Jacie
12/25/2015, 03:57 PM
. . . could it happen again?
The title refers to the lawsuit brought about by Oklahoma and Georgia to break the NCAA control of televised college football. If you are too young to know, imagine that there was one and only one game per week on television. Yes, it was that bad! We used to go nuts when they would break down and show us a double header! The NCAA controlled which teams were televised and how much they were paid. It was only after the universities of Oklahoma and Georgia teamed up in 1981 to file a lawsuit to end this practice which ultimately worked it's way through the Supreme Court that the matter was settled once and for all, in favor of the schools.
Fans of the two schools have contended that following the successful lawsuit, the NCAA punished both schools, finding against them in trumped up charges of infractions in violation of NCAA rules, leading to sanctions and probation. But the cat's out of the bag, all schools reap the benefit of the dismantling of the NCAA's total control of television rights/revenues.
Having posted how the NCAA has now scheduled the College Football Playoff semi-final games for New Year's Eve and how inconvenient and unpopular that decision is to fans of college football, i pose the the question, could it happen again?
We as fans cannot hope to make the powers of the NCAA and bowl games right this wrong, only the schools have the resources and clout to do this but is there enough incentive to cause any school, any conference to take a stand?
Could one school or better, a group of schools bring a lawsuit against the NCAA or simply through a boycott, force a more reasonable scheduling of games that will better serve the fans?
It would take a tremendous amount of courage on the part of the participants to simply refuse to accept New Year's Eve as a viable date for such an important game. Even making the playoff takes a remarkable confluence of circumstances that arguably happen so infrequently as to be a once-in-a-lifetime event for most, individuals if not schools. Is there enough outcry against this that a school would put a spot in the playoff on the line to challenge the dates set for the games? Should the fans demand this of their schools?
It could be done, unlikely but before NCAA v. Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma no one thought they would ever see anything besides The ABC College Game of The Week.
I realize i am in the realm of fantasy with this discussion but i get passionate when something i care about is mishandled by fatcats and money men dispensing influence and favors to rule what rightfully belongs to all of us.
The title refers to the lawsuit brought about by Oklahoma and Georgia to break the NCAA control of televised college football. If you are too young to know, imagine that there was one and only one game per week on television. Yes, it was that bad! We used to go nuts when they would break down and show us a double header! The NCAA controlled which teams were televised and how much they were paid. It was only after the universities of Oklahoma and Georgia teamed up in 1981 to file a lawsuit to end this practice which ultimately worked it's way through the Supreme Court that the matter was settled once and for all, in favor of the schools.
Fans of the two schools have contended that following the successful lawsuit, the NCAA punished both schools, finding against them in trumped up charges of infractions in violation of NCAA rules, leading to sanctions and probation. But the cat's out of the bag, all schools reap the benefit of the dismantling of the NCAA's total control of television rights/revenues.
Having posted how the NCAA has now scheduled the College Football Playoff semi-final games for New Year's Eve and how inconvenient and unpopular that decision is to fans of college football, i pose the the question, could it happen again?
We as fans cannot hope to make the powers of the NCAA and bowl games right this wrong, only the schools have the resources and clout to do this but is there enough incentive to cause any school, any conference to take a stand?
Could one school or better, a group of schools bring a lawsuit against the NCAA or simply through a boycott, force a more reasonable scheduling of games that will better serve the fans?
It would take a tremendous amount of courage on the part of the participants to simply refuse to accept New Year's Eve as a viable date for such an important game. Even making the playoff takes a remarkable confluence of circumstances that arguably happen so infrequently as to be a once-in-a-lifetime event for most, individuals if not schools. Is there enough outcry against this that a school would put a spot in the playoff on the line to challenge the dates set for the games? Should the fans demand this of their schools?
It could be done, unlikely but before NCAA v. Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma no one thought they would ever see anything besides The ABC College Game of The Week.
I realize i am in the realm of fantasy with this discussion but i get passionate when something i care about is mishandled by fatcats and money men dispensing influence and favors to rule what rightfully belongs to all of us.