IMG

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I have to presume that some of this will go to IMG academy. 

http://variety.com/2017/biz/news/silver-lake-wme-img-1-1-billion-investment-1202513182/

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There are soccer ('futball") academies throughout Europe where it is an honor for a young athlete to be approached to join.  These academies represent the absolute best that a player can be at a certain age.  

But, there is no Texas football in Barcelona or Munich or Dortmund.  Nor Georgia, California nor a a private regionally based school like De La Salle or DeMatha or St. Thomas Aquinas.  Nor options to repeat a grade in a public school where 15,000 or more show up for games and winning on a Friday night might approach one of the great nights of one's life.

The European model does not work for American high school football.

Some, many of the local and regionally excellent schools also deeply resent having a privately funded boarding school attempt to raid their student athletes while seriously questioning if the experience being sold to them is even as good as what the student might be leaving?

I believe that those who are funding IMG are expecting returns on their investments and have implied time limits on when they expect to see this.  I also believe for the IMG model to work they have to be regarded unequivocally as the best.  #5 is not good enough.  Almost losing to Corona Centennial or a Virginia Beach school not nationally known, Bishop Sullivan, does not work either.

They should also be playing the absolute best-and they are not.  The absolute best do not want to fold into the corporate system and have the good business sense to not play them.  They'll play each other-but not a team attempting to recruit nationally.

I believe IMG has another year or two and the investors will direct their money into other sports, other directions.  IMG is trying basketball now-why not?  Oak Hill set the benchmark pretty high and demonstrated that this would work for high school basketball.  But football is another matter.

I believe at some point the money will dry up.

And somewhere in Texas or California or Georgia or Ohio 15,000 will still show up on a Friday night and scream their lungs out.  And, in Bradenton, Florida Manatee will have a resurgent program and once again challenge for the Florida state championship.

Down the way, tennis and soccer and other sports will be played at the professional academy, IMG.  But not football.