Billion Dollar Ball is full of amusing anecdotes and some surprising,
even scary, statistics. Author Gaul describes
the growth and excesses of college football in this non-fiction work based on
hundreds of interviews with athletic directors, university presidents, coaches,
and many more. For example, do you know the highest paid public employee in
many states? Yes, the head football coach at the state’s major college. Another
example is the number of season tickets newly available (40) in 2013 at the University
of Alabama vs. the list of fans (26,000) waiting for tickets.
Billion Dollar Ball will be of interest both as an entertaining and
informative read for Sophomore non-fiction assignments and as a supplement for
any Junior Theme students who are researching the money and media involved with
big time sports culture in America.
Seniors, too, will find it of interest as they contemplate their own college
choices, NCAA regulations and programs at Division I schools. Gaul is a Pulitzer
Prize winning author and clearly brings his expertise and investigative
reporting skills to Billion Dollar Ball, a fascinating tale.
