Excerpt:
For those unfamiliar, here’s how it would work:
Start the season in mid-December, after first semester exams and during the lull between college football regular season and the bowl season. The weekend of the Heisman Trophy ceremony is the ideal time for a grand opening weekend that would generate momentum through the holidays.
But the season cannot be condensed because of student-athlete welfare issues, so starting one month later means ending one month later.
Conference play would commence after the Super Bowl, allowing more than 50 percent of the season to take place out of football’s long shadow.
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/collegespor...of-levels/
Gross. The major appeal to starting in mid-November for me is that we've always been eliminated from the football postseason by then.
Hopefully this won't be a problem going forward.
I actually like the idea.
A couple of thoughts:
1) The. NCAA tried this for a couple of years in the late 80s or early 90s. The season at the time started around Thanksgiving and the NCAA pushed it back to the start of December. However, the thanksgiving tournaments were too enticing and games eventually found their way back into November.
2) the season in the last five years has been creeping into early November, which I think is too early. More games are being played in November than December because of exam schedules in December. If they start the season in mid December, that is going to be in the middle of exams. Half the teams would have to travel during exam week. Ain't going to fly.
3) i doubt CBS wants the NCAA tournament interfering with Masters week which follows the NCAA tournament. Also if the season runs longer, then signing date in April would have to be pushed back as well. I doubt the coaches want that.
If they ended college football season the 1st or 2nd week in December I wouldn't have any issues with a later basketball start.
If you read the article, it looks like it is the writer pushing the idea, not the NCAA.
(10-16-2015 08:31 AM)Memphis Blazer Wrote: [ -> ]If you read the article, it looks like it is the writer pushing the idea, not the NCAA.
Article also shows Gavitt talking about the logistics of pulling this off, not the writer. The writer is asking the questions to Gavitt. And, I just heard on CBS Sports sports minute that indeed the NCAA is testing the waters on this idea.
The writer links to an earlier article he wrote about the idea and indicates that he asks Gavitt's opinion of the idea. The CBS Sports Sports (redundant) minute probably read the same article you did.
The Thanksgiving weekend used to end the football season with the major bowl games all on Jan.1. The 10 game season gave way to 11 and then 12. How many might be added as the P5 conference's money needs grow? There is also he NFL running into Feb as well. Also, final exams used to come in the second week of Jan. but are now prior to Xmas Holidays.
Now football's regular season has moved into Dec. with conference championship games and then early bowl games. NCAA basketball is looking for ways to adjust to this new reality since football is the "big dog" of collegiate athletics.
I don't think the later start would have a tremendous impact on viewership anyway. If you're a basketball fan, you start watching your team the first week of the season. The casual fans (read: 85%ers) might watch a few conference games. The big ratings come during March Madness, and moving that to April won't move the needle. Besides, what would we call it then?
I have issues with them trying to cut down the basketball season yet the football season has been extended by a few weeks.
In the NCAA, football, particularly P5 football, drives the bus. Whatever those royal schools want, they get. If they decided to play 13 or 14 regular season games, the rest of the sports would just have to get out of the way or adjust their schedules to adapt. Even the concern over football related deaths or disabilities has not diminished football's power base. The payoff in increasingly expensive college education and the slim chance of NFL contracts makes it worth any risks for more and more Americans.
That's not exactly true. In case you haven't read about it, youth football numbers are actually decreasing.
& youth soccer numbers are increasing.
Youth soccer and youth football levels may affect college football if they rise to the point of affecting those high school football programs that feed the college programs. So far I have not heard of any high school football program having a problem filling out its roster or considering giving up the sport due to a shortage of players. We shall see if the numbers change over the next ten years or so.
Even UAB's FBHC Clark with no games for two seasons could fill a roster if the NCAA would let him and if he was not so choosy about whom he signs.
I suspect some will transition to 8 man ball