Tag Archives: NCAA

College Athletics

Posted on by

I have a problem with the NCAA right now, specifically the NCAA Clearinghouse. The job of the Clearinghouse is to let you know if an athlete is eligible to play. If the Clearinghouse gives a green light, the kid should be able to play without future penalty to the school. If the Clearinghouse later learns something that would cause the player to be ineligible they can suspend him, but there shouldn’t be a penalty to the school for using him while he was cleared. Please keep in mind I’m not talking about circumstances in which the school illegally of immorally helped the athlete become eligible.

The Clearinghouse has messed this up with Derrick Rose and Eric Bledsoe. Both athletes were cleared by the Clearinghouse and played. After a season of playing questions were raised about them and their eligibility and in Rose’s case, the school he played for was stripped of victories during his playing time. The case with Bledsoe hasn’t made it that far yet, but it shouldn’t even be a concern. In my eyes one the Clearinghouse clearing someone to play the school should be immune to repercussions of using that player. To me this would be similar to the Supreme Court telling you it’s OK to sell a product, you selling it, the Supreme Court changing it’s mind, then prosecuting you for selling it. If they just change their mind and tell you to stop selling it, no problem, if they try to punish you for selling it when they said it was OK, there is a problem.

College athletics are about to change once again with Colorado and Nebraska leaving the Big 12. Colorado is leaving for the Pac 10 and Nebraska for the Big 10. There are all sorts of guesses about what will happen next, with Texas leading the pack, and many thinking Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech will follow Texas, if possible. The most common assumption is all 5 Texas and Oklahoma teams joining Colorado in the Pac 10. I’m not certain this will happen because I think the SEC will make a run at Texas and accept any of the Texas or Oklahoma teams in order to get Texas. Texas is the jewel of the pack because it is the richest athletic department in the nation and it brings a large TV audience with it. If Texas and the other schools decide to go with the Pac 10 expect the SEC to raid the ACC. I’d guess Florida State, Georgia Tech, and Clemson would be on top of the SEC recruiting list because the complete intra-state rivalries in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. I’d also guess the next 2 on the SEC list would be Louisville and Miami.

If the ACC loses any teams, expect them to shift north and take a few Big East teams, which only has 8 football schools. I’d expect the ACC to go after West Virginia, Rutgers, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and Connecticut, only needing to get 3 or 4 of them to replace the teams that left for the SEC. They would have competition for Pittsburgh and Syracuse, who I believe the Big 10 would talk to, in addition to Notre Dame, Missouri, Iowa State, and possible Cincinnati and Louisville.

When the 2013 football season kicks off, here are my predictions for Conference membership:

  • ACC – Miami, Central Florida, South Florida, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Duke, Wake Forest, West Virginia, Connecticut, Boston College, Syracuse, Maryland, Rutgers, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Cincinnati
  • Big 16 – Nebraska, Iowa, Iowa State, Missouri, Illinois, Northwestern, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Michigan State, Indiana, Notre Dame, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Ohio State
  • Pac 16 – Washington, Washington State, Oregon, Oregon State, California, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech.
  • SEC – Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Clemson, South Carolina, Kentucky, Louisville, Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Arkansas, and Louisiana State.
  • The Big 12 is gone. The Big East is essentially a basketball conference. Kansas and Kansas State are left standing when the music stops.

The irony of higher education right now is the Big 10 now has 12 teams while the Big 12 and Pac 10 have 11 teams.

Tourney Time & Jealousy

Posted on by

The NCAA Tournament field has been announced and Game One has been played. A lot of Kentucky fans are upset about our path, but I’m not too bothered by it. Assuming the higher seeds advance, we’ll play East Tennessee State, Texas, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Duke, and Kansas. I’m not upset with this path because it’s the national championship tournament, meaning you are supposed to play tough teams, and I’d prefer to play teams from major conferences that I’m familiar with than the mid-majors and small conference teams that turn into Cinderellas. Given that no 16 seed has ever beat a 1 seed in the men’s tournament, I’m not worried about our only non-BCS conference opponent. I think the second round game, against Texas or Wake Forest, is a bit harsh for a second round, but both of these teams had less than spectacular endings to their seasons and slid down the seeding totem pole. Once we make it to the second weekend we are theoretically supposed to play the 15th, 7th, and 3rd ranked team to make it to the final game, which match up well with Wisconsin, West Virginia, and Duke.

I saw a kid with a Batman mask and white cape in Kroger the other day. I must say I was a little jealous because I wish I could still get away with a stunt like that. If I tried it people would probably grab their kids and cover their eyes like I was Cousin It or on the FBI Most Wanted list. I’ve actually had several conversation about being jealous of children lately because they are so carefree and easily entertained. We also had one about being jealous of Justin Bieber. How cool would it be to have done a video with Usher and Ludacris before you could drive?

Last weekend was Athletic Championships’ Gatlinburg/Sevierville event, which was a great event. At one point in time I was going to take my gym there and I think they would have enjoyed it. The hotel connected to the event center has a water park in it and I think it would have been a lot of fun for my Showtime girls. The event itself had some good teams from some well known gyms and a few from some smaller gyms I wasn’t familiar with. We did have a few legality issues during the event. Most of them involved when a pyramid connection needs to be made (at or below prep level) and what type of connection is required (arm to arm or hand to foot). Coaches, please learn the rules. It’s part of your role.

During the weekend in Tennessee we were reminded of Stephen’s fondness of Carrie Underwood and Chris Sipes’ ability to tell a story (not that we can repeat many of them, but they keep us entertained). The coaches party remained much more under control than I imagined it would. It was at a decked out cabin in the mountains and reminded me of a college house party. Since it’s still Lent I just observed the games and talked to people, some I’ve known for years, and some I met that night.

Congratulations to the Kentucky women for earning a 4 seed in the tournament along with numerous awards including SEC Coach of the Year, SEC Player of the Year, and SEC Freshmen of the Year.

Next is the Illinois Coaches’ Conference and some basketball with my cousin.