The cost of attending the University of the Cumberlands is $24,884.00 per year. That cost breaks down to being for tuition, books and supplies, room and board, and various other fees.
That isn’t what Isaiah Fitzpatrick will be paying, if he’s paying anything, and we strongly believe he won’t be paying the first, thin dime. He’s just that flipping good at football. Kids of his ability tend to get to attend colleges with football programs on some other entity’s dime.
Consider this; over a four year period, one will pay (without aid) some $100,000.00 to get a four-year degree from the University of the Cumberlands. That isn’t chump change.
Most students have to apply for loans to absorb that cost. Those students graduate college with a house mortgage, or its functional equivalent, burdening them as they enter the workforce at entry level positions.
The Cumberlands is an affordable, quality option visa vie other schools. It costs some $31,546.00 per year to attend UK ($17,127.00 after aid on average), $40,800.00 for Georgetown College, $25,718.00 at Lindsey Wilson College, and $58,760.00 for Centre College.
Bottom line…it ain’t cheap. Forgive the informal use of “ain’t,” particularly in an article discussing some of Kentucky’s finer institutions of higher learning.
Believe it or not, there is a point we are trying to bring home. If the game of football affords you the opportunity to attend any degree conferring institution, which will likely change your life for the decided better, at either zero to little cost; then you have been richly rewarded for being dad-burn good at football. You are also among the very best in the commonwealth at your position if your ability rewards you on par with what we are herein describing.
That is why we get frustrated when kids, or parents, take the D-1 or bust, damn the cost, attitude in college football recruiting. We have seen kids turn down virtually full to full rides awaiting some “PWO” to a Division I school.
Why would a kid do that? We could see getting a heap of academic money and walking on at a D-1 level with the functional equivalent of a “full ride.” After all, the source of the funds comprising a University’s payment matters little so long as it isn’t the player’s parents, right?
However, why would one turn a check he’s getting (the cost of attending a smaller school funded for his service to the football program) into a check he’s writing? It’s bad business.
Well, Isaiah Fitzpatrick has ended his recruitment and we believe shrewdly. He has done it the right way. He has made a very smart choice.
KPGFootball has an agent of ours in the Anderson County area. Our agent has talked with Isaiah’s family. This guy has told us his understanding of the deal The University of the Cumberlands has offered the Fitzpatricks to gain Isaiah’s allegiance. It would have worked on us.
It was an impressive offer. We were blown away by it. We haven’t seen many offers at the NAIA level to equal it. That being said, it wouldn’t be appropriate for us to disclose it without the family’s consent, so we aren’t going to, at least not in this article.
Isaiah was in line for several D-1 PWO’s and he would have been afforded multiple opportunities to play at numerous prestigious D-1 schools with a PWO as his “offer.” However, Isaiah’s daddy didn’t raise a fool. Isaiah went with the money.
Fitzpatrick is a D-1 football talent. Given the appropriate time, he will prove that to one and all. The University of the Cumberlands is as fine of a proving ground as anywhere in Kentucky.
The Patriots have won seven (7) Mid-South Conference Titles, have made nine (9) NAIA Playoff Appearances, were the 2013 National Runner-Up. The Patriots have developed 33 All-American players. They play quite a bit of football around those parts, let me assure you.
Fitzpatrick can prove he was overlooked convincingly from the confines of Williamsburg, Kentucky. While he is showing all of us, he will be obtaining one of the commonwealth’s more impactful degrees. Unlike many, his family won’t be incurring the expense for it either.
Shouldn’t that be the goal? Getting out of college with an impactful degree the obtainment of which didn’t just dig you into a six-figure hole?
We think so. The Fitzpatricks appear to agree with us.
Good for them. They are smart people.
This is Coach HB Lyon, reporting for KPGFootball, and we’re JUST CALLING IT LIKE WE SEE IT!
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