Does the NCAA make a difference?

Here it is New Years Day. The climax of life's great pleasures, the annual football orgie. Wall to wall excess. The last and biggest of 35 bowl games named after everyone but your local chemical cockroach killing company. What was a tight little fraternity of 8 or nine bowls has fallen victim to the philosophy of "everybody" must get a trophy to feel good about themselves, or must get a bowl check and the extra month of practice to feel good about themselves. That's read have something to sell to recruits. These things are now named after everything from potato chips to cars.

Parallel to this is the circus that is Cam Newton and the Ohio State five. Newton's father (a preacher no less) supposedly shopped his son's services around for something like $150,000 to $180,000. Newton was let off the hook because it could not be proven that the player did not know what the father was doing. At Ohio State, Terrel Pryor and four other starters were suspended for selling team memorabilia to outsiders and pocketing the money. Total value of the money changing hands was about $2,000 to $2,500 per player. The suspension was for the first five games NEXT YEAR. Head Coach Jim Tressel said they could only play in the Sugar Bowl if they promised to return next year. What?????

Big time college football has gotten too big for the NCAA rule book. The enforcement division cannot keep up with number of violations if it wants to investigate each incident thoroughly. The only solution is to cut the ticky tack violations out of the rules and just punish "major" misconduct. This is the direction the conference consolidation is taking us.

Eventually, the BCS conferences will leave the NCAA and form their own umbrella organization. The BCS conferences are where the football money is and football money is power. Money means TV, TV means market size. With rare exceptions, the BCS conferences cover the top TV markets in the country. The ones they don't have are covered by mid-major football programs that are gradually migrating to BCS conferences. TCU to the Big East is a logical stretch but it still happened.

The new non NCAA umbrella will pay the players a stipend and that will be no problem given the TV money that flows to the major schools. What Oklahoma and Georgia opened up in 1982 (that right of schools to sign there own TV contracts) is at the core of this. That's where the "BIG Ten" network, the "SEC Network, et al, came from.

Until the conference re-alignment is done, and its isn't yet, we will have the above contradictions in the definition of a "player" in the NCAA. We will still have our post season orgy that climaxes today. But pause for a moment today and reflect on where we have come from. The Four Horsemen, Doc Blanchard, Roger Staubauch are fond memories of the baby boomer's childhoods or before. Things aren't that way any more. Pleased pass the Fiesta Bowl chips and call the shop and see if my bowl game muffler is installed yet. I have seen the enemy and he just converted third and long.

College Football, Not Enough Math Majors

The recent uproar about conference movement ended with anly a few itinerant programs making a mockery of conference titles.

The big Ten, which has had eleven teams for about 20 years, added Nebraska making it rightfully the Big Twelve. The Big 12 lost the aforementioned Huskers to the Big Ten plus one, making it rightfully the Big Twevle.

Who can blame the respective conference commishes getting lost and going to the wrong annual meetings. The Presidents too, and the athletic directors. OMG, what if Nebraska accidentally shows up at Columbus for a game against Baylor. And don't forget Colorado. They will be moving to the former PAC 10. Except Colorado will be the eleventh team.

The naming convention needs some work. Here we go.

The PAC 10 is easy. Throw out all the accuracy.

Call it the Big Whatever Dude. The Big Ten, which has had eleven teams for at least 15 years and now has twelve teams, with Notre Dame continuing to play the hot babe in the bar, now has twelve. They are the Big Twelve East. These guys need to sit down, break bread together , on their knees, go to confession together, and admit they lust after the Fighting Irish.

The Big Twelve, which lost two teams so far, is herein after called the Big Bogus Ten West, at least for now. Although the above sounds a little fun, there is a serious possibility hanging around. Money drives this re-alignment. Money means TV. TV means market size. Market size is a complication that bears remembering. SOme markets are occupied by lower division teams. SMU and TCU in Dallas Ft. Worth. UH in Houston. Utah and BYU in the area. Central Florida in Orlando and East Carolina in North Carolina. Markets the big boys would covet. Some existing teams in major conferences are in small markets. Baylor in Waco for one.

Fun's over guys. This piece started out having fun. It ends with a serious waring for sports fans. College football is still waiting on more change. If money is the root of all evil, then college football could become a den of good men versus the
lustful.