NCAA Endzone

Yesterday the New York Post ran an article that hinted at NCAA football having a “plus-1″ semifinal playoff format as early as 2011.

The information on a possible “final four” format is speculative rather than substantive at this point, but interesting nonetheless. One has to wonder who the reporter’s sources are, and how they know what they know.

Whatever the change is, one thing is clear - the playoff format must change. The BCS is arbitrary at best, and at its worst excludes teams that by anyone’s standards should have a shot at the “national championship.” Perhaps we’ll never see a true “final four” like there is in NCAA basketball, but having semifinal and final bowls would at least lend some legitimacy to selecting a college football champion.

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Minnesota cornerback Dominic Jones was charged after investigators discovered a cell phone video clip of him having sex with a woman whose blood alcohol was estimated to be about .30, or at least three times the legal limit in most states. The victim was essentially rendered helpless by her level of intoxication. Way to commit a serious felony, Dominic.

Nick Saban admitted during an interview with Sun Sports that he handled his departure from the Miami Dolphins poorly. Wow, finally we get the truth from this man. Did anyone seriously believe him when he said he wasn’t talking to Alabama? Seriously. He lied from day one about Alabama, and he tried to play it off by saying he was acting in the best interests of the Dolphins. What a bunch of hooey. The Dolphins probably make all their prospective coaches take lie detector tests now, thanks to Saban.

And on a more positive note, look for The Express to hit movie theaters in October 2008. It’s about Syracuse running back Ernie Davis, known as the Elmira Express. In 1961, Davis was the first black man to win the Heisman Trophy. He was about to begin his career with the Cleveland Browns when leukemia took his life at age 23. Sad ending, but certainly a good story.

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Ohio State has a new president, and he’s a zero tolerance kind of guy.

That’s all well and good. Athletes who stray too far from behavioral norms can and should be punished, particularly when the behavior devolves into criminal action.

However, Gordon Gee is the guy who once disbanded the sports program at Vanderbilt for being too out of whack with the rest of the university. Hmm, there’s a problem with a leg, so let’s just whack it off instead of fixing it for the good of the rest of the body.

Can you see that going over at Ohio State? Athletics are big at Ohio State, and I don’t see students or alumni going along with something that extreme. People get emotional over sports, and sports can be an integral part of the overall college experience.

I know. I went to a college that didn’t have a football team. Drinking was very popular there.

The Orlando Sentinel is reporting that Florida State athletic director Dave Hart has received written notice from the university president that his contract will not be extended past its scheduled expiration in January 2009.

If he’ll stay until then is anyone’s guess. His contract can be terminated by mutual agreement between Hart and FSU. Any buyout agreement funds would be paid by Seminole Boosters, Inc.

It seems silly to me to want to get rid of someone who’s been largely successful, but hey, I’m just a fan. I can’t claim any firsthand knowledge of how this stuff works. I live in the real world, where things sometimes make more sense than in the political, pro-win world of college football.

Oklahoma plans to appeal the NCAA’s order forfeiting all eight of the Sooners’ 2005 wins. Was there any doubt that they would? Seriously! The program that would forfeit eight wins without challenging the governing body’s ruling would be a pretty sucky one by anyone’s definition.

Sports Illustrated pundit Stewart Mandel has named Virginia coach Al Groh as the worst coach in college football. I’m sure Groh is suitably mortified, if he even pays attention to this kind of stuff. If I were a coach, I wouldn’t. I barely pay attention to it as a fan …

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If you’ve been reading here much, you know I think many NCAA violations border the edge of stupidity. I agree with the NCAA on this one, though.

The announcement came Wednesday that Oklahoma would forfeit its 2005 wins and lose two scholarships for the 2008-09 and 2009-2010 seasons. The punishment results from a situation in which players were booted from the team for being paid for work they had not performed for a car dealership. The Sooners’ current probation was extended until May 23, 2010.

The NCAA found that Oklahoma didn’t keep close enough tabs on many players’ employment, which allowed NCAA violations to occur.

It’s sad that many players will be punished due to the lapses of two, and I feel sorry for the ones who were not involved because they worked hard for those wins. But there was a level of dishonesty in this situation with the two players that sets a terrible precedent, and the punishment had to be severe to make it clear that ethics do matter. Allowing this situation to go unpunished would be like saying it’s OK, you’re a football player, you don’t have to work for your money like everyone else does. And that’s a load of crap.

This punishment will undoubtedly serve as a warning to other schools that might be tempted to straddle or cross the ethical line. The NCAA clearly won’t tolerate the wrongdoing, and neither should college football fans who work hard for their entertainment dollars.

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Northern Colorado punter Mitchell Cozad lost his bid to have his statements to police suppressed. As you may remember, Cozad was a backup punter and is accused of stabbing starting punter Rafael Mendoza in his kicking leg. He’s set to go to trial on July 30.

Jimmy Wilson, currently suspended from the University of Montana football team, entered a plea of not guilty to a murder charge on Monday in Los Angeles. He is accused of shooting his aunt’s boyfriend to death following a dispute.

Rumor has it that Evan Sharpley is the frontrunner in the three-way race for the starting quarterback spot at Notre Dame. The source? None other than David Frazier, father of former Notre Dame QB Zach Frazier, who split when he learned that he was the fourth man in the three-way race. Of course, this could be just another blog rumor. Sometimes those things pan out, though, so stay tuned.

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In this episode of America’s Most Wanted Football Players, New Mexico State wide receiver A.J. Harris was taken into custody on Sunday for battery. Harris reportedly told the responding officers that he slapped the complainant, who was his ex-girlfriend.

The NCAA is making the NFL look like a bunch of well-paid choirboys. Perhaps Roger Goodell should come head up the NCAA when he is done weeding out the NFL and get rid of the future Pacmans, before they have a chance to get paid for embarrassing their teams.

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The season can start any day now. Then there will be some real news to talk about, but instead there is the news that Alabama has self-reported three secondary violations of NCAA policies involving football recruits and/or their family members.

Zzzzzzzzzzz …

One of the improper contacts occurred during a game in December, when a booster talked to a recruit while both of them were in a skybox. NCAA bylaws restrict the booster’s contact to a greeting only, and apparently the conversation went beyond that. So, in other words, it’s OK to say, “Hey, how are you?” but you can’t say anything past that. That doesn’t sound very welcoming to me, but those are the rules.

In January, a graduate assistant took a recruit’s mother and a family friend to and from campus during a recruit’s official visit. Can’t do that either. Free ride for your son, but no free ride for you. Mmm, buh-bye.

Then in February, a booster gave a recruit a book on the history of Alabama football. Man, those boosters are off the chain! How dare they be proud of the program they support and want to share that with someone who might play football at Alabama.

I know, I know, the rules are supposed to protect the recruits from being manipulated and the school from liability and accusations of wrongdoing. It just seems to me that some of the rules suffocate the very normal human interactions people have with each other, without even thinking about it.

Guess they have to start thinking about it.

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It’s been a while since I have heard anything about this story that reminds me ever so slightly of the Tonya Harding-Nancy Kerrigan ordeal, with one notable exception. In this case, the athlete is accused of doing the dirty work on his own.

Mitchell Cozad was a backup punter at North Colorado when he was accused of stabbing the starting punter, Rafael Mendoza, in his kicking leg in an attempt to secure the starter’s job for himself. Charged with attempted murder, Cozad could be sentenced to up to 48 years in prison if convicted.

Cozad’s attorney is trying to get his statement to police suppressed. A suppression hearing was held Tuesday, during which Cozad testified that he felt bullied by the police and that his requests for a lawyer to be present were ignored. Yet Cozad testified that he talked to police because he had nothing to hide.

I don’t know if Cozad did what he’s accused of, but I don’t feel sorry for him or anyone else who makes a statement to police without a lawyer present, then tries to have their statement suppressed. He says he wanted to lawyer up, but he talked anyway. Nobody can make you talk unless you want to; you have the right to shut up if you so choose.

If he was smart enough to ask for a lawyer, then he should have been smart enough to stop talking.

The Big Ten Network kicks off its inaugural season on August 30. On the following Saturday, it will broadcast its first games. Seventy-five local cable systems in eight states and DirecTV have already committed to carry the new network.

Will it be worth their while?

Personally, I can’t see the value in the Big Ten Network. But then again, I’m not a huge fan of the Big Ten. I’m in SEC country. If there was an SEC channel, I probably would subscribe to it if it meant I could see every Gators game. But I certainly wouldn’t spend more than $20 a month to have access to it.

There is no doubt that there is big money to be made in and around college football, so surely there will be advertisers willing to pursue Big Ten fans. My big question is, will it be profitable? Even if it is, will it be worth it to continue it?

I believe there is a limit to how much people will be willing to pay for a channel with such a limited range of sports programming. I also believe the number of interested advertisers may be limited. I could be wrong, but I don’t see this network surviving long. Then again, I could be underestimating fans’ level of dedication.

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Just days after the demise of NFL Europa, the All American Football League is beginning its tryouts at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida.

Scheduled to launch in the spring of 2008, the new league’s teams will be based in Florida, Alabama and other areas with a strong college football fanbase.

Using players who have already graduated and used up their college eligibility, the league will play mostly by college rules. Team colors will match those of popular college teams in their areas, and the plan is to have players play near where they played in college. Games will be held on college football fields.

It’s a different approach than other pro leagues have taken, and I have a feeling that it just might work a little better than past approaches. I’m interested.

The Hartford Courant is reporting that former Notre Dame QB Zach Frazier has narrowed his choice of schools to UConn and Cincinnati.

Frazier made a second visit to UConn this week, and his father says he’ll be making his decision on where to go within the next few days, based on his chance at playing time and his gut.

Who can really blame the kid for picking the school where he’ll be able to actually play? No football player worth his shoulder pads wants to sit on the bench. And after learning he would have virtually no chance to play at Notre Dame, Frazier barely hesitated in his decision to transfer to another school. I believe he’s serious about wanting to play and I wish him good luck wherever he goes.

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The NCAA Championship and Competition Cabinet decided yesterday to turn down a proposal related to drug testing.

The proposal would have expanded the NCAA’s testing for street drugs. Currently, the NCAA only tests for street drugs at championship events and that will not change. Factors affecting the rejection of the additional testing were extra costs (about $825,000) and the fact that most Division I schools and conferences are already testing for street drugs.

Stiff penalties for drug violations were also part of the proposal. First-time offenders would miss half the season; second offenders would have been banned for a year, and the third offense would have resulted in permanent ineligibility.

I think it’s good that this proposal did not pass. Schools should have the discretion to deal with some issues themselves, and certainly the NCAA regulates the daylights out of athletic programs already. It has to stop somewhere.

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Is it just that I’m new to the college football off-season, or does this blog feel like the neighborhood crime watch lately?

Samford defensive end Michael Hall, all of 20 years old, was arrested for bank robbery on Friday. Police found just over $18,000 when his vehicle was searched at the time of the arrest.

Even if he’s been dealing drugs for pocket change, that’s a crazy amount of money to have just lying around. Was he on his way to Samford to pay someone’s tuition when he got stopped?

Needless to say, he’s suspended from the football team. As he should be - bank robbery is a serious federal crime, and even the accusation must not be taken lightly. If he’s not guilty, then the justice system should bear that out; if he is. Whether he is or not, his life as he knew it is wrecked.

With college players recently being accused of serious crimes like murder and bank robbery, it makes one wonder if the NCAA will be forced to follow in the NFL’s footsteps and tighten up on personal conduct policies. Or will it be left to the individual colleges to determine punishment? It seems as if the time to act is now; otherwise, any reponse will be reactive, not proactive.

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Three national championships in two years have helped secure the future for Florida’s athletic director.

The news broke on Friday that Jeremy Foley has agreed to an 11-year contract that will pay him up to $1.2 million each year, making him the highest-paid college athletic director. It also guarantees that the 54-year-old athletic director, who hired championship-winning coaches Billy Donovan and Urban Meyer, will be able to stay in Gainesville until retirement age.

Not too shabby for a guy who started out as an intern in the ticket office.

It seems weird to me that the athletic director would make less money than coaches do, since he is technically the boss of them. Isn’t the boss supposed to make more money than his employees? Guess I’ve been working in the civil service world too long.

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