Every once in a while I allow myself to get lost in the feel-good “amateurism” of college sports.
It just warms my heart to see thousands of students cheer for their peers on gamedays, watch walk-ons overcome all odds and interview athletes who graduate with degrees they never could’ve earned without that little champion of underdogs otherwise known as the NCAA.
Amid my dreams of sunshine and rainbows, I am too often awoken by the dark, cloudy skies of reality.
College sports are ruled by the almighty dollar, and that realization makes it difficult to simply roll over and fall back into that delightful dreamland.
I was reminded of that fact yet again this week when SportsbyBrooks.com reported the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament will be expanded from 65 teams to 96 as early as next season.
I’ve been listening to a lot of Lil’ Wayne lately, and the NCAA could use a little advice from the rapper.
“If it ain’t broke, don’t break it.”
The college basketball postseason format is hands down the most perfect of any sport in the country, amateur or professional.
As a result, it’s also the most popular among viewers, which means the NCAA and big-time television companies are seeking a way to make an extra buck or two — or one million — by adding more games to the slate. Companies like CBS, ESPN and Fox are expected to be involved in the bidding war.
A 96-team field would add a total of 31 games to the Tournament slate, which equals a substantial amount of additional TV revenue and a bigger contract for the NCAA.
Even Florida coach Billy Donovan said this week he is in favor of expanding the field.
“I always think that it’s better to include more. That’s just been me,” Donovan told reporters Tuesday. “Now how all that works and how longer is the tournament and how many weeks they got to add? I don’t know all that. But I think every college coach would be the same way.”
No disrespect to Donovan, but every college coach also wants to have a better chance of getting his team into the Tournament and keeping his job.
Without question, the biggest slap in the face is delivered firmly to the collective cheek of college basketball fans.
For years, college football fans, analysts and coaches have pleaded with the NCAA to fix the disgracefully inefficient BCS.
Behind the guise of academic integrity and complicated logistics, the BCS has remained in place for the exact same reason the powers that be are more than happy to change a perfect system.
“The money is the motive,” Lil’ Wayne wheezes on the same song.
The college football bowl sponsors and college basketball TV networks couldn’t care less about determining a true champion in the fairest way possible.
The darkest cloud of all: I’m beginning to think neither does the NCAA.
