The Death of College Sports

College sports have changed dramatically in the last few weeks, but not because of anything that's happening on the field or court.

Pittsburgh and Syracuse bolted from the Big East Conference and have decided to join the ACC. The Big 12 Conference is slowly disintegrating. Long-time rivalries, such as Texas vs. Texas A&M, may go poof before the fans have a chance to dust off their parking lot grills.

The reason? Money, of course. Specifically money generated from television. A few large conferences have signed highly lucrative TV contracts to broadcast college football. Other conferences have established or are looking to establish TV networks of their own, taking queues from professional teams-- such as the Yankees-- that have turned TV into a profitable side-enterprise to the gloves and dirt on the diamond. Universities want their own pay dirt from these deals and are looking to change their conference allegiances, as necessary.

Don't get me wrong. College sports have long been professional pursuits, and individual teams have been violating the spirit of college's amateur status for years. The demise of former Ohio State University football coach Jim Tressel hit deep in the core of even the most optimistic football fan. Everyone, it seems, cheats to get ahead, and then hides behind apologies and nuances when the moves are uncovered. To quote UCONN basketball coach Jim Calhoun, "We may have broken rules...but we don't cheat."

The doublethink behind the obfuscation of responsibility demonstrated by college teams--these are, after all, teams of students who are allegedly learning about life from their coaches--means bad things for the actual spirit of the college game. Then again, I am being very naive. College sports got sick long ago. The latest moves are just symptoms that the disease has metastasized.

Consider the thousands of athletes that that are playing college sports for the right reason-- for a chance at a college degree and the scholarship that helps pay for it. These gymnasts, wrestlers, softball players and participants in numerous other sports-- they occupy a place the New York Times labels as "non revenue" teams. Given the expected changes in conference alignments, these true student athletes now will be forced to travel long distances to participate. Baylor, which is in Texas, might join the Big East, which includes the University of Connecticut.

I have done the flight from New England to Texas. I can't imagine being a college athlete having to take that flight, play in a contest (let's say men's tennis), then fly back home in time to study for a midterm exam. Geographic boundaries have no place in the new era of college sports, the students themselves be damned.

The original purpose of the college scholarship, to recognize the dedicated student-athlete who might need a little financial help to get a degree...well that all seems so juvenile now. You either generate revenue in college athletics, or you don't really matter.

In this mindset, enter the laughable state of athletics at my Alma Mater, Boston University. Alumni joke that the BU football team has not lost a game in over a decade. Football was eliminated in 1997. And while we are derided by other college grads for our own athletic pursuits, I now think BU students are clearly better off. BU cannot be distracted by the hullabaloo happening elsewhere.

Ironically enough, it is at BU-- a school with no football program-- that some of the most groundbreaking research regarding football concussions is taking place. BU's research was cited in league-union negotiations during the recent NFL lockout; the university is helping to make football a safer sport. BU's decision to terminate its own football program has inevitably made its own campus safer for academics, free from the harm of professional college football.

The seismic symptoms within the college athletic apparatus are happening fast, and the governing bodies seemed powerless to get in the way. College sports are not regulated. Which means greed and American capitalism can run their course. As Gordon Gekko famously put it, "Greed is good."

My Road to a National Championship

I picked one heck of a year to decide to go all out rooting for the UCONN Huskies. Here's a review of my road to a championship (When your team wins it all, calling it a Road to the Final Four seems so limited).

Round 1: UCONN vs. Bucknell

My location: Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. My brother Brett and I went to the game. Curiously enough, the earlier set of games at the venue featured UCONN's ultimate championship game opponent, Butler, so our "venue" t-shirts purchased in D.C. include the logos of both championship contenders.

Result: UCONN wins 81-52.

Round 2: UCONN vs. Cincinnati

My location: MJ Sports Bar at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn. After an afternoon within miles of where I grew up, I gathered with good friend Jen Mehigan and a few dozen or so other UCONN fans to watch a victory. On the road to Uncasville, my car crossed the 100K threshold.

Result: UCONN wins 69-58

Sweet Sixteen: UCONN vs. San Diego State University

My location: Kinsale Pub, Boston. The Thursday night game found me back in Boston. For some reason, this game worried me the least of the six.

Result: UCONN wins 74-67

Elite Eight: UCONN vs. Arizona

My location: My apartment in Boston. Why did Derrick Williams not try to drive and take a two on Arizona's last possession? It's a question that will haunt Arizona fans for decades.

Result: UCONN wins 65-63

Final Four: UCONN vs. Kentucky

My location: My brother Mark's house in Moosup, Conn. On one of the final days before his own move to a new condo in Norwich, I stopped by Mark's house, a mere 25 miles or so from the UCONN campus in Storrs. It worked out, as I was at my high school earlier in the night to attend a charity auction organized by my mother. Mark was right: It's much better to listen to sports radio for two hours (during my ride home) when your team wins. Random fun fact: It was the first time a team with a dog mascot played a team with a cat mascot in the Final Four.

Result: UCONN wins 56-55.

National Championship: UCONN vs. Butler

My location: The Hill Tavern, Boston. When UCONN won in 1999, I was at my apartment in Medford, Mass. In 2004, I was at my apartment on Beacon Hill when the huskies won their second championship. This year, I walked three blocks down the hill to my local watering hole. And it was there that UCONN settled the madness.

Result: UCONN wins 53-41.

Big East to the Final Four

Only a few weeks ago, I was jeering West Virginia and hoping that my UCONN Huskies would deliver them a whooping (they did). Yesterday, I was hoping like heck that same West Virginia team would find a victory against Kentucky (they did).

I root for the UCONN Huskies during the season, but once they are out of the running, I root for UCONN's conference, the Big East. I can't really understand why one night I am against various teams that are UCONN foes in the trenches of the season-- teams like Georgetown, Syracuse, Notre Dame, St. John's, Villanova and West Virginia-- and the next night I am cheering for those same enemies. To college basketball fans, it makes sense. You are loyal to your team first, and your conference second.

The Big East conference is the best conference in college basketball. During a couple weeks this season, four teams from the Big East were among the top ten ranked teams in the country. Syracuse and West Virginia almost occupied two of the four coveted No. 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament. Eight Big East teams made it to the big dance, more than any other conference.

Yet, the Big East's performance in the NCAA tournament has not been superb. Only two of the original eight Big East tournament entrants made it to the second weekend (the Sweet Sixteen, in insider parlance). The team that played the best during weekend one, Syracuse, could not get past a surging Butler Bulldog team-- which is from the Horizon Conference, arguably far inferior to the mighty Big East.

Why the disappointing tournament performance? My brother Brett puts forth a theory that the Big East conference is perhaps too good. The conventional wisdom is that playing in a difficult conference helps you at the end of the season; playing challenging opponents all year long hones a team's skills and allows it to see where problems are against high-class competition. It's kind of like training for a marathon by always pushing yourself to get beyond where you've been before, as opposed to training by running a mile during each training run.

Brett's theory is that there is a conference strength threshold that, when passed, becomes detrimental to the conference's teams. On more than one occasion this year, analysts have said the Big East "is eating its own." Playing a top-ten opponent each night for several weeks would wear even the best trained athletes. The Big East teams in the tournament this year have simply looked pooped.

I accept Brett's theory over the comments of many other non-Big East fans that say the conference is overrated. As someone who has watched many Big East games this year, and saw how the teams looked in the NCAA tournament, I still believe strongly the Big East is legit. But then again, I do admit I am biased.

And then, amid my concerns and theories of conference fatigue, there's West Virginia. The Mountaineers were not the best team in the Big East conference this year, but they are the best team now. They won the Big East conference tournament, and they have not looked back. Yesterday, they defeated Kentucky, a No. 1 seed, to earn a spot in the Final Four.

The Big East conference is now 8-7 in the NCAA tournament, with one team left. Most importantly, the Big East conference is headed to the Final Four, where it belongs.

Memphis Basketball Was Overrated

In this year's NCAA Men's Basketball tournament, Memphis should not have been a No. 2 seed. There. I said it.

Of course, it's easy to say that now, given that Memphis got blown out by Missouri Thursday night. Missouri was a No. 3 seed, so money was on Memphis. Except Memphis lost.

However, I have been critical of Memphis ever since the field of 65 was announced. Heck, I was critical of them a year ago in a post on this blog. Why? Because Memphis plays in a weak conference.

I noticed what I call the "hyperbole trend" in college basketball more this year than any other. When a team wins big, the analysts on TV seem to forget the team may have played a weak opponent. Most apparently, I watched portions of the Conference USA championship a few weeks ago with my brother Brett. Memphis is in Conference USA, and they played Tulsa in the championship. The announcers could not pile enough praise on Memphis.

"They are sending a message," Gus Johnson proclaimed. "You don't want to face this team come Thursday!" [The NCAA tournament was to begin that coming Thursday.]

Johnson overlooked the fact that Memphis was playing Tulsa. Tulsa did not make the NCAA tournament, even though they were the runners-up in Memphis' conference.

Tulsa lost by 19 points in the second round of the NIT to Auburn. Yet the fact that Memphis defeated them easily was Memphis "sending a message."

This calendar year, Memphis played three competitive teams. I will give you that they won two of them, beating Gonzaga during the regular season and Maryland earlier in the NCAA tournament. In contrast, UCONN played an entire Big East conference schedule during that same time; arguably 12 or 13 competitive games. UCONN lost three of those games, meaning their winning percentage this calendar year in competitive contests was higher than Memphis.

And yet, everyone I know had Memphis winning the region and going to the Final Four [UCONN and Memphis were competing for the same Final Four spot in this year's tournament]. In reality, Memphis didn't even make it to the Elite 8. And to me, that's not a surprise.

Because Memphis spent most of its season beating up on teams that couldn't play against my high school's squad, commentators and observers fell victim to the hyperbole trend. They inflated Memphis in the standings. They bought into mid-major arguments that they deserve respect with the big boys.

Memphis was given a No. 2 seed. Memphis is good enough to ride that seeding to the Sweet Sixteen. I would argue they caught Maryland, a team that could have taken Memphis, on an off day for the Terps. Then Memphis was dismantled by Missouri, a better team.

If Memphis had been seeded where it should have been-- No. 3 or 4, it might have lost sooner. There's no question to me now that some lower seeded teams, like Villanova, Xavier and even Syracuse, are better than Memphis.

My heart goes out to mid-major conferences. Some mid-major conferences are far more competitive than others. The Atlantic 10 (Xavier being one member) is far better than Conference USA. But there's just no question that the major conferences have better teams. And when they spend the entire year playing against each other, getting tough skin for the post season, the mid-majors just can't compete.

Enjoy the Elite 8. I will, of course, be rooting for UCONN. By the way, of the eight teams remaining, not a single one is from a mid-major conference. While we all love the Cinderella story, that's the way it should be.

Jim Calhoun Acted Poorly

Jim Calhoun, the head coach of the UCONN men's basketball team, acted unprofessionally a week ago. During the post-game press conference following UCONN's victory over Seton Hall, Calhoun was asked an inappropriate question. An activist who conned his way into the press conference by securing a photographer's credential asked Calhoun if he was concerned about receiving a very large salary when the rest of the world faced economic uncertainty. (Since he works for the University, Calhoun is technically a state employee.)

There's no question the question was out of line. But Calhoun's reaction was equally out of line. Rather than taking the high road and saying something like: "How about we discuss this after the press conference, as I am still pretty focused on what happened on the court," Calhoun lashed out at the reporter. In the process, he made news headlines and also propelled the issue of head coaching salaries into the national spotlight.

I watched both of UCONN's games since the incident (two victories over Marquette and Notre Dame), and during each contest, the announcers rushed to defend Calhoun. Dick Vitale on ESPN Thursday said Calhoun does not have to defend how much he makes, given the revenue his team brings into the University. Just this afternoon on CBS, Jim Nance said the public officials who criticized Calhoun's reaction should take a close look at what Calhoun has done for this state, at how much he has given to charities.

Both Nance and Vitale miss the point, that professionals should never act unprofessionally, especially when the camera is on. I have a suspicion that the defense of Calhoun is motivated more to assure Nance and Vitale that their calls to the coach are returned moving forward.

The ironic part is if Calhoun had kept his composure, the incident would not have been covered or noticed, and the announcers would not have to rush to defend him. In the end, the questioner who was out of line ended up winning; as the debate over coaches' salaries has been front and center in the sports world this week.