against it because it seems to be an extra tax on poor folks.  The great majority of lottery ticket sales go to people who don't make a lot of money and think their only way out of poverty is to win the lottery.  So let's extort these poor folks so we will have more money to build bridges to nowhere.

Then I thought on it some more, and now I am probably for it.  Probably because I am still thinking.  I realized that the children of those same poor folks will be the primary beneficiary of that "tax" by getting opportunities to go to school that they would not have otherwise.

I don't like the idea of having a lottery and part of the money going into the general state budget.  I will probably never go for that.  But a lottery that was 100% for education seems like a good idea to me.

And when I say 100% education, I mean 100% education.  None of this back door nonsense of defunding the normal education budget and putting that money back into the general fund, then making up the difference with the lottery money.  Continue funding the education budget at the same levels as before, then add on the extra money from the lottery (not replace some of the existing money with lottery money so you can blow it on some pork project).

You live on the Georgia border, have you played the lottery?


 :wave:

I hear what you are saying Ricky.  I thought and prayed about the moral aspect of gambling for a long time myself.  The conclusion that I came to, and what ultimately made me go against my granny's thoughts on things like this, is that the disciples cast lots to find out who would replace Judas.  It seems like there were other times in the bible were folks did things like that to allow God to decide the outcome.

Also, a similar issue was whether or not we should allow alcohol sales in our town.  She voted against it every time it came on the ballot.  It never passed until she and others in her generation passed away.  Eventually, on that one I came to the conclusion that Jesus would not have turned water into wine as his first miracle if he thought drinking wine was a sin.

NCAA limits. See link below for scholarships available in each sport. Notice how men get less scholarships in sports that are both men & women like basketball, track, etc. It is all because of Title IX.

http://www.berecruited.com/resources/recruiting-assistance-from-qput-me-in-coachq/ncaa-scholarship-allotment

I am 100% for the lottery and always have been. I am also a Christain.

I am on my 2nd child in college and have been paying tuition at state schools for 6 years. Tuition has gone up every year. Books alone are $500 per semester. Professors are not allowed to get students handouts. They post on a secure website and students have to print it themself. I bet I spend a $50-$100 per semester for ink.

Your local public school systems in this state are hurting for money also. They have lost state and federal funds over the last few years. You may not know it but I bet if you have a child in school one or more of their teachers is spending his/her own money on supplies to teach your kids.

Like SC said I want the money to go 100% for education without any tricky math.

I would not mind seeing an 80/20 split on lottery money with 20% going to increase funding for more state troopers, state corrections officers, prisons, & our state department of forensic sciences. You are right, the law must be written so the state legislators can't use some sneaky under-handed method to fund their on pet projects or shift funds around.



 :clap:

Yes sir I did Before I got Saved and I also use to be the biggest card gambler in East Alabama and West Georgia. I was known in every bar, and liquor joint for playing cards. As, I stated now to ME, I found I was wrong and it convicted my heart. This is why I say, when comes to gambling I am ashamed but yes, I do know quite abit about it. My wife will testify to this also. RTR!

I guess I'm trying to look at the big picture and be pragmatic. I remember growing up and our Baptist preacher calling smoking, drinking, & dancing a sin. As a teenager this was seen as ludicrous since EVERY teenager I knew loved to listen to bands and dance to rock & roll. Now, you never hear the Baptist preacher talk about those things as being sinful since it was ludicrous and was turning the kids from the church. Now the message is, service to others, volunteerism, doing good deeds and following the Word of God, but not in an overreaching manner. We even play Christian rock at our church services instead of the old somewhat dray music of my past.

There has been too much hellfire and damnation and not enough about forgiveness, love, and devotion in the Baptist church in the past. There are well over 2000 members in my church and I can see the positive influence this new way of doing things is having on the young folks. My wife is Catholic and she loves it and finds the Catholic church stuck in a dreary & drab circle which it must break from.

I don't think playing the lottery is a major sin, if a sin at all. It goes to a good cause & adults should have a choice if they want to play it. I am against casinos because they harbor organized crime.

MD I have to agree with you when you say that things are not being preached as they should. The one Word that is missing in every church I know most times is: REPENTANCE. Then when you ask people if they read this in the Bible and they say Yea, but I don't know what it means. I don't try to preach drabness only honesty as to how I understand. My worry is choice is free, but how many people have Died and are burning in a place called Hell today because of free choice. Now as I also said, I don't agree with the lottery but my Bible says if man makes it a law then we have to follow that law as it comes from JESUS. I think your point on choice is so valid it is just that a lot of people don't understand what is at stake. JMHO. Thanks for the replies. RTR!

i have a hard time believing we can't do a 100% scholarship for an ace pitcher.

Does anybody on the team currently get a 100% scholarship?  With only 12 to spread around for 20 girls that is pretty tough to manage.  :dunno:

As important as it is to have a starting ace in softball, I would think that it would happen in that case.

There was a bit of good news at the meeting though, CPM spoke to us about the upcoming changes to the stadium. Marie Robbins, compliance, was in attendance as well, CPM is very careful as to what boosters do as far as SEC/NCAA rules are concerned. Marie gives a thunbs up or down on any of the ideas that are to help the team.

Bleacher seating will be added down the right field line to the foul pole. The record crowd for the stadium is 4002 and CPM wants that number to be much bigger. The Brickyard, for those that aren't familier with the stadium is the seating outside the fence in center and right field, will be getting concession and bathroom facilities there, this is much needed. There will also be an entrance gate built next to the scoreboard in centerfield for those that have to park at the big lot across the street from the Brickyard area.

Also, they are building a wall, inside the new workout facility, that will honor all of the All-Americans from the past as well as a media room for the players use. CPM told us that Bama was rated as the #1 school in academics. The players averaged over a 3.0 as a team which was tops in the nation.

Bama's schedule will come out on October 30th, and there will be some early challenges for the ladies. They will play a Fall Brawl on October 13, 20, and 27th. This will be a doubleheader each Sunday with a team that is available to play and it will not count as part of their season schedule. West Alaba, Stillman, and Georgia tech were first announced but Georgia Tech's coach is expecting a baby around that time and they had to cancel out. Another team, not yet known, will take their place.

 I'm anxious to see how Traina's arm is now and if Jury has improved in the off season. The Fall Brawl should give me some kind of an answer on that.

Thanks, Jamos.  That's excellent news about the stadium renovations.

I don't think so and I doubt that they do. Some of the girl's families are financially stable and money isn't a big issue so maybe the girls that aren't as well off financially might get a little more on their scholarship or get some help from grants. I'll ask CPM that the next time I have a chance, there were too many people around last night to have much of a private discussion.

I favor the lottery for the simple reason that adjoining states are doing it anyway, and they're taking Alabama money.  Why not allow for that money to be spent on Alabama children instead.

Thanks J.  I really appreciate all of the knowledge you share with those of us that are out of town and don't have that kind of access.

Can boosters donate money to fund scholarships for softball/baseball? I'm sure the NCAA is probably against such a simple thing.



 :dunno:

12 scholarships is the hard limit.  Funding them isn't the problem.

You're welcome. I enjoy sharing with everyone and understand the frustration of living a distance away.

What about outside functions to gather finances for players scholarships, is that possible or wrong? RTR!

We should be having another meeting in the near future and if Marie Robbins is there, I will get some answers for all of your questions.

You mean even if the boosters pay they are still limited to 12 scholarships or can't set up some type of academic scholarships for baseball/softball athletes leaving the baseball scholarships for other recruits.

 :popcorn2:

Man thanks so much Jamos. You guys are a blessing. RTR!