Death of the NCAA

Who among us likes to hear someone, correctly, tell us, “I told you so,”? None of us, I would presume. Even when the person reminding us of how wrong we were all along is a trusted friend or a family member, at best, the statement does little more than beg to original question. Often, that expression serves of a source of annoyance and a reminder of the downside of our stubbornness.

The NCAA appears to be very close to a point which its members, fans, and business partners can tell it that. For years, fans, journalists, and countless other people have called for a playoff system in college football. The NCAA has insisted upon not implementing a postseason tournament for football. Every logistical excuse is available. The bowls are rooted in college football tradition. There are travel considerations. There is not a clear set of fair criteria.

I have witnessed sports journalist after sports journalist, over the years, come up with a logistically sound playoff system including as few as three and as many as 16 playoff spots. I always found such columns to be interesting, creative, and fun to read. I also thought often, “This will never happen.”

I probably wouldn't mind hearing "I Told You So" directly from Carrie Underwood, but that may be the only exception. 1

DEATH BY A PAIR OF CUTS

Over this past weekend, Syracuse University and the University of Pittsburgh announced their intentions to leave the Big East and join the Atlantic Coastal Conference. The ACC accepted. Within the past month, Texas A&M University announced its plans to leave the Big XII and join the Southeastern Conference. Rumors have already surfaced that the Big XII (which is already down to 10 teams) is in danger of losing two more big names in Oklahoma and Texas. These schools are rumored to be eyeing a move to the Pac-12.

Meanwhile, schools such as Texas Christian University, who recently announced its intention to join the Big East Conference in 2012, may be left holding the bag for several years. TCU joined the Big East, in part, as an effort to improve its status for Bowl Championship Series bowl games and greater access to an opportunity to play for the BCS National Championship. With the exodus of Syracuse and Pittsburgh, in addition to rumors swirling about a possible departure by the University of Connecticut, the Big East appears to be following a similar road as the Big XII: major-conference extinction.

The super-sized expansions of the Pac-12, Big Ten, ACC, and SEC are setting up the stage for a college football world with four super conferences and a playoff system revolving around those conferences. The NCAA appears to have zero say-so or influence on conference affiliation. It has made no effort, whatsoever, to set up a college football playoff system and has elected to allow the bowl system and the media to dictate an unofficial champion of its most popular sport. If the NCAA has so little influence or concern about the structure and postseason of its member schools in football, then what, exactly, do these four super conferences need the NCAA for?

Like I said, TCU may be left holding the bag. 2

PEACE OUT

The NCAA has drowned its member institutions with rules, regulations, sanctions, and probation for every possible misstep imaginable, and some that one could not have imagined before reading about it in the news. I would wager that the organizing body is very unpopular among college football fans and that major college football program institutions would prefer the absense of an environment in which non-compliance is an inevitability, considering the number of people, directly and indirectly, connected to a big-time college football program.

This thought crossed my mind last year when the first wave of conference musical chairs, involving TCU, Utah (Pac-12), and Nebraska (Big Ten) began last year and has only been reinforced by some of the recent speculation I have heard on sports talk radio: Once the super conferences are formed and finalized, those members’ football programs will secede from the NCAA and form their own body, their own rules, and their own playoff system in football.

Ten years ago, such an idea would be inconceivable, to the point of laughter. As it stands, the NCAA has neutered itself in football to the point where member institutions are unilaterally deciding membership alignment. I think, barring an intervention or compromise, that it is only a matter of time before the NCAA is plucked from the affairs of major football programs. Once that happens, what is to stop those institutions from doing the same with their revenue-neutral and loss-leading sports such as basketball, baseball, and track?

I am sure this could make an interesting historical attraction one day. 4

I TOLD YOU SO

The NCAA has come under fire for decades for failing to take steps to draw a fair and definitive conclusion to its college football season for major programs. The conference shuffling of heavy hitting, major schools, is the beginning of a massive power shift in college football from a confederation of major conferences, mid-major conferences, bowl committees, and the BCS to four super conferences possessing the lion’s share of the decision making in college football.

The NCAA deflected, rationalized, and compromised on a means of deciding a champion in college football while being heavy handed with institutions failing to dot “I”s and cross “T”s properly. If it does not act very quickly, decisively, and in a manner that is friendly and accommodating to member schools and fans, its day of reckoning will come sooner than later. The NCAA could be on a road to becoming part of the past of major college football and possibly the past of major college sports altogether.

I wonder how Mr. Finebaum really feels. I doubt he's alone. 3

Don't forget to vote in the fan polls!

To advertise with The Daily Hat Trick, or to submit a guest column, please contact the editor at eric@thedailyhattrick.info.

The Daily Hat Trick is sponsored by Sports N Stuff. For great deals on jerseys, shirts, cologne, and other guy stuff, visit http://www.sportsnstuff.biz/.

1) Image from amazon.com
2) Image from seaton-newslinks.blogspot.com, altered by The Daily Hat Trick
3) Image from jefflail.com
4) Image from travelpod.com

Texas A&M and the SEC Play Musical Chairs

1

Much speculation took place over this past weekend about the possibility of Texas A&M joining the Southeastern Conference. For the past year, several big conference schools have changed conferences and several schools, formerly in mid-major conferences, have joined the ranks of the major, Bowl Championship Coalition conferences. Texas A&M would be the latest in a growing number of schools migrating for greener conference pastures.


I would never pretend to have inside information. From my vantage point, however, it appears that an A&M move to the SEC is inevitable. The question is, “When?”

I read multiple rumors and headlines over the past weekend suggesting that A&M would announce that it would join the SEC. I then witnessed a number of “can neither confirm nor deny,” quotations attributed to influencers and decision makers involved in a possible conference move. Where there is smoke there is fire. In sports, it is often a four alarm blaze.


SO WHAT?

Should the speculation of a Texas A&M move to the SEC prove to be correct, there will be a number of ramifications. First, it will expand the SEC’s footprint to the state of Texas, a state with more than 20 million people. This will add enormous value to SEC television contracts and increase the presence and influence of the SEC in Texas, a recruiting hotbed.

A&M will no longer be “the other” major Texas school in its own conference. Beyond institutional pride, this will differentiate Texas A&M from the University of Texas (and any other Texas school) regarding the profile of its athletic programs. Recruits and potential hires to Texas A&M athletics would be electing to compete in the SEC, as opposed to the Big XII at Texas. A football recruit from Texas, wanting to remain in Texas and compete with SEC caliber competition, will have one option in Texas A&M.

The once great LSU vs Texas A&M rivalry may soon be renewed on a permanent basis. 2

THE BIGGEST LOSER

In the past year, the Big XII Conference contended with the defections of Nebraska to the Big Ten Conference and Colorado to the Pac 12. Should Texas A&M move at some point in the near future, I think it is probable that the SEC would add a 14th team to balance its divisional alignments. This would mean another school, possibly another Big XII school, would also defect. The domino effect of a Texas A&M relocation to the SEC cold strip significant assets from other conferences.

Some of the speculation that I read about includes the possibilities of either Texas Tech or Missouri, both Big XII schools, following A&M to the SEC. I also observed speculation about Florida State University, of the Atlantic Coastal Conference, being an addition to the SEC to balance a Texas A&M acquisition. Either of these moves will weaken the conference suffering the departure, possibly crippling to the Big XII.

The 2012 Big XII logo? 3

WHAT’S NEXT?

While the SEC issued pacifying soft denials of a possible move, anyone on the outside looking in can see the possible benefits for the SEC of adding Texas A&M. I think the pros would far outweigh the cons. For that reason, I think A&M to the SEC is a “when” question and not an “if” question.

I believe that an A&M move would be the next step in a long line of steps, which will eventually lead to the NCAA having four super conferences for football, with the Big XII and Big East being either dissolved or on the outside looking in. Ultimately, having four super conferences could pave the way for the elimination of the BCS and its concept and the use of a 4, 6, or 8 team playoff system to decide the national champion in football.

Stay tuned! I am sure this story has a number of exciting chapters to come!

This trophy may be a relic if present alignment trends continue. 4

Don’t forget to vote in the fan polls!

To advertise with The Daily Hat Trick, or to submit a guest column, please contact the editor at eric@thedailyhattrick.info.


1) Image from fotosearch.com
2) Image from zimbio.com
3) Image from big12journal.com
4) Image from bleacherreport.com

Fanhood Fued - Favre, the BCS, and Lakers vs Celtics

The Daily Hat Trick has been giving you the breakdown on the different cliques of sports fan all month long. The fanhoods that we will look at today have been around a long time. For most sports fans, there is very little middle ground on these topics. These are values to sports fans. The factions are as much a part of a sports fans' identity as "Democrat" or "Republican" are a part of the identity of a politician. This week, we look at Brett Favre Apologists vs Brett Favre Exhaustees, Pro-BCS vs Pro-Playoffs in college football, and the 1980s Lakers Fan vs 1980s Celtics Fan.

Brett Favre Apologists vs Brett Favre Exhaustees

If you ever want to get a conversation started with a guy at a bar, there is not much lower hanging fruit than all things Brett Favre. Love him or hate him, people will talk about him. The more passionate one is about sports, the closer one will lie to one of the far ends of a pole with a #4 football jersey on one end and a Brett Favre tombstone on the other.

Brett Favre apologists love all things Brett Favre. Rule number one is that the Ol' Gunslinger can do no wrong. Rule number two is that when the O.G. does something wrong, see rule number one. His annual ritual of announcing whether or not he will play the following season, which will be the eighth such edition in the 2011 offseason, is like Groundhog Day or the start of spring; no year is complete without it. The man just loves to have fun playing the game!

• His NFL record for interceptions thrown in a career? He's just a gunslinger; he's thrown the most touchdowns, too! It's a product of experience. 
• His move attempting to muscle the Packers into either sitting starter Aaron Rodgers just days before 2008 training camp or trading him to the arch rival Minnesota Vikings (which ultimately happened via a trade to the New York Jets)? Capitalism....
• Claiming to be "retired" until the day after 2009 training camp broke, then signing with the Minnesota Vikings? The spoils of having paid his dues....
• Having Vikings Head Coach Brad Childress pick him up from the airport? Leverage....The Jenn Sterger controversy? Just a man being a man, a victim of political correctness and a gold digging young woman....
• Brett Favre really DOES wear Wranglers! So do I and SO SHOULD YOU!

Brett: "Hey y'all. Watch this!"
Jenn: "Uhnnn uhmmm!" (that's supposed to be a "no" with an "uh oh" cadence).
1

Brett Favre Exhaustees are, as the name implies, exhausted from all things Brett Favre. Many a portable radio has been smashed, many a television has been thrown out of the window, and many a laptop has been broken in two from the never ending flow of inescapable, ubiquitous stock market ticker-like Brett Favre updates. He is careless with the football when the game is on the line and takes foolish, excessive risks that are not worth the rewards. He selfishly put the Green Bay Packers and Aaron Rodgers in a precarious, lose-lose position with Packer fans and the media. He is a drama queen with a greater appetite for attention than a teenage girl on MTV's "My Super Sweet 16". On top of that he is a perv, a married, near 40 year old man who was trying to diddle a 25 year old girl.

The Daily Hat Trick is: I love watching Brett Favre play. It reminds me of what is good and fun about the game. Regardless of whether you like him or not, there is no denying that he is a warrior, starting 297 consecutive games in a sport in which some of its biggest stars never play all 16 games in a season. He makes players around him better and he is a leader of men in the trenches. I do believe that it is finally time for Favre to hang it up after 2010, but it will be a sad day for me, personally, as a football fan, when the first season without Brett Favre kicks off.


I'm not saying Brett should have done it, but I UNDERSTAND! 2


Pro-BCS vs Pro-Playoffs in College Football

The BCS is the product of a series of efforts, dating back to 1992, to match up the top two teams in college football in a bowl game. The idea was that by getting the major conferences to agree to place its champions in specified bowl games, college football could produce an indisputable champion. This would eliminate the politics and controversies, such as split national championships, of media polls such as the Associated Press poll.

Nineteen seasons and two split national championships later (1997, 2003), the controversy has only grown. Issues such as the exclusion of schools from non automatic qualifying BCS conferences (or "mid-major" conferences) have only fanned the flames of disagreement among college football fans and journalists. Proponents of a tournament-style playoff system have grown louder and have increasingly gained public support over the years. Recently, billionaire Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA, announced that he would attempt to finance a playoff system in college football, once and for all, to settle the matter and produce one true champion of college football each year.

The pro-BCS faction loves the tradition of bowl games. The holidays are not the same without getting comfortable on the couch or in the recliner with a stiff cocktail or a cold beer, tuning out the chatter of children and family, and watching bowl game after (meaningless) bowl game. There cannot be enough college football on television in December and early January. They also believe in tradition. Fix the BCS system, but do not scrap the beloved bowls. Otherwise, many men may actually have to listen to what their visiting relatives have to say.

The BCS: At least it is responsible for the "FUSC" fad. 4

The pro-Playoff faction is sick of the politics of the BCS and its predecessors and the media polls deciding a game that is played by athletes on the field. There is an NCAA tournament in basketball and a College World Series. Football Championship Subdivision (smaller, less competitive) schools have a playoff system. How can the NCAA fail to provide a fitting conclusion for its most popular sport? If we can put a man on the moon, then we can find a more fair and equitable way to crown a champion in college football. Too many individual entities with too much to lose are ruining college football for everyone.

The Daily Hat Trick is: C'mon man! Show me one person, not a broker of power in the current college football system, who does not want some type of playoff system and I will show you a contrary person or someone who would have resisted the transitions from leather helmets with no face mask and someone who thinks the use of instant replay is a bad idea. I am probably describing someone who would like to bring "tear away" half-cut jerseys from the 1980s back to the college game. The lack of a playoff system in college football causes my level of interest to plummet drastically after my school, Louisiana State University, is eliminated from the hunt. Like most schools, the end is usually apparent in November, creating a 6 to 8 week "lame duck" period of sorts for most college football fans.

Pro-BCS people probably think college football should return to the look of "The Boz" 3

Lakers Fan vs Celtics Fan - Circa 1980s

In my opinion, this was the greatest rivalry in sports during the 1980s. The intensity, theater, and sportsmanship of this (what felt like almost an) annual clash of all time greats for supremacy on the hardwood is largely responsible for the soaring popularity of the National Basketball Association today. Larry Bird versus Magic Johnson...Kareem Abdul-Jabbar posting up Robert Parish...Kevin McHale and James Worthy playing the role of "X factor"...this was what symbolized the true golden age of NBA basketball.

Magic vs Bird in the 1979 NCAA Championship Game: Timeless 6

Lakers Fan came in two varieties - the glamor fan and the urban fan. The glamor fan either lived the glitzy, decadent L.A. lifestyle associated with the excesses of the 1980s or wanted to live as such. The urban fan looked at Magic and company as new era basketball players who played the game the way they did at the playground...and won! Either way, this fan set the early weeks in June for Showtime in the NBA Finals. They loved the fast-break, no look passes from Magic. They never ceased to be amazed by Kareem's sky hooks. Jack Nicholson's place, on game nights, was courtside.

Timeless 5

Celtics Fan was or closely related to the blue-collar middle American. This fan group spoke often of (lame and boring) "fundamentals" and "team play" (I am sure you know where my fanhood is already). Larry Bird's face could be Photoshopped in place over that of Jesus and many a Celtics fan would be none the wiser. They hi-fived every time Larry Bird hit one of his (then) team record 71 consecutive free throws. The sharpshooting, fundamentally sound dribbling and passing style of Bird and his teammates endeared Celtics fans all around the country.

The Daily Hat Trick is: Lakers all the way. Football is my favorite sport, but basketball was my first love and the Bird-Magic rivalry is reason number one why I loved basketball as a small child and love following the sport today. I was a Lakers fan. Magic was eye-popping and Kareem's consistency and quiet dominance was inspirational. Growing up, I hated Bird and the Celtics, but, upon reflection years later, no contest is as fun as it can be without a villain. Bird and his era of Celtics are as much a part of the fabric of my personal enjoyment of sports at this time as the Lakers were. The game became premium sporting entertainment because of them. The Lakers and Celtics of the 1980s are missed. 

Timeless 7

Don't forget to vote in the fan polls!

For sponsorship opportunities, contact eric@thedailyhattrick.info.

1) Image from best-laptopcomputer.com
2) Image from cbsnews.com
3) Image from gettyimages.com
4) Image from sportscrack.com
5) Image from cinerobot.blogspot.com
6) Image from espn.com
7) Image from sportsblink.com