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League of their own BCS outsiders also hatching plans for new landscapePosted: Thursday May 29, 2003 11:54 AMUpdated: Thursday May 29, 2003 12:48 PM
If college football’s anticipated movement toward BCS "super-conferences" is supposed to spell doom for the rest of the nation's Division I-A schools, no one's bothered to tell them. As the ACC nears what's expected to be a seismic power play, some conferences and teams on Division I-A's opposite end are busily plotting their futures with nary a sign of worry. "People are acting like this is brand new," said Sun Belt commissioner Wright Waters. "The SEC's been good for long time. The Big Ten's been good for long time. Yes, they're spending more money than they've ever spent, but you know what, so are we. "I'm not sure that gap is widening as much as we think it is." To that end, Waters' conference, which only began fielding football in 2001, further strengthened its commitment to the sport last week by adding Troy State and Idaho (already a football-only member) as full members. They, along with recent invitee Utah State, will give the league nine teams come 2005, when the NCAA increases its minimum requirement for conferences from six to eight. Similarly, WAC commissioner Karl Benson says his league is interested in going from 10 to 12 teams, perhaps nabbing Houston and ex-WAC member TCU from Conference USA if the Big East raids that league. "At this stage, the WAC does not look at any of this as a threat," said Benson. "Our membership is as stable as it's ever been. I don't anticipate the WAC losing any of its members, and it's possible we could end up adding members." And the Mountain West, which has been angling for BCS inclusion ever since its 1999 inception, will discuss expansion for the first time at next week's league meetings, possibly setting its sights on the WAC's Fresno State and Hawaii. ("It doesn't make any sense for us to be in the WAC," Hawaii president Evan Dobelle told the Honolulu Advertiser recently.) Such imperial ambition comes at a time when one might think these second-tier leagues would be concerned more with simple survival. Many of their members are under the gun to comply with new NCAA standards for I-A membership -- hand out at least 90 percent of allowable scholarships, host five home games against I-A opponents, average 15,000 attendance per game, etc. -- set to take effect in 2004. In 2002, 13 teams fell short of the attendance requirement alone, all from non-BCS conferences. But both Waters and Benson insist all their teams will make the cut (the Sun Belt's Arkansas State, Middle Tennessee, Idaho and Louisiana-Monroe and the WAC's San Jose State fell short on attendance last season), and that conference realignment could actually help strengthen fan bases in the lower leagues. "I think the future for leagues our size is we've got to have a more regional look," said Waters. " If we're smart and we work together, we'll have some leagues where people can actually travel with their teams and see their trams on the road. Realignment may be healthy." The question is, will it be healthy enough to keep everyone in business? Whereas the BCS conferences allocate bowl and television revenue each year in the neighborhood of $7-10 million per school, a team playing in one of the low-end bowls is usually lucky to break even, and TV revenue is negligible. (The WAC's current deal with ESPN is worth about $1 million per season, about 40 times less than the SEC's with CBS). Yet despite sometimes having one-tenth the budget, many of the non-BCS teams manage to remain competitive with the big boys on the field, pulling off upsets, cracking the top 25 and reaping the kind of valuable exposure that drive lesser-known schools to field a I-A team in the first place. "It's still financially more viable than the other alternatives, I-AA, Division II, Division III," said Waters. "I spent 10 glorious years at a I-AA league [the Southern Conference]. It's great, quality football, it works really well. The schools in our league, we've elected to look at other benefits -- bowl games, national exposure and, to some extent, financial." It's those kind of benefits that are on the mind of administrators at I-AA power Florida A&M, which last week announced its intention to apply for I-A membership beginning in 2004. The Rattlers would be the first traditionally black college to make such a move, which will require roughly doubling their football budget (from about $2 million to $4 million) in order to hand out 22 more scholarships, add coaches and beef up facilities. "We'd do it for same reason Miami is thinking about going to the ACC," said Florida A&M interim athletic director J.R.E. Lee III. "Economics and exposure." And so it is that while the rich in college football keep getting richer, the not-rich have no plans to move out of the neighborhood any time soon. "We think that it's important for the health of the BCS conferences that conferences like the WAC maintain a certain level of success, because, for example, when Fresno State plays Oregon, Oregon fans want to see a game against a credible opponent," said Benson. "In order for our schools to maintain their funding levels, it's important the fan base stays interested, that television interests are still there, and that we're not placed at a inferior level."
Houston, we have lift-offIn an extremely rare move, the NCAA has granted ex-Colorado running back Marcus Houston an appeal that will allow him to play immediately for Colorado State this fall rather than sitting out the year normally required of transfers. Houston, who will have two years of eligibility remaining, was considered by many the nation's No. 1 recruit in 2000 and flashed glimpses of such by breaking 100 yards his first two games as a freshman. But a hip injury ended his season (for which he retained a redshirt) one game later, and his career since then has been a nightmare filled with injuries, a tumble down the depth chart and a falling out with Buffs coaches. He carried the ball a mere 52 times for 181 yards the past two seasons. At Colorado State, Houston enters the fall competing with redshirt freshman Tristan Walker for the No. 2 spot behind the Rams' most experienced returnee, senior Rahsaan Sanders. Citing student privacy laws, CSU officials aren't saying what exactly was the basis of Houston's petition, but the player's father, Herman, told the Rocky Mountain News it did not involve playing time or financial need. "It's like the stars finally have aligned in the sky," said Houston's father. "We're all really thrilled."
Gibson’s words ‘ring’ trueGeorgia expects that the nine players declared ineligible for selling their SEC championship rings will be reinstated in time for the season, but first they'll have to pay restitution, which, if it's the same as the amount they sold them for, will be pretty hefty -- between $1,000-$2,000 each. The players include top receivers Fred Gibson and Michael Johnson, projected starting linebacker Tony Taylor and defensive linemen Kedric Golston and Darius Swain. The scandal, along with similar incidents at Clemson and Florida State, has touched off an interesting debate regarding NCAA rules. Not only is the bylaw applying to the situation ambiguous, stating only that an athlete can't profit off his athletic reputation, but many suggest it shouldn't be there at all. "It's my ring," Gibson told The Associated Press. "I should be able to do with it what I want." Gibson, who also lamented the hypocrisy of seeing his No. 82 replica jersey on sale in stores without him seeing a dime, makes a good, albeit unpopular, point. While selling the most tangible symbol of his team's first SEC title in 20 years shows at the very least a lack of appreciation, shouldn't it at least be his choice? Don't expect the NCAA to agree any time this decade.
Worth notingEx-Florida State quarterback Adrian McPherson’s gambling trial begins next week, with Seminoles coach Bobby Bowden, among others, expected to be called as a witness. In an ominous sign for the defendant, his attorney, Grady Irvin Jr., was detained by police last weekend following a domestic dispute with his fiancee. … Nebraska quarterback Curt Dukes, the talented freshman who at one point last season rose to No. 2 on the depth chart before eventually redshirting, has announced he's transferring. The choices for an option quarterback are limited these days, but a likely destination for the Stony Point, N.C., native is his home-state Tar Heels. ... Former LSU quarterback Rick Clausen is joining older brother Casey at Tennessee. … After first "committing" to Northwestern, then Vanderbilt, then visiting Michigan -- all in the past few months -- Florida State transfer running back Thomas "Hollywood" Clayton is now headed to Kansas State. ... Linda Bensel-Meyers, the Tennessee professor whose allegations of academic fraud in the football program began a two-year investigation (which found no wrongdoing), will resign from the school, where she was widely vilified, next month. Stewart Mandel covers college sports for SI.com. To send a question or comment for Stewart's Mailbag, click here. |
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