Can College Football Be Fixed?

By Paul Gotham

Monday night college football will crown its champion. In the climate-controlled comfort of the Louisiana Superdome the Ohio State Buckeyes and Louisiana State Tigers will vie for ultimate bragging rights. Of course this ending will continue the discussion of the BCS (Bowl Collusion Syndicate) and its validity.

Opponents of the BCS will have a Tank Johnson-size arsenal of ammo with which to argue. After their recent performances Georgia, USC, Kansas, Missouri, and West Virginia all have a legitimate claim. Those teams have shown at the end of the season to be capable of playing for the title.

Furthermore, opponents can criticize the amount of time between games for teams participating in the bowls and the subsequent poor play. Did anyone catch the Sun Bowl? South Florida and Oregon combined for twenty-one penalties. In the Holiday Bowl Colt McCoy fumbled four times, yet Texas still pounded Arizona State 52-34. These are just two examples. I have watched part or all of twelve bowl games and early mistakes were as regular as grandma on Ex-Lax. Who can blame them…the kids haven’t played a game in over a month; of course their timing is going to be off.

Proponents of the BCS and college football will carry on about its ‘unique’ format. That there is not a title in any major sport decided quite like what we have in college football; that the college football title is decided every weekend. One loss could doom a team’s chances…ooops! That one went by the wayside this year.

Yeah the college football format is ‘unique’. Kinda like the way I’d describe the relationship between Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. There’s no questioning Cruise and Holmes have a ‘unique’ marriage. Just not sure it’s for me. If that’s what you want, far be it from me to tell you how to run your life.

Discussing the possibility/logistics/need for a playoff format in college football seems to only scratch the surface. It is as if the NCAA has adopted the mantra: ‘If it ain’t broke don’t fix it’ when it comes to college football.

One might think that college football is trying to recreate the fortunes or misfortunes of Milli Vanilli. For those who have forgotten M.V. was a pop/dance act of the late 80’s that rose to stardom and eventually won a Grammy. Later it was discovered the band did not actually perform their songs, and the prestigious award was revoked.
Milli Vanilli at the Grammys
OR

It can be suggested that the BCS, CFB, and the NCAA are doing a remarkable impersonation of COLLEGE football; that they are lip-synching their way through this charade. Why not! They are filling their coffers with plenty of cha-ching, and we are perpetuating this sham.

Last May, the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) announced their annual Academic Achievement Award. This recognition is given annually to the Division 1A institution with the best graduation rate for the year. Both Notre Dame and Northwestern shared the honor with a 95% graduation rate for their freshman classes of 2001-2002. For Northwestern the recognition marks the fifth time since 1998 the Wildcats took home the award. Prior to then only College Football Association (CFA) members were eligible for the award. Notre Dame has earned the award seven times and Duke twelve times.

Thirty-two other institutions received honorable mention for graduating at least 70% of their class. Below you will find the list of schools mentioned by the AFCA along with the 2008 Recruiting Class rankings by Rivals.com (ranked in order 1-25).

2008 Recruiting

Notre Dame
Alabama
Georgia
Florida State
Miami-Fl.
UCLA
Ohio State
Texas
Southern Cal
Florida
LSU
Oklahoma
Texas A&M
Michigan
Auburn
Clemson
Va. Tech
Illinois
Colorado
Pittsburgh
Minnesota
Ok. State
Washington
California
Boston College

2007 Academic Achievement Award

Notre Dame
Northwestern
Alabama
Arkansas State
Ball State
Baylor
Boston College
Bowling Green
Cincinnati
Connecticut
Florida
Indiana
Iowa
La. Tech
Miami (Ohio)
Mississippi State
Nebraska
UNC
Ohio University
Penn State
Rice
Rutgers
Syracuse
Texas
TCU
Texas Tech
Toledo
Troy
Virginia
Virginia Tech
Washington
Wisconsin

By conference:

Top Recruiting Class:
SEC – 5
Big 12 – 5
ACC – 4
Big 10/11 – 4
Pac 10 – 4
Big East – 1
Independent – 1

Academic Achievement:

SEC – 4
Big 12 – 4
ACC – 5
Big Ten -5
PAC 10 – 1
Big East – 4
Independent – 1
Mid-American – 5
Sun Belt – 2
Conference USA – 1
Mountain West – 1
Western Athletic – 1

(By the way if you haven’t spent some time on rivals.com it is worth your while. They have a couple different levels of participation: the free level of which Casey is part of, and the paid level…oh it is soooo tempting. Dang credit card bills!!!!)

Back to the topic – we have some conspicuous absences from the AFCA list. First Navy, Army, Air Force, and Stanford are not on the list. Not all D1 institutions contribute to the Academic Achievement Award. The AFCA did not publish a list of these schools, but my guess is the service academies and Stanford don’t need the recognition of that award to tell them they are fulfilling their academic requirements; also missing from the list: LSU, OSU, USC, and Oklahoma to mention a few. Hmmm…I am not sure about these institutions fulfilling their academic requirements.

The AFCA has a list of all winners and those earning honorable mention since 1984. You can look for yourself. The skinny: USC appears on the list once(2000). Ohio State does not appear. L.S.U.? Once. Oklahoma? One time.

Since 1985 SEC teams have won five national titles. PAC 10 have won three. Big12-seven. Big10-2. ACC-1. Florida State has two titles, Miami-Fla-four and independents have won two national titles.

The SEC, PAC-10, and Big 12 have all won more national titles in the last two decades than they have had teams graduate 70% or more of their players two years ago. That’s graduation folks. This is not Magna Cum Laude or graduating with a 4.0 or 3.0. These are overall, basic graduation rates. In 2006 thirty-four of the 120 Division 1A schools graduated 70% or more of their football players. 34?!?! Yet many of these teams win the recruiting battle? What basis are they using to recruit? Shouldn’t this system reward the schools which graduate student-athletes?

The AFCA award does not allow for degree of difficulty. There is no distinguishing between an Astro-Physicist degree and a University Studies degree. This is bottom line: did the student-athlete qualify for a degree? I am not suggesting that football players should take on a degree program such as Astro-Physics, or Bio-Chem, Pre-Med, or Pre-Law (although some do). Lord knows they have a difficult enough schedule to maintain when playing inter-scholastic sports. But if they are going to play COLLEGE football, shouldn’t they earn a degree? Shouldn’t university leaders and administration encourage these endeavors?
One of the common arguments I have heard has been: “Isn’t the role of college to prepare student-athletes for their career? Then these guys are being prepared for a career in football.”

That argument sounds good until you consider between Division 1A, 1AA, and Division II there are 388 football teams. The NFL consists of thirty-two organizations. Student-athletes from 388 universities compete for jobs in thirty-two organizations. Man! The Giants have a better chance of winning the Super Bowl.

Before you question why I would include Division IAA and Division II, consider Alcorn St. (Steve McNair), Morehead St. (Phil Simms), Mississippi Valley State (Jerry Rice), and Kutztown (Andre Reed).

The National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) estimates that .2% of all high-school seniors playing football will ever receive a paycheck from the NFL. To be more specific – only 310 players are invited to the annual NFL scouting combine. Translated: less than one player on average from each college roster will get an invitation.

Not to mention that for those earning a roster spot, the average NFL career lasts three and a half years. Full retirement benefits come after a five year career. In other words, .2% of all high school seniors playing football this year have a chance of earning a career in the NFL that might last three and a half years.

This is what we call preparing student-athletes for their career path? Sure some guys can make rosters as practice players. Others will earn jobs as coaches. Yeah, they can make money. Has anyone taken the time to follow the path of a college coach? It is not for the faint of heart. It is also not for someone unfamiliar with the rigor involved in studying for courses.
Other than BYU in 1984 and the occasional ND title, the college football chan’ship has been limited to six power conferences. We have to go back to Army in 1945 to find a school from outside the big conferences that won a title. Yet the small conferences graduate student-athletes at a similar or better rate than the schools from the power conferences. (By the way SMU graduated 100% of their players two years ago. For the young ‘uns out there, Eric Dickerson graduated from SMU. At one time the Mustangs were considered contenders. That is until they went into recruiting violation purgatory, and we haven’t heard from them since then.) Is this competition?

At the risk of sounding like Kelly Preston: “Is this not America?” Seriously, aren’t we about giving everyone, especially the little guy, a chance? Can’t we see what’s right in front of us? The power conferences have a stranglehold on the title and the chances of qualifying for the title. This allows them to win the recruiting battles every year, and college football becomes an endless cycle of big-time football and big-time pay days.

It doesn’t have to be this way! I repeat – IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE THIS WAY!!! Take a look at college baseball, Rice, UC-Irvine, Wichita St., and Cal-State Fullerton all rank in the pre-season rivals.com top 25. Yeah, I know that’s baseball. Yeah, I know it costs a lot more to run a football program. I also know that it’s college sports, and that college baseball does not generate as much revenue…yet. For now college baseball seems somewhat removed from the big-time collusion of Division 1A college football.

Want to change college football? Return it to COLLEGE football instead of some feeder system for the NFL. Stop misleading these kids into thinking their roads are paved to NFL riches; it’s a lie – make college football about college first and football second. Scholarships should equal graduation rates. Each school gets twenty-five scholarships per year or a total of eighty-five (take into account red shirt players). If kids don’t graduate you lose scholarships. Sound extreme? It’s only extreme because the system has deteriorated to the point where graduation is a diminished priority with some universities. These schools can survive minus a couple of scholarships. Division 1AA schools, like Appalachian St., only have sixty-three scholarships, and the Mountaineers did the unthinkable earlier this year: winning in the Big House.

This idea is not that far-fetched. The NCAA has already put into place the Academic Progress Rate (APR), but the penalties for this program are only mentioned as ‘eventual’. A Washington-Post article outlines the plan. The sooner it is implemented the better.

The NCAA needs to go further: stop slapping institutions on the wrist. If a coach rolls the dice and brings in a kid whose academic pursuits are questionable, but that player elevates the team’s competitive standing; that is fine. That coach needs to know that some level of consequence exists. There has to be a balance.

Should this exist in all college sports? Absolutely! As I say this I know there are those gasping for air maybe even hyperventilating. Some will argue that implementing such a plan will diminish the overall entertainment value of college sports. Folks, individuals who perform in the classroom can perform on the athletic field. It can happen.

Don’t stop there. College football needs a playoff system, and they need a format that allows all eleven conferences a shot at the title. Sixteen teams should qualify for the playoff. Each conference gets an automatic bid, and five at-large bids are given from there. Sure this format will create some lopsided first-round matchups…at first.

But you know what will happen? Eventually the playing field will level. Small schools will be able to go into the living rooms of the top recruits and have a fighting chance to sign that kid. Student-athletes who thought their only chance for major exposure was to play in a power conference, will see a school from the WAC, Mountain West, Sun Belt, Conference USA, Western Athletic, or Mid-American as a viable opportunity. Equity will eventually happen.

This will also have a trickle-down effect. Kids in high schools will learn that they need to maintain a positive academic standing and seek to improve their effort in the classroom. I have seen this first-hand. A former student was recruited and played for Penn St. Prior to his first contact with the school he was a low-performing kid in the classroom. After he was told by the Nittany Lion coaching staff that he needed to prove his ability to succeed in the classroom, he changed his ways. That kid went on to graduate from Penn St., and he earned All-Big 10-Conference honors. It can happen!

The only thing stopping this is fear. Fear of a loss of revenue. Fear that the big schools will lose their assumed entitlement to the crown. Fear of a decrease in entertainment value. Fear of change.

A little off-topic – while researching and writing this piece my views crystallized on the notion of student-athletes receiving a salary. When one considers that a student-athlete receives, room, board (man a football player’s board has to be significant), books, classes, tutoring, top coaching, facilities, travel expenses, and a life-long network, it is hard to imagine they need much more. That is of course if they value what they are getting. Give them some money to get to and from home, maybe a little spending money, but that’s it.

There’s my pinata for the week. Grab a stick; take a whack. Those in charge may lead us to think college football isn’t broken. Maybe the question should be: is it working?