No More then 1 Div I-AA opponent
There has been a good deal of talk about not allowing Div IA teams play Div-IAA teams. I'm sorry, but I ain't drinking the cool-air on this one. You need to take this on a case-by-case level. Remember, not all Division I-AA teams "suck", and it gives programs on the Div-IAA level a chance to showcase their program on a greater stage. However, there is a difference between a great regional matchup like Massachusetts vs. Army and a not so great matchup like Texas Tech vs. Indiana State. No Division I-A team should play 2 or more Division I-AA teams in a single season (ahem, Texas Tech). To be perfectly honest, most of these teams are a good deal closer then you might expect, so I'm all for keeping one regional/sentimental matchup a year.
Clarify the Bowl Situation
There are now officially 32 Bowl Games sanctioned by the NCAA. I would, at most, cut a maximum of 3 of these games (The New Mexico Bowl, Birmingham Bowl. and the International Bowl). That would leave 58 slots open for teams to fill in these games. That's just a little under half of the teams that currently play Div-I ball. While a most of the leading minds will argue this is far too many Bowl games, I have a rather simple response. Why the Hell should it bother you? A fan of a top tier SEC, Big 10, or Big 12 team that is playing in one of the BCS games shouldn't take offense that a non-BCS school is playing in a game televised on ESPN2 and only taking about $750,000 from the game. As much as I hate any references to Marxist ideology, the argument of Bowl game always boils down to the Have and Have Nots of the college game. As a Navy fan, I know that a reduction in Bowl games would endanger my team's chances of making a postseason appetence, devoid me of a winter night watching football, and limit the exposure of the program in its attempt to reach recruits on a national level. As a fan of the "mid-majors" and the non-BCS teams, it limits my and other fans' ability to look at college football across the nation and assess the relative strength of each conference and to retain a grasp on teams we wouldn't ever see in the regular season. Yes, Bowl games are partially about TV ratings in money, but the die-hard fan, like me, isn't losing anything in the amount of games. We are only gaining! Just because Navy killed Colorado State in the Poinsettia Bowl last season doesn't make them equitable to Ohio State, who killed Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl. Yet it leaves me with a great feeling of anticipation for the future of the program and provided a great game to watch on television, which is what a Bowl game should provide.
Insitute a BCS playoff
Proving that Phil Steel has complete control over me, I'm going to go ahead and rep his BCS playoff system a bit, in which basically the #1 team plays the #4 team, while the #2 and #3 team play in the semifinals. Then the winner of each games plays, and whoever wins is the National Champion. Further questions should be directed to Phil.
Add a 9th or even a 10th Big East Team
And not Army, Navy, or Notre Dame. If necessary, move a Div-IAA team like Delaware, Massachusetts, or even Villanova (gotta rep the Catholic schools) up to the Big East. It may be ugly for a year or so, but it should work out nicely. See UCONN.
Bestow BCS Status to the Mountain West'
Utah and TCU are legitimate Top 25 teams with chances to win 10 games this season. BYU is on the verge of coming back onto the National stage, while Colorado State, San Diego State, and New Mexico all have cases for a winning season. Air Force and Wyoming aren’t bad, and even UNLV isn't horrible. This may be one of the most enjoyable conferences to watch, and is every bit as good, if not better, then the Big East.
Get more Games on TV
And not just cable, but Broadcast too. ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox should all have at least one game televised nationally during the day. CSTV games should be picked up by all the crappy ass stations nobody actually watches, including Univision, Discovery Health, Lifetime, and Pax (which some games are actually shown on). ESPN, ESPN 2, and TBS should specialize in showing night games.
Increase the Play of the Sun Belt or Move it Down to Div I-AA
I'm not rooting against the Sun Belt, as many of you are. Yet the conference just can't beat anyone right now except itself. It's starting to remind me of the Balkan Wars of the Pre-World War I era. Who really cares? To make the conference more competitive I would ban Non-Con games against BCS schools and encourage a rivalry with C-USA in a hope of slowly developing the Conference. If in 5 years a 'Belt still can't upend Rice, it's time to cut the fat.
Make Atheletes Smarter
I don't care how we do it, but we need to get back to the educational part of college. I would hire Craig Krenzel, who as you all know majored in nanomicroastrobiological genomics, to lead a new "Center for College Football players who can't read good and want to learn how to do other academic stuff good too center."
Ban Rap Music at Games
Except at games with substantially large African American contingents, Rock, Classic Rock, Southern Rock, and Country Rockability music should be the only music played. The Imperial Theme from Star Wars is also acceptable. Anyone caught wearing a t-shirt from one of these emo bands shouldn't be allowed in the stadium. Teams that allow female popstars or male boy bands sing at halftime will receive the "Death Sentence."
No More Lego's or Star Wars
I apologize to my fellow Navy fans in advance, but I too am sick of the Lego's. Army's video people are lightyear's ahead of us, and all because of the damn Lego star wars people. The Fresh Mid and the Can't State videos show promise, but for now the NCAA is going to have to impose a ban on stupid and not very creative video insults towards other teams. We should be coming up with stuff like this.
Keep the Native American Names
As long as a Native American tribe is cool with it, so should we. After all, shouldn't we honor the people who inhabited this country long before us? If it's particularly offensive we can change it, but frankly the image of an Indian Warrior on horseback conjures up a very masculine and romanticized version of history which you would like in your nickname.
C0me to think of it, I would be a great commisioner. That is until I would be caught embezzeling funds from the NCAA to pay of Phil Steele for gambling advice. Pardon the last couple of points, It was hot outside and my mind was wondering...
7 comments:
I have the solution to your DI-AA. Simply allow it but the I-A team must incur 1 BCS penalty point. That way you get the same effect of allowing a UMass-Army or Navy-Delaware game because we likely will never really contend for a BCS title game, but this will keep the big schools from playing Indiana State.
Good idea, I like your style
The biggest reason I-AA teams play I-A teams is for the money. You don't want to restrict that. It's not like it's that big of a problem.
I agree with you Phelix as to why I-AA play I-A, but that's why I think a BCS point penalty is a better way to handle it.
Who wants to watch West Virginia play Wofford and the rest of the Big Least and then be in contention for the National Championship like last year nearly provided?
I-A can still play I-AA teams, just don't expect to be playing for the NC if you do.
all pollsters factor in strength of schedule when they vote. it's not like it goes unnoticed. even when the computers spit out their rankings to the bcs, most of them don't count I-AA games.
a lot of I-AA programs count on that money from I-A games to fund their athletic departments. discouraging those matchups won't do anyone any favors. we might not really like them as fans, but there are bigger concerns than that IMO.
I was with you all the way until you pulled the rug out from under the Sun Belt. This subject is not all that serious. Let's lighten up.
I remember when Troy transitioned fom I-AA to I-A. They played Nebraska! And even-up it was! By the 3d quarter the sea of red was pulling for Troy. When they left the stadium they received a standing ovation ( which they will never forget..). Reminded me of Navy in South Bend a couple of years ago. ( Get it? ).
Thanks for the comment, but with all duo respect, I want to give the Sun Belt a chance, not tear it to pieces. The thing is the league, as it stands right now, is so bad that they sent could only send a 6-5 team that got crushed by ARMY to get beaten pretty good by Southern Miss in a Bowl. I agree with the fact that the league needs to play an easier NonConf slate, that's why I proposed building up inter-conference rivalries with the MAC and the WAC. As a fan of the Buffalo Bulls, I can certainly sympathize with the little guys who never really get a chance when they first come into the I-A level. That being said, the teams in this conference are never going to be able to pull off more then one marginal upset a year (MTSU over Vandy last season) at their present course. This league could, unfortunately, turn into a rather pathetic developing ground for Div I-AA teams to come to the D I-A level before their ready. I'd read around some other blogs, the pundits absolutely abhor the Sun Belt. I recognize their is a problem, and want to try to correct it. What the point of having Div I-A teams with almost no exposure who completely sit on the outside looking in?
Post a Comment