Gripping Inside Look at an Industry to Itself

If you have any interest in college football, you should read "The System," a spectacular and sobering look at College Football, as a Sport and a Huge Multi-Billion$ Business, that:

Explores each of more than a dozen hot and/or intriguing topics in college football;

By way of an illustrative story to humanize it, much like the Michael Lewis method;

Written by respected and gritty reporters who were granted a year of behind-scenes access and ability to interview coaches, ADs, athletes, academic administration, boosters, students, prosecutors, NCAA; and, who

Crafted an astounding collage of The System to give the reader both good and bad, so you can form your own opinions, conclusions and, if nothing else, see the sport in a different light.

I highly recommend it.

3 people found this helpful

Insightful But Uneven

The System is a book that makes it immediately clear that a significant amount of research was put into telling stories that illustrate the world around college football and how the world operates. Benedict and Keteyian use stories from the world of college football to give the reader an accurate picture of how football operates and how players, coaches, administration and just average students get caught up and used by the system in both negative and beneficial ways. These stories excellently outline the scandals that have engulfed schools like Tennessee and their brief employment of Lane Kiffin, and Mike Leach and the end of his illustrious tenure at Texas Tech, exploring the cause and reaction of figures in the football world and what aspects have come back to negatively affect those who had previously relied on them. The stories also do well to illustrate the culture of football, exploring how a school’s identity and pride can be caught up in the sport and how it can affect a school in negative ways such as paying a coach more than any other public employee in the state. Benedict and Keteyian do an excellent job of showing how these actions that should be strange are actually considered normal because of the culture around football in college. And perhaps most importantly, the authors do an excellent job of illustrating and describing how players get caught up and used by this system, and how it affects them.
That all being said, the book still has flaws, for although it is largely billed as an inside look at the glory but also the problems of college football, there are times in which this book tells stories about players and coaches and administrators that glamorize the system, leading to a strange conflict in which it will appear at one moment to be critiquing the system of college athletics, and the very next chapter it may seem to be praising college athletics and many of the aspects that have been previously described as negative. There will be times the book seems to criticize the spending on coaches or the attitude of coaches, only to turn around and celebrate such figures as Nick Saban, Bronco Mendenhall, and Leach. This shift in tone can lead to inconsistency on exactly what the aim for the book is and what the goal of the authors exactly was. Nonetheless, this is an interesting book that provides insights into how the system operates and how it can lead to both glory and notoriety, as well as infamy and disreputation. An excellent listen for all those interested in the nitty gritty of the sport, and in general a great work by these two authors.

2 people found this helpful

Excellent!

What did you like best about this story?

The authors went out of their way to put together a true look at college football; from tutors working with athletes, janitors, athletic directors, coaches, boosters, and the players themselves. I've been a lifelong football fan and so I am familiar with some of the scandals that are mentioned but they fill in the gaps left in the media coverage. The narrator does a wonderful job and the book never feels tedious. I find myself sometimes staying in my car longer so that I can finish a chapter before I go inside work or home. Not many audio books can get me to do that.

2 people found this helpful

The Men Behind the Curtain

This was an interesting story of the nature of college football today. Some of it was horrific (see sexual assault case at BYU) with some stories of redemption (see Kyle Van Noy story starts BYU). I don’t mind hearing the truth. I wish we had more facts in today’s world. This was a good read.

1 person found this helpful

Great Insight!!

I'm not completely done with the book, but since it has no reviews and I'm 75% through it in only 2 days and with each chapter standing on it's own, I think I can give a fair review. This book is great, For college football fans, all the characters, programs and games will be familiar, but the insight and the step by step, blow by blow behind the scenes reporting will have you engrossed. Each chapter stands on its own and generally follows a character giving you their perspective as it relates to college football. I particularly enjoyed the chapters on Mike Leach. The narration is overall solid, its doesn't add or take away. Each chapter is about 30-45 minutes.

1 person found this helpful

Really good book

Really good book. Definitely was sad to finish it but at the same time it makes watching NCAA football that much harder now.

Great read for the college football fan

As an avid college football fan, I loved this book. Yes there are some disturbing parts in the book such as sex scandals but the title is "Glory and Scandal" which should imply there will be disturbing content. The authors center most of the book around a handful of programs nationally, but have done a good job in gathering info from each. I enjoyed how they illustrate progression of Mike Leach to each program that he coaches and points out each of the issues he faces at each program. Very well done.

Excellent

If you are a college football fan, this book is for you. Good stories, the good, the bad and the ugly. I was especially interested in the Billl Moos section, as I am a huge Husker fan, it really shows you how quality administrators and coaches make a difference.

The System

I enjoyed listening to “The System” and how well narrated the book was overall. Jeff Benedict and Armen Keteyian give you an in-depth and inside look at college football and the high price and high stakes for success on and off the field. I look forward to a follow-up book as the money in collegiate athletics has grown exponentially since 2013.

A must for College Football fans

If you love college football, you have to read this book. So many perspectives are interwoven in this truly captivating read. Simply awesome!!!