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Notes, Quotes and Slants
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College
Notebook No. 4
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
By Denny O'Brien |
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Extra game would fatten
coffers, open doors
©2005 Bonesville.net
More games equals more money. That's the thinking behind a proposal to lengthen the college football
schedule to 12 games in Division I-A and I-AA.
Both levels moved a step
closer last week when the NCAA Division I Management Council
recommended the
addition of an extra game beginning with the 2006 season. All that is
needed now is approval from the NCAA Board of Directors, which will discuss
the proposal at its April 28 meeting.
"I kind of worry to the last
minute whether or not it will actually pass," ECU Athletics Director Terry
Holland said. "I do think that every school needs that 12th game. We had it for a couple of
years and you sort of get used to it.
"That money is very valuable, not to
the football programs, but to the other sports."
Under current NCAA rules,
schools are allowed to play a 12th game during seasons in which there are 14
Saturdays between Labor Day weekend and the last Saturday in November. That
was the case in both 2002 and 2003, but it won't be a possibility again
until 2008.
However, that rule becomes
null and void if the new legislation is passed next week. Schools would be
allowed to play 12 games annually, though no one will be required to
schedule the additional game.
"I think most schools would
(schedule a 12th game)," said Holland, who also has served as the AD at
Virginia and Davidson, his alma mater. "The only reason you wouldn't want to do it is a chance of
injury, or just the thought of adding one more game to your schedule and
possibly tiring your team out.
"And maybe if you were
anticipating being in a conference playoff and a bowl game, you might say,
'Well, that makes the season too long.' If you are in that position, you
could afford to consider not doing it, but most people will want to do it."
Holland's previous league, the
Atlantic Coast Conference, is the only conference that opposes the idea,
citing concerns about academic performance for the student-athletes as the
reason for its objection. The ACC moves to 12 schools this fall, and
administrators from member schools don't like the idea of an additional game
on top of the championship it will stage.
But for everyone else, it is
simple. The opportunity to stage an additional home game is too appealing
to pass up.
"I can't see any reason why we
wouldn't take advantage of the possibility of playing an additional game,"
ECU Senior Associate Athletics Director Nick Floyd said. "With the
situation of Conference USA having eight conference games – four home and
four road games each year – it balances things out on a home schedule
standpoint.
"Hopefully two of those would
be home games, and two road games. So, you would have an additional home
game almost every year."
The new rule should factor
favorably for schools in leagues that do not have automatic bids to the Bowl
Championship Series. Since the inauguration of the BCS, those schools have
had trouble scheduling opponents from the power leagues.
That trend should change if
the rule is passed, with a school like East Carolina gaining more flexibility
with its non-conference schedule.
For example, there could be
seasons in which I-AA opponents are scheduled, guaranteeing an additional
home game. Another option would be a one-time road game against a
traditional power, a scenario that would draw a handsome paycheck and
possibly an additional television appearance.
And don't cross out the
possibility of more games against regional rivals, a strategy that Holland
has favored since his arrival at ECU.
"I hope it opens more doors,"
Holland said. "Everyone is trying to position themselves a little bit, but
it's only one more game. So, it's kind of hard to get anyone to commit to
it until it is actually there."
Not all the buzz about a 12th
game has been positive.
One concern that has been
voiced by playoff proponents is the possibility that an additional game
would decrease the likelihood of a future playoff in Division I-A. School
presidents have maintained their opposition to a playoff because they say
they don't
want to see the season extended longer than it already is.
Though an additional game
would seem to push the season out an extra week, Floyd says that isn't the
case.
"It actually does not extend
the season from a calendar standpoint," Floyd said. "These 12 games would
be fit into the natural football season as it exists today. Most teams have either one or
two open dates during the course of the season.
"The thought was to take
advantage of the number of Saturdays that already exist within the context
of the season."
And take advantage of another
payday.
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02/23/2007 01:59:48 AM |
