AJC > Sports > Tech > Blog > Archives > 2008 > August > 27 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USWhat If You Ruled the NCAA?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
On the eve of the college football season, there isn’t a whole lot more to say about Georgia Tech. The offense and defense are going to be completely different than what we’re accustomed to and the incoming competition is less than thrilling. Most fans, like myself, are just looking forward to getting into the stadium and seeing some live football…we’re curious as much as we are excited.
While perusing the message boards earlier this evening someone asked a pretty good question.
If you ruled or owned the NCAA what would you change about college football.
Several improvements jumped out at me right away and still others took some thought. Below is a brief list of the first things I’d do.
1) There would be no polls or rankings until early October. This would do away with alot of the early season bias that puts surprise and potential Cinderella teams behind the curve and in the nearly impossible position of climbing into the true mix for the national title.
2) There would be no exclusive TV packages at the individual team or conference level. If you think NBC is sickening as a shill for Notre Dame football, just wait until ESPN starts pimping out the SEC in an effort to enhance their investment.
I say this in spite of the fact that I think the next ACC hoops / football deal will be huge and likely dwarf the ESPN / SEC joint venture. As big as SEC football is, ACC hoops will bring more games and larger viewership and advertisement dollars…in better TV markets.
3) Regular season schedules would be reduced to 10 games and would start in early / mid August. I’m sick of all the BCS schools padding their schedule up to 12 games with cupcakes and lower division teams. And I’d need a few more weeks to accomodate a playoff.
4) The BCS would be used to seed a 16 team playoff that would tie games in with the existing bowls. The additional play off games would be offset by reducing the regular season to 10 games. And the playoff games would be played in neutral “bowl” locations so that there wouldn’t be any perception of the top 16 teams getting richer from a longer schedule with more games. The playoff revenues would go into an bucket that would be shared amongst all the conferences proportionately.
5) Officiating crews would be mixed and not aligned with specific conferences. Officiating is horrendous lately and there are always allegations of favoritism from the refs. Creation of mixed crews from the various conferences would negate the perception of bias.
6) Pay the refs more and hold them to a higher status. The NCAA football season generates millions of dollars. Pay the refs well enough to ensure that you have highly skilled and reliable people making the decisions on game day.
7) Mandatory redshirts for all true freshmen. Graduation rates stink and make a mockery of the term “student athlete”. Allow true freshmen to focus on school as their priority while settling into campus life and determining which course of study they’d like to pursue.
What say you, fellow football fans?
If you could mandate the rules and laws of college football, what would you do?
Obligatory GT prediction: Jackets 38, Gamecocks 13
Comments
By The Big Bug
August 27, 2008 11:55 PM | Link to this
First of all, I would eliminate what I would guess to be half of the stupid rules that have turned the game into powder- puff football as well as making it almost impossible to officiate. ” judgement calls? Huh? I personally gave up football gambling because every game was determined by judgement calls.There are so many I don’t know where to start.
1) Plane of goal? There is no such thing. The ball is marked just as it is everywhere else on the field.
2) Roughing the passer? They might as well add playing to rough to every position.
3)Touching the Facemask? I rest my case. BTW I don’t see the need for one.
4) Fair catch? If you can’t catch it, let it go.
5) Pass Interference? Who thought up this BS? Knute Rockne? It has determined the outcome of more games than any other penalty.
6) Holding? Forget it. You could call it on any play.
I could go on on night.This is a game controlled wholly and totally at the whim of the officials.This is an issue that needs to be addressed.
By EnigmaticSquid
August 28, 2008 7:53 AM | Link to this
Hey Big Bug, Vince McMahon called and he wants the rules for the XFL back!
By Tech92
August 28, 2008 8:57 AM | Link to this
Is ESPN 360 all there is tonight. No radio? What is going on with all this new wave broadcasting crap. It sux!
By Regan
August 28, 2008 8:59 AM | Link to this
RHINO never saw a punt he couldn’t catch and run foward. Palming in basketball is on every play just like holding in football. The rules are the rules but to pick and choose when to call the infraction is just a joke.
By MB
August 28, 2008 9:06 AM | Link to this
Alabama would be allowed to receive the “death penalty” that they deserve on their next major infraction
By morgwreck243
August 28, 2008 9:24 AM | Link to this
To Tech92, yes the game will be on the radio. The only viewing options will be ESPN360 or at Bobby Dodd.
As for the changing rules. The playoff idea is good, but holding the games at the bowl sites is just stupid and impractical. Now hosting the Championship Game at a Bowl site would be fine. Possibly stretching that out to the semifinals would be alright, but I would recommend against it.
Point #2 The NCAA had that back in the 70s, but was defeated in a lawsuit brought up by Oklahoma and Georgia.
Point #7 I would also return to No Freshman Play Rule because when you go to college you are not going to the 13th grade. It’s more like the 16th/17th grade.
The way to accomplish this and many other things, like the mixing of officials, is to reorganize the power structure of the NCAA to something similar to the NFL. Basically the Conference Commissioners would have to give up their power to the NCAA. I don’t know that it would be better, but it would be simpler.
I would drop the schedule to 10 games and have each league set at 11 Schools. Then you play everyone in your league. The Top 16 go to the Playoffs and whatever the “market” could handle for Bowl Games would be filled by the rest (much like the NIT in basketball).
By Nice one
August 28, 2008 9:37 AM | Link to this
Nice one MB, haha. Yeah, the game only on the internet blows. I would implement a playoff system (as im sure dang hear EVERYONE would) and I think that mixing up the refs would be nice. I would allow preseason rankings, but they wouldn’t carry any weight (with a playoff system they wouldn’t matter anyways). It would also be nice to “encourage” each team to schedule one OOC game against a high level opponent (or just against the SEC honestly). I hate to say such good things about the SEC, but thats where college football is currently at.
By coz109
August 28, 2008 12:48 PM | Link to this
I don’t mind the “lower level” opponents so much. There is no pre-season in college ball and it gives the coaches the chance to evaluate certain players in a game situation. I don’t mind the TV deals so much, if the market wants to pay big bucks, sell it to’em! I agree the polls shouldn’t come out until at least probably the third conference game. You know alot more about teams at that point, and I think it’s more fair to the players, coaches, and fans. Playoff - YES, YES, AND DOUBLE YES.
By the BCS SUCKS!
August 28, 2008 1:22 PM | Link to this
Until all us college football fans JOIN TOGETHER and boycott going to …or watching on tv all the lame POINTLESS bowl games ….NOTHING WILL EVER CHANGE!!
By Great Idea
August 28, 2008 2:05 PM | Link to this
Hey, Boggs, I have an idea. What if, instead of ruling the NCAA, you wrote about GT football? Preparation for tonight? What can we expect to see? What are some good/bad signs (besides the obvious of TD=Good and fumble=Bad). How many different plays might we run? Hotstpots for tailgating? Freshman players and their thoughts on their first game? Amount of playing time for Nesbitt, Shaw, Booker?
Or, you could just write a piece on what if you and that fat turd Bill King got in a knife fight. Now that would be a good piece.
By HomeDawg
August 28, 2008 4:48 PM | Link to this
Damn, Great Idea: I agree with you on all counts. (On the last point, I think King wins.)
By sec down this year?
August 28, 2008 5:18 PM | Link to this
Since this has sort of turned into a funny….what if uGA had hired CG years ago? that would have been the funniest of all….ever!
By bama12titles
August 28, 2008 7:10 PM | Link to this
What would an Alabama fan do if he ruled the NCAA? I would start off by making the NCAA accountable. As Danny Sheridan, who sets the lines for USA TODAY and several Vegas casinos said “The NCAA is a corrupt organization that would not withstand congressional or public scrutiny.”
I would make a rule that the NCAA has to go by its own bylaws and obey its own regulations when investigating a program, something it didn’t do in its infractions case against Alabama. If an organization such as the NCAA doesn’t even follow its own rules than what good is it?
Secondly, I would not allow the NCAA to use rival coaches and someone to whom they are promising a job to use “secret testimony” against the rival program. Adding to this I would disallow the testimony of both “secret witnesses” when their testimony directly contradicts each other and when they both end up calling each other liars.
In this country we have a tradition of due process so I would also allowed the accused such as Alabama to know who their accusers are. This “secret testimony” shouldn’t have to be pryed from the NCAA by attorneys.
I would make a rule that if the NCAA investigator is proven in a court of law to have fabricated evidence against the program he is investigating that he should be thrown in jail. This isn’t a Stalinist country with Kangaroo courts where an investigator can just make up evidence as he sees fit to make his case.
Lastly, I would make punishments uniform across the board. No differing standards which could cause capricious and arbitrary sanctions against some programs and let other programs go scot free.
It would be at least a good start to clean up this highly politicized organization.
By Rowena
August 30, 2008 3:15 PM | Link to this
Excellent, excellent ideas. Why not start a petition and send it around to university presidents? I would sign.
By Paddy
September 3, 2008 2:24 PM | Link to this
By Bob
September 6, 2008 4:55 PM | Link to this
I would give the players a monthly stipend like I got with my ROTC scholarship. Not enough to make anyone buy a car, but enough to see a movie, go on a date, and grab a pizza off campus once in a while.