State of California defies NCAA; enacts law legalizing pay-for-play

A new law is set to take effect in California in 2023 that will allow college athletes to sign endorsement contracts and earn big bucks, just like professional athletes do.

This sounds like a good idea if (like me) you believe that anyone with a God-given talent should be allowed to earn whatever the market will bear in exchange for their notoriety.

The new law won't let colleges pay athletes. It only prohibits schools for disqualifying them if they accept money or other things of value from others. So like with most other initiatives taken by impatient politicos trying to rush what will ultimately happen anyway, someone is going to get hurt.

Beware the law of unintended consequences: The National Collegiate Athletics Association sets all the rules for intercollegiate competition played under its banner. In one breath, it can prohibit institutions from competing in big money NCAA-sanctioned events. Like ... football bowl games. And the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.

Stanford, Southern Cal and UCLA will be allowed to have players on their teams who have signed large contracts. But...

These schools will likely find themselves expelled from the league. The schools will be excluded from the rich revenue pools generated by NCAA TV contracts and postseason play in football and basketball.

Schools in their conference or region could be prohibited from playing them, fracturing conferences and spoiling rivalries.

The schools' non-revenue sports like women's gymnastics, men's golf and androgynous wrestling will see their only sources of funding dry up. Athletes across the board will suffer.

Since membership in the NCAA is voluntary, there is nothing the school can do except form their own league and petition ESPN for time on television.

Good luck.

The NCAA has seen enough of the 'eligibility crisis' in high-profile sports. It has begun relaxing some rules and going more leniently on revoking eligibility of student athletes found to have accepted monetary or other benefits because of their fame or athletic ability. Sooner or later, the ability of college athletes to capitalize on their skills will come to pass.

By trying to rush this, California (and South Carolina; maybe others) will probably hurt the players they're trying to help and do greater harm to athletes in other sports, too.

Blowing up the system the Cali way will do far more harm than good.

NLRB ruling is a tempest in a teapot

By now, everyone has learned of the National Labor Relations Board regional director’s opinion that Northwestern University athletes are employees of the institution and therefore eligible to unionize, if they so desire.

The ensuing uproar and bandwidth consumed by the media coverage is much ado about nothing. Here’s why.

First, this was a ruling by a lower level administrative law judge, whose jurisdiction stops at the borders of his region. It has no effect whatsoever on schools in the Pacific Northwest, East Coast or Southeast. When Northwestern appeals to the entire NLRB in Washington, DC, then that board’s decision will have national consequences.

Even then, Northwestern or the would-be player’s union has the right of appeal to a US Federal District Judge, whose decision is certainly to be appealed to the Circuit Court of Appeals. That decision is then subject to review by the US Supreme Court.

We are looking at years of litigation, so don’t expect to see groundbreaking on union halls on college campuses anytime soon.

Second, the NLRB has jurisdiction over private organizations. Northwestern is a private school in Illinois. The ruling has absolutely no effect on public schools, regardless of their location. Northwestern and Notre Dame are in play. But Illinois is not. The Big 10 is not affected in any way, either.

Last and most importantly, the ruling has no effect on NCAA rules, either. If a player receives extra benefits not provided to the student body as a whole—consisting of anything of value—that player’s eligibility is revoked and the relationship between the institution and the player ends right there.

Summing it all up: We have a 20-page decision by a single administrative law judge that will be subject to years of litigation and appeals. It affects the small percentage of private schools in college athletics and regardless of the eventual outcome of this process, it will have no effect on the overarching governance of the NCAA rulebook.

I don’t see what all the ruckus is about, do you?

Quotables: Commentary on Mal Moore from around the web

Moore’s legacy “will be somewhat (tied to Saban), but there’s so much more than that,” Espy said. “We were going through a down time and (Moore) was able to go out and raise millions of dollars to improve the facilities. Those facilities probably had a lot to do with us being able to land coaches like Saban and (men’s basketball coach Anthony) Grant. He supported Sarah Patterson and the gymnastics program and look what it became. He raised up the entire athletic department and deserves a lot of credit for the success that’s taking place now. I think we won four national championships last year, another football championship this year.”

* * *

Moore deserves praise for the recent run of football championships, for the three women's NCAA titles that UA programs won in the spring of 2012. He deserves respect for being a gentleman, a classy representative of Alabama, a calm but strong voice in the Southeastern Conference. Moore's tenure wasn't perfect - no AD has a perfect tenure, because no athletic department wins all of the championships in all of the sports all of the time - but he leaves Alabama a stronger program than the one he inherited. There will be an outpouring of honors and accolades forthcoming that recognizes that progress, an outpouring that has already started. Anyone can see why respect is merited.

* * *

"Mal Moore has left an indelible mark on the University of Alabama," Arkansas AD Jeff Long said, "much like Frank Broyles has done here. The Crimson Tide athletic program has achieved tremendous success under Mal's leadership."

* * *

The crowning achievement of Moore's tenure might just be the hiring of Saban, who has led Alabama to three national championships over the past four years, but Saban was quick to deflect that place of prominence on Moore's highlight-filled timeline.

"I think most things that you would stand here and look around here and see, he’s had some hand in making all the athletic facilities what they are, I think first class in so many ways," Saban said. "More than that he’s a class gentleman, probably as fine as you’ll ever meet, and he’s certainly been a good friend, and his support has certainly been appreciated."

* * *

Moore serves as the strongest sinew connecting Alabama football today with the Bear Bryant Era. For 46 of the past 55 years, Moore has served as a student-athlete, assistant coach or administrator at Alabama.

Think of it -- Moore has won 10 national championship rings as a player (1961), assistant coach (1964, '65, '73, '78, '79 ,'92) and boss (2009, '11, '12). That takes care of his fingers. When Moore recovers from his lung ailment and begins his tenure as special assistant to the university president, Dr. Judy Bonner, he can begin on his toes.

* * *

He doesn't have too much Bama in him. He has just the right amount, and he never felt the need to draw attention to the mutual respect and affection shared by the man and his school. You spend part of six decades of your life at a place, from the start of your journey to adulthood into the later years of your career, that place becomes more than your alma mater and your employer.

It becomes your family. Your home.

* * *

He led a building boom during a recession, twice expanding Bryant-Denny Stadium and transforming the 74-year-old facility into a 101,821-seat palace, one of the jewels of college football.

In the Mal M. Moore Athletic Facility, a building that was renamed in his honor on March 28, 2007, he worked in a corner office that overlooks the football practice facilities and the newest addition to the kingdom: a $9 million, 37,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art weight room that opened in February.

"He'll leave a legacy of accomplishment on the facilities, in getting the university through some difficult times," Steve Townsend, a former associate athletic director, said in a 2009 interview.

* * *

Without Moore’s dogged support of all things Saban and the program (have you seen the new football facilities?), the Tide isn’t nearly as successful. There’s a reason Saban hasn’t looked back at the NFL since arriving in Tuscaloosa.

Everything he wants is in the college game. And he can thank Moore.

Now the university can thank Moore, too – with a bronze statue in the Walk of Champions. For a true champion of Alabama athletics.

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Group seeks to grant NCAA the power to regulate coaches’ salaries and other costs of college sports

The Coalition on Intercollegiate Athletics, an alliance of faculty senates from Football Bowl Subdivision  schools, has called for action that would grant the NCAA broad powers to “restrain the market forces” driving the rapid growth in the business of college sports.

The group met in January and earlier this week, released a set of five “policy recommendations” aimed at reining in what they essentially see as a breakaway invasion of their turf.

The most controversial recommendation—granting the NCAA the same type of exemption from antitrust litigation enjoyed by labor unions and professional sports.

From the Associated Press:

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"Without modification of antitrust constraints, there is no mechanism to restrain the market forces driving rapid commercial expansion," the steering committee wrote.

Its four other recommendations were:

—To support the so-called "collegiate model" of sports and try to lessen the commercialism that has led to calls that athletes should be paid to play.

—To advocate for policies that will keep big football conferences inside the NCAA, which would allow for some oversight that would be missing if they splintered away.

—To increase efforts to respond to the "reputational risks" that the market-driven model of sports pose to U.S. higher education. This issue came to light, unflinchingly, in the child sex abuse scandal at Penn State, which had its reputation sullied because of problems originating in the football program.

—To continue cooperating with the NCAA in trying to bring about changes, while remaining vigilant about NCAA efforts that place college sports over the academic missions of the schools themselves.

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Restraining free markets, lessening commercial influences, restricting the abilities of football schools to operate their programs in their own best interests and essentially conducting a propaganda campaign against “big football” should sound familiar.

Why, these are all wonderful reasons for Congress to act and grant the NCAA bureaucrats virtual autonomy in regulating the business of college sports, aren’t they? Show me one instance of institutionally imposed wage and price controls that has not resulted in complete failure.

Such action would result in:

• Coaching salary caps
• Recruiting budget caps
• Restrictions on the fundraising abilities of athletic departments
• Restrictions on the abilities of colleges and universities to protect trademarks
• Regulations on facilities expenditure
• Reallocation of resources from “haves” to “have nots”
• Restrictions on market-driven conference realignments
• Restrictions on the ability of universities to leave the NCAA and form their own organization
• The end of college sports as we’ve known it for the last two generations

The chief threat of the COIA proposal is the invitation of Congress to act as the architects of a completely new system of regulating college sports. Fortunately, every time this notion floats to the surface, it is blasted out of the water by the college presidents who, despite their roles as administrators of higher education, understand economic reality. COIA may understand it well, but never let good business sense get in the way of ideologically driven agendas:

"While the NCAA is demonstrating significant ability to regulate in the interests of higher education in the area of academic reform, it is prevented by antitrust laws from doing so in the area of economic regulation, and it has been amply demonstrated that schools are not able to do so themselves."

Member schools are the NCAA. Indianapolis has only the powers granted by the member schools. Whether you believe the current college sports model is sustainable or not, this system of governance must be maintained. The membership will determine how much regulation of college sports is enough. The membership will determine how much more or less regulatory power will be granted to the governing body, and any member school that is dissatisfied with the degree of regulation is free to disassociate with that body and form its own system of governance and regulation.

It’s not perfect, but freedom of association and and free enterprise are the best systems in the world. Nothing good has ever come from regulating either.

Note: Ten of the 14 current and future Southeastern Conference schools have faculty senates that are members of the COIA. They are Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Georgia, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee and Vanderbilt.

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Fuzzy Math: What’s wrong with this USAToday headline?

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The screen shot clip above comes from a story in USA Today, which you can read in full right here. If you don’t read this carefully, you’ll come away with the impression that bowl games just aren’t as big of a draw as they used to be. After all, per-game average bowl attendance might fall to its lowest level since legendary Alabama football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant prowled and growled on the sidelines of the Superdome during the 1979 Sugar Bowl, en route to claiming Alabama’s 10th National Championship.

You might think people are losing interest in bowls and just don’t care to make the holiday trips to see their teams in the annual post-season tradition that is such a part of the sport. You might think the 99% are rising up in righteous revolt against the BCS and occupying couch seats instead of stadium seats. You might think that the BCS anarchists are finally making headway and the revolution is at hand!

You’d be wrong, and you’d be falling victim to the BCS anarchists’ evil plot to topple the BCS and impose chaos on college football’s postseason. Ok, I exaggerate (a little) to make a point. The point is that when you’re pursuing an agenda, using a little trickeration with the arithmetic is ok, as long as nobody catches you.

Opening paragraph:

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Tuesday night's Sugar Bowl was the 30th of this season's 35 games, each of which also was played last season. The total attendance for those games is more than 2.5% lower this season than it was last season. If this trend holds for the remaining five games, the average bowl attendance for the season would fall to 50,542. That would be the lowest since 1978-79, when the number of games expanded to 15 from 13 and the average was 48,404.

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See the sleight of hand? Total bowl attendance is down year-over-year from 2010-11 to 2011-12. But average bowl attendance is at its lowest level in three decades because… Well, because people don’t care about bowls anymore, right?

In the 1978-79 bowl season, there were 15 bowl games with an average attendance of 48,404.

15 x 48,404 = 726,060

In the 2011-12 bowl season, there have been 35 bowl games with an average attendance of 50,452.

35 x 50,452 = 1,765,820

There are only two groups of people who think you’re so bad at math, you’ll buy the line that bowl attendance is the worst it’s been in decades: Democrats in Congress and BCS Anarchists in the media.

Exit question: Which group does Tim Brando belong to?

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More GREAT NEWS from Congress: The Collegiate Sports Caucus

One member of the US House of Representatives rarely has enough pull to get anything done. If he can find a few like-minded representatives from other parts of the country and perhaps the opposing party, he might make enough noise to get legislation altered or get favors in exchange for their votes. Get enough like minded people together and form a congressional caucus, and you can start making things happen.

US Representatives Steve Cohen of Tennessee and Joe Barton of Texas have formed the Collegiate Sports Caucus on Capitol Hill, in an effort to make a playoff happen. News of the reintroduction of the College Football Playoff Act came yesterday.

But there was more to that news story than the simple introduction of a bill that seems headed for nowhere. These knuckleheads are forming a caucus. I’m sure Utah Senator Orrin Hatch approves.

From Politico:

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Members of Congress don’t win office by being ranked the top candidates by pollsters and computers, so why should the NCAA’s Division I football title be decided that way?
That’s the message Reps. Joe Barton (R-Texas) and Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) had for big-time college football on Thursday as they announced the formation of the Congressional Collegiate Sports Caucus, which they’ll chair together. And the caucus's first action is to introduce a bill calling for a playoff system in college football, similar to a 2008 Barton bill.

The two lawmakers are noted college football fans – Barton cheering for Texas A&M and Cohen an Alabama backer, showing his commitment to a playoff considering the Crimson Tide is taking on Louisiana State in the 2012 title game.

…

Asked the expected question of why Congress would want to tinker with sports while there were so many pressing fiscal issues, Barton said it’s a matter of interstate commerce, with millions of dollars changing hands every year in a bowl system he believes is broken. And Cohen said he doesn’t understand why football is allowed to have an entirely different title system than every other collegiate sport.

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The “interstate commerce” clause in the US Constitution has been used by Congress throughout history to screw America through burdensome regulations that hamper free enterprise and restrict personal liberty. Now, a Republican and a Democrat (who also happens to be a Bama fan) want to use that clause to screw up college football.

Like most sane college football fans, I want a playoff to decide the national championship. But like most sane Americans, I also recognize that a federally mandated playoff would represent the single biggest cluster fuck since Roy Kramer invented the BCS.

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The Coaching Carousel’s Crazy Spin

We call this the College Football Silly Season© for a reason. Yesterday, a normally solid reporter at the Houston Chronicle wrote that Georgia coach Mark Richt had emerged as a legitimate candidate for the Texas A&M position. Texas A&M is one of a handful of big time college football coaching jobs. Big school, big budget and big aspirations usually draw big name candidates.

It’s not hard to believe that they’d be interested in the longest serving head coach in the SEC. What is hard to believe is that the interest is mutual, especially after Richt coached himself from hotseat to SEC East Champ; from imminent termination to contract extension. The same report, citing an Texas A&M “insider,” also said that Richt moving to take over the Aggies would also send Alabama DC Kirby Smart home to coach the Bulldogs. Call me silly, but I have a hard time believing that any Texas A&M “insider” has knowledge of who Georgia would tap as a replacement. I also have a hard time believing that Georgia would hire an assistant as its new head coach. After 11 years of relative success, UGA goes with a proven head coach, or you can label that coaching search a dismal failure.

The Penn State job remains open as well, but whoever takes that job in the wake of the revolting Sandusky scandal would have to be insane, unless his name is Jay Paterno or Scrap Bradley. Both have reportedly interviewed and the Football Alumni are said to be firmly insisting on a Penn Stater as Joe Paterno’s replacement. Indeed, I’ve been told by business contacts within that community that “it’s either a Penn Stater, or else.” There had been heated speculation that the Nittany Lions would turn to Al Golden, but that seemingly came to an end when Golden signed a contract extension last month.

Out west, UCLA and Arizona State are still both looking for head coaches after firing Rick Neuheisel and Dennis Erickson, respectively. ASU appeared to have their search wrapped up early this week as reports surfaced that SMU’s June Jones was set to take over. That all fell apart only hours later when negotiations were abruptly broken off. UCLA’s search appears to be only slightly less clueless.

With four BCS automatic qualifying jobs open, there’s real potential for an entertaining spin on the carousel. The hires made by those four programs will create openings elsewhere, setting off new rounds of coaching searches, new rounds of speculation and “insider” reports and more silly season enjoyment.

A few entertaining names to watch: Kevin Sumlin, Houston Nutt (seriously), Phil Fulmer (no, seriously), Kirby Smart, Gus Malzahn, Charlie Strong and Ellis Johnson. Chris Peterson’s name comes up every year, and every year he returns to the Smurf Turf. Could this year be different?  Spin, baby. Spin!

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Did the Big Ten publicly smack down a gossip blogger? Looks like it. Ouch.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is why Twitter is teh awesomest invention since Al Gore invented innerwebs. Gossip blogger Clay Travis found a Craiglist ad purporting to recruit fans to attend the inaugural Big Ten Championship Game, set for Saturday evening in Indianapolis, Indiana and tweeted a link to his site.

The Big Ten disputed that suggestion, and publicly called Travis out via its own Twitter account:

Hilarity ensued.

It’s impossible to tell who’s behind the Craigslist ad or whether the offer is real. For all we know, this could be a prank by a crafty SEC fan. IBCR loves a good troll job, but it wasn’t us, I swear!

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Joe Paterno’s full statement, announcing his retirement at the end of the 2011 football season

 

STATE COLLEGE, Pa., Nov. 9, 2011 -- I am absolutely devastated by the developments in this case. I grieve for the children and their families, and I pray for their comfort and relief.

I have come to work every day for the last 61 years with one clear goal in mind: To serve the best interests of this university and the young men who have been entrusted to my care. I have the same goal today.

That's why I have decided to announce my retirement effective at the end of this season. At this moment the Board of Trustees should not spend a single minute discussing my status. They have far more important matters to address. I want to make this as easy for them as I possibly can.

This is a tragedy. It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more.

My goals now are to keep my commitments to my players and staff and finish the season with dignity and determination. And then I will spend the rest of my life doing everything I can to help this University.

JoePa is right about one thing. The Board of Trustees does indeed have far more important issues to address, and the first item on that agenda should be the immediate dismissal of University President Graham Spanier.

Spanier cannot be allowed to have Joe Paterno be the only high profile head to roll in this crisis. His leadership failures, his neglect of his moral obligations and his absolute cowardice in the midst of this crisis are unforgivable. Spanier must go, too.

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Joe Paterno’s ugly exit has begun

He’s 84 years old. He’s been the head coach of Penn State football for 46 years. He first stepped on the field as the man in charge when the Vietnam War was raging half a world a way. He played against some of the biggest legends in college football and won two national championships.

He had become college football’s most revered and iconic figure. Even rival fans loved him. He won more football games than any coach in history and his record will likely stand as long as his statue in Happy Valley.

But in the next few days or weeks, Joe Paterno will leave Penn State in disgrace.

From Pete Thamel in the New York Times:

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The board of trustees has yet to determine the precise timing of Paterno’s exit, but it is clear that the man who has more victories than any other coach at college football’s top level and who made Penn State a prestigious brand will not survive to coach another season. Discussions about how to manage his departure have begun, according to the two people.

Paterno was to have held a news conference Tuesday but the university canceled it less than an hour before it was scheduled to start.

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His crime—failing to exercise the moral obligations he had to report Jerry Sandusky’s sexual predation of minor children for a period of more than 10 years, make sure that the victims of his long-time right hand man received the counseling and support of the institution and immediately dismissing the alleged perpetrator.

As many as nine minor boys were alleged to have been victimized by Sandusky. In its broadcasts during the day today, ESPN has reported that the ninth victim has come forward (the grand jury originally indicted Sandusky for molesting eight). More are likely to come.

The toll on the careers of once respected men—Vice President Gary Shultz, Athletic Director Tim Curley, JoePa and likely President Graham Spanier—is staggering. But it shouldn’t overshadow the heartbreaking human toll of this tragedy. Nine and possibly more defenseless children were brutalized by a predator, while all of the men who should have exercised their responsibility to God and the good of mankind kept quiet. They may have done great things for their beloved Penn State University, but in their roles as men of honor and integrity, they failed miserably.

JoePa, the once beloved face of that university, now sees his legacy forever tarnished not for what he did, but for what he failed to do for those who needed him most.

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Happy Valley’s dark, ugly secret

Jerry Sandusky, former Penn State Nittany Lions assistant coach was indicted last week on felony sex abuse charges against minors. Sandusky will faces 40 counts of involuntary deviant sexual intercourse of someone under 16, aggravated indecent assault, indecent assault of someone under 16, indecent assault of someone under 13, and corruption of minors. The incidents were alleged to have taken place from 1996 through 2005 and the was handed down after a two-year long grand jury investigation.

Read the grand jury report for yourself, but be prepared to vomit. It is disgusting.

Also indicted were Penn Athletic Director Tim Curley and PSU Vice President Gary Schultz, who will be charged with felony perjury in their grand jury testimony in the case and failure to report to law enforcement what they knew about Sandusky's behavior.

As with all criminal cases, the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. But if true, this scandal would represent a dark and ugly secret, kept quiet by people who had a responsibility to stop and report the abuse. There is a special place in hell for people who hurt children and Mr. Sandusky—if convicted—will spend the rest of his natural life in prison and then enter his eternity of perdition. Is there also a special place in hell for those who knew what was going on, and covered it up? What if one of those was a beloved icon of college football?

In a statement released Sunday, legendary football coach Joe Paterno said “we were all fooled” by someone who, according to the indictment, had engaged in unspeakable abuses of children for ten years. Can we seriously believe that an entire athletics administration had no idea that there may have been a pedophile on their staff? Can we accept the fact that by failing to report the alleged behavior and allowing Sandusky to remain employed by the university until he retired, Penn State not only covered up the scandal, but enabled Sandusky to continue the unimaginable crimes he is accused of?

This is not a college football scandal. This descends far deeper than improper benefits, illegal recruiting, point shaving or doping. This isn’t about a bunch of bowl and conference executives living large and gaming a system for money, power and prestige. This is a scandal in which the most defenseless of victims were alleged to have been horribly and irreparably harmed over and over again, and people with the knowledge and responsibility to stop the abuse failed them. It’s absolutely heartbreaking.

Curley and Schultz have both stepped down from their positions at the university. Coach Paterno—who testified before the grand jury—remains. Paterno says he was told of an incident by an assistant coach who witnessed Sandusky abusing one of his victims and, since Sandusky was retired at the time of the incident, reported it to the athletics department. Paterno’s son Scott—an attorney who helped his father draft his statement—says that’s all he could do. If that makes you squirm in discomfort, join the club. I shudder to think that a man of JoePa’s character and intellect would not conclude that Sandusky may have been engaging in a horrible pattern of abuse and do something about it. If he thought what he was told was credible, he had a moral obligation to do more than just pick up the phone and call Curley.

A week ago today, the college football world was toasting JoePa’s 409th career victory, making him the all-time winningest coach in history. But today, we’re wondering whether that legacy will now be forever tarnished. Instead of remembering him for all of the young people he helped through his decades as a college football coach, some will ask: “What did JoePa know, and when did he know it?”

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Cajun Phone Sex: LSU fans steal Bama players’ cell phone numbers

Here we go again. According to various media and internet sources, LSU fans have mysteriously discovered and begun disseminating the cell phone numbers of several key Alabama players, including Trent Richardson, AJ McCarron and even Terry Saban, the Coach’s wife.

This isn’t the first time the corndog nation has attempted such a stunt. You may recall that the phone numbers of Bama players were compromised in 2008 and again in 2009 (as were the numbers of Florida’s Tim Tebow and Georgia’s Knowshon Moreno).

Former Alabama Quarterback John Parker Wilson was one of the targets of the 2008 episode. Following a fourth quarter touchdown pass, Wilson immediately turned around and pretended to “chat up” the LSU faithful, drawing a flag but making the point nonetheless:

“Don’t call us. We’ll call you. K Thanks Bye.”

Exit question: Do you find it kinda creepy that rival fans would stalk Alabama football players?

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CBS’ Tony Barnhart gets future SEC divisional alignment right

Tony Barnhart is one of college football’s most respected writers. Known as “Mr. College Football,” the former Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist now writes for CBS Sports.

So, when the Southeastern Conference wanted to get media perspective on the Missouri to SEC story, who else would they want a sit-down with?

When the SEC website goofed last night and posted several pages of content announcing a move that hadn’t happened yet, it included a Q&A with Barnhart on what impacts the new members would have on the conference.

The interview that didn’t happen included this exchange:

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SEC Digital Network: How much sense does it make to now have 14 teams in the SEC and how does that help the issues that you may see with 13 teams, such as scheduling?

Tony Barnhart: “Could the conference make it as 13 schools for one year? Sure; the scheduling models are done. The Mid-American Conference has done it, so there are ways for it to be done. But it’s not  easy; this simplifies it. I don’t know what the conference will decide to do. To me, the logical thing would be to take Missouri and put them in the east. It’s not that far from Lexington, Ky. If you put them in the East, have Texas A&M stay in the west, then you play the other six teams in your division and have one permanent crossover on the other side. You would make Missouri and Texas A&M the permanent crossover. To me, that is the least disruptive thing to do. No matter what, you want to maintain some of the better crossover games in the divisions.”

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Well, now. Where have we heard that before?

Barnhart is absolutely right, of course. Splitting the new conference members between the two SEC divisions makes the most sense because it is the least disruptive thing to do. It preserves the balance of power between the two divisions. It maintains existing inter-divisional rivalries. It eliminates the need for drastic reorganization of conference schedules and it also eliminates the possibility of a nine-game conference schedule.

In fact, there’s pretty solid information that this is exactly what the SEC plans to do when it formally accepts Missouri. It doesn’t look like anyone in the current SEC West division will be escaping to the SEC East to “accommodate” the addition of Missouri. Gone also are the nutty ideas of SEC schools giving up a home game every other year to “accommodate” a nine-game schedule.

Those ideas would have worked to the benefit of one SEC school—Auburn—and to the detriment of virtually every other. Those who would have been hurt the most—Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida—would have seen cherished rivalries either eliminated or greatly diminished in impact and value.

I hope that Mr. Barnhart uses his considerable gravitas to champion the idea of placing Missouri in the East and Texas A&M in the West (or vice versa). These are fluid, unpredictable times and it’s inevitable that change will occur in places we’d have liked to keep the same. But when the opportunity arises to protect storied traditions and minimize disruption, it should be taken.

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Scandalous: ESPN told the ACC which programs to invite from Big East

When the Atlantic Coast Conference announced that Pittsburgh and Syracuse would be leaving the Big East and joining the ACC, it was seen as a logical move to expand the league’s footprint in the Northeast. But as details on the backroom negotiations emerge, it is clear that the “worldwide leader” was a behind-the-scenes worldwide schemer, exerting its influence and driving the ACC towards the programs it wanted to have in the league.

The Boston Globe’s Mark Blaudschun has a story in today’s print and online editions outlining the process by which the decision was made to include Pitt and Syracuse and exclude UConn, despite the Huskies’ recent success in both football and basketball.

The money quotes:

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BC athletic director Gene DeFilippo, who was part of the 12-member ACC expansion committee, adamantly denied that the move was dictated by basketball interests, but he did concede that the effects of it may boost that sport more than football.

“It had nothing to do with basketball,’’ said DeFilippo. “It was football money which drove expansion. It was football money and securing our future.’’

DeFilippo said the move was dictated in part by the expansion of the Southeastern Conference to include Texas A&M, which prompted the Big 12 to inquire about Pittsburgh, which is in the Northeast, an area in which the ACC felt it necessary to expand.

…

The ACC just signed a new deal with ESPN that will increase the revenue for each school to approximately $13 million. With the addition of Pittsburgh and Syracuse, said DeFilippo, another significant increase will come.

“We always keep our television partners close to us,’’ he said. “You don’t get extra money for basketball. It’s 85 percent football money. TV - ESPN - is the one who told us what to do. This was football; it had nothing to do with basketball.’’

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Why is Disney – via ABC and ESPN – instructing a conference expansion committee on which teams to include and which to leave out? The Big East has been the victim of ACC poaching in the past. Boston College, Miami and Virginia Tech all defected amid very bad blood and rather ugly legal disputes. The current round of hunting on posted land lands a historically powerful but recently weak Pitt football program and a Syracuse program that’s had only flashes of success. Left behind was UConn.

UConn has won a few titles in men’s and women’s basketball and while they lost millions on the trip, the football team earned a BCS bid after the 2010 season. With the Big 12, the Big 10 and even the SEC said to be interested in Big East schools, the conference is on the verge of implosion. What happens to UConn then?

Basketball drives the Big East. Football is important, but there are seven members of the league that don’t play FBS football. Blaudschun suggests that those schools may break off and form a basketball only conference with Notre Dame.

Automatic BCS qualifying conferences poaching members from one another is a zero sum game. Someone has to lose for someone else to win. For the Big East to survive, it would have to either draw programs playing FBS football, or offer someone in a non-automatic qualifying conference an upgrade.

Exit Question: Could the ESPN meddling have been a retaliatory move? Remember, the Big East turned down a $1.9 billion offer from the worldwide schemer and is said to be entertaining offers from NBC, CBS and FOX for its next media contract. ESPN is currently the first tier media partner for the league, but after helping the ACC decide which teams to kidnap from the Big East, my bet is that an over-the-air network gets the deal of a lifetime.

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The only thing missing is the band on the field

h/t to @GreggDoyelCBS

Offered without comment.

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Conference Realignment and Notre Dame: No white smoke

Yahoo! Sports’ Dan Wetzel penned a column yesterday, laying out a sound case for Notre Dame giving up its football independence and aligning with a conference that he believes is the best fit—the ACC. It’s a compelling case.

“Ask people in South Bend and one of their chief concerns about super-conferences is whether they will prevent the Irish from putting together legitimate 12-game schedules, including revenue-rich seven or eight home games. Then it’s what it might do to basketball and other sports,” writes Wetzel.

He also points out the demographic trends of the Midwest region of the US, which is growing much more slowly than the Southeast and the Atlantic seaboard, and how population patterns play important roles in both audience and recruiting. When fewer people are living in your region, you have fewer eyes glued to your broadcasts and fewer people in your recruiting territory.

Those are good points, but I don’t see any white smoke from the chimney.

Notre Dame’s “recruiting territory” is the United States of America. It has significant fanbase representation in virtually every major media market in the country. It has its own television contract with NBC Sports. It has longstanding rivalries with Southern Cal, Michigan, Michigan State, Pitt, Purdue, Boston College and the military service academies. Super-conferences with 16 members each will still likely have either eight or nine game schedules that may preclude Notre Dame from maintaining all of those rivalries, but it’s doubtful that we’d see the end of the USC – Notre Dame or Boston College – Notre Dame or Navy – Notre Dame rivalries.

By remaining independent, would the school face the challenge Wetzel identifies in putting together the schedule? Sure. But things can get worked out. Taking the path of least resistance and succumbing to the ACC would be the end of the Irish mystique. It would relegate it to the same status as a Florida State or Virginia Tech. I think the ACC likes Notre Dame a lot more than Notre Dame likes the conference. Any conference, for that matter.

Joining a conference other than the Big 10 likely ends one or more of the rivalries with Michigan, Michigan State and Purdue. Why would the Irish give up such nationally seismic matchups like that for a schedule that includes Clemson and NC State, especially when either the Boston College or the Pitt series could still likely be maintained? If they were forced to give up the biannual trip to Los Angeles, they lose access to a hotbed of recruits in the nation’s most populous state and trade that for a conference matchup with Duke? Notre Dame has access to the east coast also, due its storied rivalries with Army and Navy, two of the greatest places on the face of the earth to watch a college football game. I just don’t see any of that happening.

The conference realignment craze is driven by money, media influence and market share. Notre Dame has a multibillion dollar endowment and ample revenues from its TV deal. It really doesn’t need the money and it already wields considerable influence in the world of college football. They haven’t been in a national title chance since before many of you were even born, but the school still commands ratings and fills the stadium every Saturday.

Notre Dame may feel a little pressure to join the realignment bandwagon, but at the end of the day, their national recruiting territory, national mystique and storied rivalries will live on, as will their FBS independence. Short of a Papal Bull, that is, and fumata bianca billowing from the chimney atop the Basilica of the Sacred Heart.

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Here’s something Bama and Auburn fans can agree on

PETA should stick its beak in somebody else’s laboratory.  Here’s the full text of a letter from the animal rights wackos, which appears in the Montgomery Advertiser:

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The crash of a bald eagle named Spirit into a window during a forced pre-game flight at the Auburn Tigers' stadium on Saturday is a sad example of how animals suffer when we drag them into human celebrations.

The screaming fans, air horns, music and booming sound systems of sports games can be stressful, terrifying and disorienting for animals. If given the choice, bald eagles make their homes near lakes, rivers, and quiet forests, far away from human disturbance.

Other birds released to commemorate human occasions, such as homing pigeons who are bred to resemble white doves, may fly for days without eating or resting, often getting lost, falling prey to predators, or succumbing to weather extremes.

Animals aren't performers or party decorations, and they don't deserve to be frightened, hurt or even killed just so we can have a momentary thrill.

In light of Spirit's disturbing accident, let's hope the Tigers will be good sports and retire their animal mascots to sanctuaries, where they can live out their days in peace and safety.

Lindsay Pollard-Post
PETA Foundation
Norfolk, Va.

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I can’t remember where I read this so I’m going strictly from memory (I’m sure someone will correct me if I’m wrong). Spirit was involved in an accident of some type when he was in the wild. The accident caused damage to his beak and he lost the hook at the tip that allows the birds to rip meat from the bones of their prey. Spirit was rescued and treated at Auburn University’s Raptor Center. He has recovered fully, but if he were released to a “sanctuary,” and he would starve to death in a matter of days.

The eagle flying before the game is a great tradition and last Saturday’s mishap was the first time any such an incident had occurred. That bird was saved from certain death by the veterinary doctors and students at Auburn and I’m sure Spirit doesn’t mind repaying that favor by thrilling the fans for a few moments before home games.

There are two things Alabama residents are passionate about—football, and making sure outsiders and control freaks keep their noses out of our business. Or, in this case, their beaks out of our pots. As far as we’re concerned, the acronym PETA stands for People Eating Tasty Animals. Preferably at a tailgating party on a fall Saturday afternoon.

Update: Via a friend of the blog, here’s one of the very first “viral links” on the internet. Originally domiciled at www.peta.org, this is the original People Eating Tasty Animals website. And yes, I remember it well.

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Duron Carter status shows Bama compliance is finally doing it right

Just hours before Alabama was set to meet Penn State in a Happy Valley clash of the titans, Crimson Tide media relations released a statement explaining that WR Duron Carter would not be playing and indeed, had not made the trip from Tuscaloosa.

"Wide receiver Duron Carter did not travel with the football team to State College for today's game. The University of Alabama is awaiting documents necessary for Duron to be certified. Until those documents are received, Duron may continue practicing with the team, but he cannot compete in a game."

While the school has released few details on the issues preventing Carter from joining the team on the field, indications are that there remains an outstanding dispute between the Junior College transfer and his former school, Coffeyville Community College in Kansas. Carter had transferred there from Ohio State and is the son of former NFL player and ESPN analyst Cris Carter. The younger Carter is a gifted athlete with many of his father’s talents and, if he gets the chance to play, is expected to make an immediate impact for Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide.

Alabama covets a “go to” receiver to replace Julio Jones, the Atlanta Falcon’s first round draft pick who led the team last year with 78 catches for 1133 yards. The temptation to dress Carter and get him on the field is strong and had this situation come up 5-10 years ago, it might have been too much to resist. The temptation might have led to shortcuts being taken to get an impact player on the field despite potentially serious eligibility issues.

Not with this staff.

Students transferring from other institutions and junior colleges must wade through a complicated, bureaucratically SNAFU-ed process of documentation of verifying transcripts and establishing enrollment eligibility. Add the navigation of the NCAA’s rulebook and it gets even more interesting. The Alabama compliance department is working with admissions and making sure every “i” is dotted and every “t” is crossed in Carter’s transfer status and until everything is clear, Carter may not play in a game. That’s the way it’s supposed to be done but in today’s “hot story” news environment, nobody notices when things are done right.

There are other players on the current roster who have been the subject of NCAA compliance matters affecting their eligibility as well. Russellville standout Brent Calloway ran into a snag verifying a summer school class that he needed to establish initial eligibility, and WR Darius Hanks was made to sit two games for playing in a game during a season he was eventually redshirted in. Those are two more examples of Alabama compliance getting it right and keeping the kids and the athletic department out of the NCAA doghouse.

Can you name an NCAA major infractions case in the last 5-10 years where the violations weren’t known by the school or the public until someone in the media published the results of an investigation into the institution’s activities? There’s only one that I can think of—the Alabama textbook case, discovered by UA officials in 2007, investigated by the compliance staff and self-reported to the NCAA. Granted, that case resulted in probation and vacation of wins, but consider this: As bitter as the medicine was, the University of Alabama handled the case properly and took the medicine anyway.

This was all going down at about the same time that Alabama compliance staff successfully derailed Operation Red Dog, a coordinated and organized attempt by Auburn fans to entrap Alabama football players and lure them into committing NCAA violations.

Contrast this situation with the one at Ohio State, where the school was blindsided by a report in the school’s own student newspaper, which was then picked up and expanded upon by local, then national media. The case included a drug dealing, tattoo shop owner trading cash, tattoos and other favors for sports memorabilia and equipment from football players. It also included a violation of NCAA ethics bylaws by the head football coach, who concealed knowledge of the impermissible benefits and ended up losing his job.

Compare it also with the absolutely toxic revelations detailed in Yahoo! Sports’ Charles Robinson’s expose of the University of Miami program. Robinson chronicled how a convicted Ponzi scheme architect doled out hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and hired prostitutes for Hurricanes football players for nearly a decade. Ironically, almost all of Nevin Shapiro’s “Lil Luke” activities went on right under the nose—and perhaps even with the knowledge of—its former Athletic Director Paul Dee. The same Paul Dee who sat on the Committee on Infractions that heard the Means case in 2001-02 and chaired the Committee that heard and decided the textbook case. You won’t find any louder proponent for doing away with that Committee’s discretion than this blog, but that’s a discussion for another day.

Immediately after the NCAA’s decision on the textbook case, ESPN Senior College Football Writer Ivan Maisel had the following:

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Coach Dennis Franchione, who had been at Alabama for little more than a year, said he felt blindsided [by the Means case decision]. The tangible loss of scholarships took its toll on the football team. Franchione stayed one more season. Then came the five-month stint of Mike Price and the four-year slog of Mike Shula.

Football mediocrity, together with the intangible stain of being a two-time NCAA loser, took its toll on Alabama officials. They got it.

In the brief statement that he read to the media Thursday afternoon, athletic director Mal Moore said that Alabama "conducted an exhaustive review."

He added, "We have clearly demonstrated our intent to do things the right way."

…

The penalties apply backward, not forward. Alabama must vacate 21 football victories. But that's about it. Where these textbooks are concerned, the NCAA made a molehill out of a molehill. Alabama accepted responsibility, performed its due diligence and fixed the flaw.

In other words, in its dealings with the NCAA, the university finally found a textbook solution.

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And that “textbook” solution carries forward to this day—doing compliance right means Duron Carter sits until he is eligible. It means Darius Hanks trades two games for one, consistent with NCAA eligibility rules. It means Brent Calloway is eligible to practice and play with the team.

And it means that a ZOMG bunch of facebook pictures and gossip blog posts hang on rival fans like so many cheap suits.

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SEC Roundup: Week 2 and where is Auburn’s defense?

Alabama 27, Penn State 11. Methodical. Businesslike. Precise. No one should have any problems coming up with adjectives to describe the dismantling of the Penn State Nittany Lions by the Alabama Crimson Tide. Bama appears to have settled on AJ McCarron as the lead dog in the QB race, as the Mobile native threw 19 of 31 for 163 yards, one TD and no picks. Trent Richardson smashed the PSU defense for 111 yards on 26 carries and Alabama had this one on cruise control by midway in the third quarter. This was supposed to be a tune-up test for Bama and it played out exactly so. The offensive line seems to have gelled into a cohesive unit and the defense is just plain nasty. Next up is a visit from North Texas, a Sun Belt Conference team that dropped a 43-28 contest against Houston.

Arkansas 52, New Mexico 3. How did New Mexico prevent the shutout? Arguably the worst team in FBS, the Lobos stood absolutely no chance of drawing any significant bloodshed from the Razorbacks, whose Tyler Wilson polished his technique and went 18 of 26 passing for 259 yards, one TD pass and one TD run. Petrino’s offensive machine rolled up 632 yards and scored 50+ points for the second week in a row. While Missouri State plus New Mexico equals about one half of an SEC East team, Arkansas’ offense is going to be a difficult challenge for defenses throughout the league. Next up is Troy, 43-19 losers to Clemson.

Auburn 41, Mississippi State 34. The SEC’s Cardiac Kids were up to their old tricks yesterday, pulling out an improbable win against Mississippi State on the game’s last play. Bulldog QB Chris Relf got upended trying to punch in the tying TD with no timeouts and :08 showing on the clock. But Auburn’s defensive play during the game provided that opportunity. The 2009 and 2010 Tigers set school records for most points allowed, and they are on pace to break it again in 2011. Teams are gashing the Chizik/Roof defense and sustaining long scoring drives. Sooner or later, one has to wonder when the Tigers run into a defense capable of preventing Auburn from simply outscoring the opponent. Next up for the Cardiac Kids is a trip to Clemson, a team that Auburn needed overtime to beat in 2010. Mississippi State hosts LSU in Starkville on Thursday night.

Florida 39, UAB 0. UAB’s football program is a mess and yesterday’s game showed it in stark, high-contrast colors. The team was without three key starters—all out due to sports hernias. That’s an injury typically caused by a  poor strength & conditioning regimen. The Gators ran past, through and over the Blazers and dispatched them easily. UAB just needs to put its money in basketball and forget about that new stadium. Florida’s next opponent is Derek Dooley’s Tennessee Volunteers, a decent and improving SEC East foe that defeated Cincinnati 45-23. Should be a fun one to watch.

Georgia 42, South Carolina 45. Did the temperature on UGA Coach Mark Richt’s seat kick it up a notch? The conventional wisdom going into Saturday’s slugfest was that Richt wouldn’t survive to see the sidelines in 2012 if he started 0-2. There were plenty of mistakes on the field for both Steve Spurrier’s Gamecocks and Richt’s Bulldogs, but this game was going to be won by whoever had the ball last. Richt obviously didn’t do anything to cool the hotseat, but it’s hard to fault the coach for that effort yesterday. His team left it on the field and that’s the best a coach can ask for. This game puts South Carolina in a key advantage in the SEC East race and sets UGA back several steps. While a loss to Spurrier might not end his career, not making it to Atlanta for a shot at the title might. Georgia plays Coastal Carolina at home next Saturday while South Carolina gets Navy. Oh, by the way…  Navy is undefeated, scoring 40 points each in wins against Delaware and Western Kentucky.

LSU 49, Northwestern State, 3. Northwestern what State? Demons coach Bradley Dale was an assistant for four years under Les Miles and actually pulled within four points when a Field Goal clanged in to make the score 7-3. It was all Bayou Bengals from there and it was 28-3 at halftime. Miles cleared the bench and I think even the waterboy got a key block on a fourth quarter first down play. LSU travels to Mississippi State for a key SEC West matchup on Thursday night.

Ole Miss 42, Southern Illinois 24. Don’t let this score fool you into thinking that Houston Nutt has Ole Miss’ problems solved. The visiting Salukis turned the ball over four times but made a gallant run at the Rebel Bears early in the third quarter, scoring on two long TD drives and closing to 35-24. The only reasons this didn’t turn into an 0-2 start were a porous Southern Illinois defense and the turnovers. Ole Miss is still a dumpster fire under the right reverend, but anyone can win with such gifts given at home. Ole Miss travels to Vanderbilt next Saturday and the SEC opener could determine who the conference doormat will be in 2011.

Tennessee 45, Cincinnati 23. Tennessee is an improving football program in Coach Derek Dooley’s second season. The Bearcats were no slouch of a football team, returning the Big East’s best passer, best tailback and leading all-purpose yards athlete. They expected to score early and often and Tennessee all but shut them down after starting a footrace with the Bearcats. The two teams traded touchdown drives twice and the game was tied 14-14 until took the lead for good in the second quarter. Cincy could manage only another nine points and the Vol defense made key adjustments. That’s what well coached teams do and Dooley is starting to show why his doubters may have sold him short. Tennessee travels to the Swamp to take on Florida next Saturday.

Vanderbilt 24, UConn 21. Vanderbilt has a winning streak. Vanderbilt is 2-0. Vanderbilt channeled its inner Auburn and came back from 21-14 down to beat the Connecticut Huskies 24-21 and Coach James Franklin has those crazy Commodore fans thinking they might challenge for the SEC East. Vandy’s first teamers have always been able to play competitively with anyone in the league. Depth has always been their achilles heel and it’s always affected their confidence. But Franklin seems to have erased the confidence gap and has his team playing to win. Vandy hasn’t won two straight football games since 2008, but with a visit from Ole Miss next week, they have a real shot at going 3-0 and with other winnable games on the schedule, the ‘dores might start thinking of holiday travel plans.

I know, right?

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Get the Flea Flicker™ Widget for your site

If you’re enjoying the Flea Flicker™ cartoons and you’d like to display them on your site or homepage, all you need is the widget code.

Here’s the latest offering from Houndstoothhitmen.com’s Banditref and K1ngCrimson.

To display the latest cartoon on your site and have the image updated as soon as the guys post something new, copy the code between the lines and paste them into a Blogger Gadget, Wordpress Widget or any other location that allows to you use html codes or scripts. Tinker with the height and width settings to fit your sidebar or page element, and you’re all set!

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<center><iframe src="http://houndstoothhitmen.com/feed.php?x=250" width="250" height="200" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe><b><a href="http://www.houndstoothhitmen.com">Visit HoundstoothHitmen.com for more hilarious toons!</a></b></center>

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