09-27-2004, 09:46 AM
NCAA ponders adding 12th game to college football season
But is the proposal putting money over the health and well-being of its student-athletes?
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
By Ray Fittipaldo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Post-Gazette illustration
MORE COVERAGE
What do some players think about the proposal?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
More than 30 years have gone by since the NCAA last passed legislation to lengthen the college football season. But if a faction of athletic directors and conference administrators gets its way this winter, the schedule will permanently include 12 regular-season games.
Financial considerations are driving the 12th-game legislation. At many of the large universities, football is the cash cow that funds the nonrevenue generating sports.
Playing host to an extra college football game every year could mean as much as another $1 million in a school's coffers. That money, athletic directors contend, could go a long way toward balancing the budget.
The fact that finances are driving the movement irks Penn State coach Joe Paterno and others who say the players and their well-being are being ignored because a growing number of people in the business of college athletics can't see past the dollar signs.
"I think the athletic directors and the people who are on the management council have to decide whether we're in this to educate kids or whether we're in the business that these kids are going to be used to make money," Paterno said. "And if you look at some of the graduation rates from around the country, you wonder. Now we're going to play a 12th game? It's going to be like basketball. None of these kids will go to school, if we're not careful. I think we have to sit down and be reasonable about what we ask of kids."
The Big 12 Conference is sponsoring the legislation. Joe Castiglione, athletic director at Oklahoma, welcomes the debate.
More seasoning
The most recent NCAA schedule changes in major sports:
Football: Nebraska becomes the first school to play an 11-game regular season in 1970. NCAA passes legislation in 1972 to allow all teams to play 11 regular season games.
Basketball: Expanded from 27-game to 28-game regular season in 1999.
Baseball: Went from 60-game regular season to 56-game season in 1991.
-- Source: NCAA
Castiglione said a 12th game would help balance home and away schedules, would help schools reach attendance criteria to remain members in Division I-A football, and the money generated would be a positive for the universities and their sports teams.
"We're going to take a leadership position on this," Castiglione said. "Sometimes leaders become lightning rods. We'll see where it goes.
"There will be critics who will voice their concerns. That's OK. That's why we decided to put the proposal together and allow it to move through the system, to encourage healthy dialogue and debate."
The legislation will allow for 12 games without lengthening the season, Castiglione said, because the one allotted week off during the season would be eliminated.
Castiglione wonders why opponents of the legislation scheduled 12 games the past two seasons when it was allowed under NCAA rules. The majority of schools in Division I-A played 12 games the past two seasons, including Penn State.
"Why is it OK to play 12 games in certain years and not in others?" Castiglione said. "The precedent already has been set. That argument doesn't hold up."
The NCAA has allowed 12 games in a season since 1999 but only when there are 14 Saturdays from the first playing date to the final playing date in November. Teams could play 12 games in 2002 and '03 but it's not going to happen again until 2008 and not after that until '13.
History of expansion
Increases in the number of games college football teams have played the past 34 years:
1970: Nebraska is the first team to play an 11-game regular season. The Cornhuskers win the Orange Bowl and finish the season 11-0-1.
1983: Nebraska and Penn State participate in the first Kickoff Classic and play 13 games, including bowl games. Preseason classics, until recently outlawed by the NCAA, were exempt games and did not count toward the 11-game regular season.
1992: The Southeastern Conference plays the first conference championship game. Alabama wins it and the Sugar Bowl to become the first team to go 13-0 in a season.
2002: Ohio State participated in the Pigskin Classic, a preseason exempt game, won all 12 regular season games and the Fiesta Bowl to become the first team to go 14-0 in a season.
-- Source: NCAA
If the legislation passes, it will become commonplace for teams to play 13 games a season, considering almost half of the teams in Division I-A qualify for bowl games. And with the proliferation of conference championship games, several teams from power conferences would play 14 games.
Castiglione said even if this proposal passes, it would be unlikely that it would be implemented for next season. The 12-game schedule might not be implemented until 2009.
The only way Paterno said he would support a 12th game is if the NCAA eliminates freshman eligibility or if it allows between eight and 12 more football scholarships each season. It is highly unlikely that the NCAA would revoke freshman eligibility, but scholarship limits could be used as a bargaining chip.
Paterno said the extra players would help teams overcome injury problems during a longer season. The NCAA reduced scholarships from 95 to 85 more than a decade ago. Northwestern coach Randy Walker also supports higher scholarship limits if a 12th game becomes reality.
"Our coaches and our players are being asked to do more and more with less and less," Walker said. "I've been a coach for 29 years in Division I-A football. I go back to when there were unlimited scholarships.
"I'm all for scholarship limitation and academic legislation and all that. But all I know is they keep increasing the season length and asking our players to do more and more. And we're having less resources to do it with. It's difficult.
"Any movement on this should be coupled with some kind of assistance to football. It's going to put more pressure on the players, more pressure on young players especially. I'm not sure it's in the best interests of the kids. That's where I draw the line."
Castiglione said statistics show that injuries were no more frequent during 12-game seasons in 2002 and '03. He also said any changes in scholarship limits would have to be a separate piece of legislation and will not be a part of the current 12th-game legislation.
Scott Kretchmar, Penn State's NCAA faculty representative, is one of 50 university administrators on the NCAA management council, which will vote on the legislation in January.
Kretchmar and other Big Ten members on the management council will meet the first week of October in Chicago to discuss the proposal. Gauging from discussions with his colleagues, Kretchmar said the legislation has a good chance of passing.
"The meetings in the next couple of weeks will be interesting to see if this moves ahead," he said. "When economics gets involved, it gets more complicated. There is a huge financial engine driving this. The athletic directors say they need this to better balance the books."
Kretchmar, though, did say a large contingent of NCAA faculty oppose the idea. The faculty is joined by the American Football Coaches Association in its opposition.
"There is a concern about the balance of higher education," Kretchmar said. "The extra game flies in the face of that."
Ultimately, it will be up to the university presidents, the same people who oppose a Division I-A football tournament, to make it a reality.
After the management council's vote in January, the NCAA Division I board of directors, a panel of 11 Division I-A presidents, makes the final decision on the matter in April.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ray Fittipaldo can be reached at rfittipaldo@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1230.)
But is the proposal putting money over the health and well-being of its student-athletes?
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
By Ray Fittipaldo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Post-Gazette illustration
MORE COVERAGE
What do some players think about the proposal?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
More than 30 years have gone by since the NCAA last passed legislation to lengthen the college football season. But if a faction of athletic directors and conference administrators gets its way this winter, the schedule will permanently include 12 regular-season games.
Financial considerations are driving the 12th-game legislation. At many of the large universities, football is the cash cow that funds the nonrevenue generating sports.
Playing host to an extra college football game every year could mean as much as another $1 million in a school's coffers. That money, athletic directors contend, could go a long way toward balancing the budget.
The fact that finances are driving the movement irks Penn State coach Joe Paterno and others who say the players and their well-being are being ignored because a growing number of people in the business of college athletics can't see past the dollar signs.
"I think the athletic directors and the people who are on the management council have to decide whether we're in this to educate kids or whether we're in the business that these kids are going to be used to make money," Paterno said. "And if you look at some of the graduation rates from around the country, you wonder. Now we're going to play a 12th game? It's going to be like basketball. None of these kids will go to school, if we're not careful. I think we have to sit down and be reasonable about what we ask of kids."
The Big 12 Conference is sponsoring the legislation. Joe Castiglione, athletic director at Oklahoma, welcomes the debate.
More seasoning
The most recent NCAA schedule changes in major sports:
Football: Nebraska becomes the first school to play an 11-game regular season in 1970. NCAA passes legislation in 1972 to allow all teams to play 11 regular season games.
Basketball: Expanded from 27-game to 28-game regular season in 1999.
Baseball: Went from 60-game regular season to 56-game season in 1991.
-- Source: NCAA
Castiglione said a 12th game would help balance home and away schedules, would help schools reach attendance criteria to remain members in Division I-A football, and the money generated would be a positive for the universities and their sports teams.
"We're going to take a leadership position on this," Castiglione said. "Sometimes leaders become lightning rods. We'll see where it goes.
"There will be critics who will voice their concerns. That's OK. That's why we decided to put the proposal together and allow it to move through the system, to encourage healthy dialogue and debate."
The legislation will allow for 12 games without lengthening the season, Castiglione said, because the one allotted week off during the season would be eliminated.
Castiglione wonders why opponents of the legislation scheduled 12 games the past two seasons when it was allowed under NCAA rules. The majority of schools in Division I-A played 12 games the past two seasons, including Penn State.
"Why is it OK to play 12 games in certain years and not in others?" Castiglione said. "The precedent already has been set. That argument doesn't hold up."
The NCAA has allowed 12 games in a season since 1999 but only when there are 14 Saturdays from the first playing date to the final playing date in November. Teams could play 12 games in 2002 and '03 but it's not going to happen again until 2008 and not after that until '13.
History of expansion
Increases in the number of games college football teams have played the past 34 years:
1970: Nebraska is the first team to play an 11-game regular season. The Cornhuskers win the Orange Bowl and finish the season 11-0-1.
1983: Nebraska and Penn State participate in the first Kickoff Classic and play 13 games, including bowl games. Preseason classics, until recently outlawed by the NCAA, were exempt games and did not count toward the 11-game regular season.
1992: The Southeastern Conference plays the first conference championship game. Alabama wins it and the Sugar Bowl to become the first team to go 13-0 in a season.
2002: Ohio State participated in the Pigskin Classic, a preseason exempt game, won all 12 regular season games and the Fiesta Bowl to become the first team to go 14-0 in a season.
-- Source: NCAA
If the legislation passes, it will become commonplace for teams to play 13 games a season, considering almost half of the teams in Division I-A qualify for bowl games. And with the proliferation of conference championship games, several teams from power conferences would play 14 games.
Castiglione said even if this proposal passes, it would be unlikely that it would be implemented for next season. The 12-game schedule might not be implemented until 2009.
The only way Paterno said he would support a 12th game is if the NCAA eliminates freshman eligibility or if it allows between eight and 12 more football scholarships each season. It is highly unlikely that the NCAA would revoke freshman eligibility, but scholarship limits could be used as a bargaining chip.
Paterno said the extra players would help teams overcome injury problems during a longer season. The NCAA reduced scholarships from 95 to 85 more than a decade ago. Northwestern coach Randy Walker also supports higher scholarship limits if a 12th game becomes reality.
"Our coaches and our players are being asked to do more and more with less and less," Walker said. "I've been a coach for 29 years in Division I-A football. I go back to when there were unlimited scholarships.
"I'm all for scholarship limitation and academic legislation and all that. But all I know is they keep increasing the season length and asking our players to do more and more. And we're having less resources to do it with. It's difficult.
"Any movement on this should be coupled with some kind of assistance to football. It's going to put more pressure on the players, more pressure on young players especially. I'm not sure it's in the best interests of the kids. That's where I draw the line."
Castiglione said statistics show that injuries were no more frequent during 12-game seasons in 2002 and '03. He also said any changes in scholarship limits would have to be a separate piece of legislation and will not be a part of the current 12th-game legislation.
Scott Kretchmar, Penn State's NCAA faculty representative, is one of 50 university administrators on the NCAA management council, which will vote on the legislation in January.
Kretchmar and other Big Ten members on the management council will meet the first week of October in Chicago to discuss the proposal. Gauging from discussions with his colleagues, Kretchmar said the legislation has a good chance of passing.
"The meetings in the next couple of weeks will be interesting to see if this moves ahead," he said. "When economics gets involved, it gets more complicated. There is a huge financial engine driving this. The athletic directors say they need this to better balance the books."
Kretchmar, though, did say a large contingent of NCAA faculty oppose the idea. The faculty is joined by the American Football Coaches Association in its opposition.
"There is a concern about the balance of higher education," Kretchmar said. "The extra game flies in the face of that."
Ultimately, it will be up to the university presidents, the same people who oppose a Division I-A football tournament, to make it a reality.
After the management council's vote in January, the NCAA Division I board of directors, a panel of 11 Division I-A presidents, makes the final decision on the matter in April.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ray Fittipaldo can be reached at rfittipaldo@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1230.)