Tuberville against 12th game

[deepseas 0]

off AL.com

Tuberville: 12th game bad idea

Thursday, May 05, 2005

AUBURN -- Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville says the NCAA's decision to squeeze a 12th game into the 2006 football season is ill conceived and unfair to players, and universities should consider ignoring the opportunity for the extra payday.

Tuberville concedes universities will seize the opportunity to make extra money from the additional game, likely a million dollars for a school such as Auburn. But that hasn't lessened his concerns. He says the NCAA's decision to add a game by eliminating an open date creates undo hardships on players.

The new setup could have Auburn playing 12 consecutive weekends, though some creative juggling should prevent that. Still, Auburn, and all schools, will play 12 games in a 13-week period.

It will be 13 games in 14 weeks for the two teams that make the SEC Championship Game.

Tuberville and others in the school's athletic department will come up with an extra opponent for the 2006 season. Their task: Find a nice-sounding team on short notice that just happens to have the same open dates as Auburn.

But there's a twist. SEC athletics directors discussed this week making changes to the 2006 conference schedule to make adding a 12th game easier.

"We want to see what the SEC is going to do, but right now we're trying to find a formidable Division I opponent," said Mark Richard, a senior associate athletics director.

Richard said he expects teams will begin announcing the 12th opponent in the next month or so.

Auburn's criteria will go something like this: If we're going to play a 12th game, let's start off with one at home. If this is about money, then let's make some. If that means not playing Michigan or Ohio State right away, so be it.

Of more immediate concern is when to play the 12th game in 2006. Some thought will given to playing Alabama a week later to what is now an open date before the SEC title game, but a likely scenario is that Alabama will stay where it is and the 12th game will be scheduled after the trip to Tuscaloosa.

"If we leave the schedule like it is and have our only open date after Alabama, we'd have played 12 straight games. And Alabama would have 12 straight games. That's not fair to the kids," Tuberville said.

Teams played 12 games in 2002 and 2003, but that was over a 15-week period, Tuberville said. The 2006 open date will likely before the Georgia game.

Tuberville is going to be careful with the 2006 schedule, especially after a quirk in this year's schedule has Auburn playing five home games to open the season before finishing up with four of its last six on the road.

Auburn voted against the 12th game because it was crammed into an open week, though would have likely been for it if the NCAA had allowed the season to start in August as in some other years. Tuberville doesn't understand the NCAA's stance. He says his players are practicing, anyway, and few schools begin classes in late August.

"The NCAA hasn't thought this thing through," Tuberville said.

So who will Auburn play? Well, not The Citadel. But not Southern California, either. It will likely be, in basketball parlance, a mid-major university to start off with. Such universities, willing to go on the road for a nice paycheck, may see their guaranteed payments rise as major schools getting in a last-minute bidding war for opponents.

"The second and third-tier teams will benefit the most," Tuberville said.

In the meantime, Auburn is trying to put the puzzle together.

"It's difficult to find somebody with an open date like we have," Tuberville said. "But we'll find somebody."

[Raven_tiger 5]

...The Citadel already scheduled by someone else???

[WAR EAGLE!!! 0]

I am going to be highly pissed off if Auburn has to play a regular season game after Alabama. That needs to be the final game of the year! That game is so important to both schools and it is what the fans look forward to all year. If you are having a crappy year, but beat your rival on the last game, a team can build on that all year.

Also, I would guess that after the Auburn/Alabama game, the kids and coached would be physically and emotionally drained. This is why we had an off week after the Iron Bowl for the SEC Championship.

It just would not be the smae and I would hate to see them change it!!!

[Tigermike 3,058]

If the extra game is to be permanent, I think the SEC office should move the SEC Championship game a week later in the season to make room for the 12th game. But then that would be too logical wouldn't it.

[WarDlowe 39]

This is just another example of how college football is turning into a business. There is no logical reason to play a 12th game other than the added revenue it generates. It is one more week of playing a mediocre team that we don't even need to play, one more week to risk injury, one more week without rest that will wear a team out to the point that they lose a game. 12 games in 13 weeks? That's crazy.

[vatz22au 142]

If the extra game is to be permanent, I think the SEC office should move the SEC Championship game a week later in the season to make room for the 12th game.  But then that would be too logical wouldn't it. 

158782[/snapback]

Your catching on...young padawon.....

[Guest Tigrinum Major]

Why, oh why, can we add another game for every team without extending the season, but we can't add one to seven more games for a handful of teams to decide a true national champion? The bowl cartel has a grip on the genitals of the NCAA and things will never change.

If anyone has ever read the book by Rob Pate, he talks about the grind of the season. This will just make it worse.

On a related note, what about moving the Bama game to the week before the SECCG? Or do we keep it where it is and add a patsy in the "off" week?

Opinions? Do we need a poll?

[AUesquire 1]

This morning, our local sports talk guru, Phil Paramore said he talked to a "Reliable source" yesterday that told him AU is about to seriously bump up the price you have to pay for the privilege of getting season tickets. Something like $1,600.00/year for endzone seats. No link, I'm just relaying what he was talking about on the air this morning. He said an announcement would be coming in 2-3 weeks.

If that's the case, they better schedule Notre Friggin' Dame, Michigan, Miami, Penn State and an assortment of big name programs for the upcoming 12th games. I doubt anyone really wants to pay those kinds of prices to see an extra game against Millsaps College.

[Bama Bo 0]

On a related note, what about moving the Bama game to the week before the SECCG?  Or do we keep it where it is and add a patsy in the "off" week?

Opinions?  Do we need a poll?

158812[/snapback]

According to an article in the Tuscaloosa News the other day, Mal Moore and Jay Jacobs are already discussing moving the Iron Bowl game back a week. I hope this is what happens. There doesn't need to be a game other than a possible SEC Champ game after the Iron Bowl.

[Bama My Heart 5]

This is just another example of how college football is turning into a business.  There is no logical reason to play a 12th game other than the added revenue it generates.  It is one more week of playing a mediocre team that we don't even need to play, one more week to risk injury, one more week without rest that will wear a team out to the point that they lose a game.  12 games in 13 weeks?  That's crazy.

158809[/snapback]

I think that they should have all conferences play a championship game, so everyone is ranked according to the same number of games played. If every school in the SEC has to play 12 games then 2 of them will have played 14 games when the bowl game is over, and that's not fair if they are ranked below someone who only played 13 games.

[Tigermike 3,058]

This is just another example of how college football is turning into a business.  There is no logical reason to play a 12th game other than the added revenue it generates.  It is one more week of playing a mediocre team that we don't even need to play, one more week to risk injury, one more week without rest that will wear a team out to the point that they lose a game.  12 games in 13 weeks?  That's crazy.

158809[/snapback]

I think that they should have all conferences play a championship game, so everyone is ranked according to the same number of games played. If every school in the SEC has to play 12 games then 2 of them will have played 14 games when the bowl game is over, and that's not fair if they are ranked below someone who only played 13 games.

158817[/snapback]

Well hellsbells even if they do that, Oklahoma can still loose their championship game and still play for the NC.

[Guest Tigrinum Major]

This is just another example of how college football is turning into a business.  There is no logical reason to play a 12th game other than the added revenue it generates.  It is one more week of playing a mediocre team that we don't even need to play, one more week to risk injury, one more week without rest that will wear a team out to the point that they lose a game.  12 games in 13 weeks?  That's crazy.

158809[/snapback]

I think that they should have all conferences play a championship game, so everyone is ranked according to the same number of games played. If every school in the SEC has to play 12 games then 2 of them will have played 14 games when the bowl game is over, and that's not fair if they are ranked below someone who only played 13 games.

158817[/snapback]

The CCGs are a big money maker for the conferences. NCAA mandates that only conferences that have 12 members and spilt into divisions can have the CCG. The better scenario is to have the conferences stop playing championship games because Norte Dame will never join a conference and therefore always play one less game. Yes, yes, I know Notre Dame is washed up as the Tide, but I think that Weiss will bring them back, unlike Shula, who will only bring Bama back to the dark days of Dubose.

And while we are talking fair, how is the current system "fair"? Teams like Utah never get the chance to show if they can compete with the big boys or not. Personally, I would have loved to see an Auburn-Utah matchup this bowl season, preferably as a semi-final matchup in a playoff.

Ah, to sleep, perchance to dream...

[Guest Tigrinum Major]

Scenario:

Could the Big Six Conferences break away from the NCAA and sanction their own football league without giving up their NCAA affiliation with other sports? That way, the teams of the SEC, ACC, Big Ten (with their eleven members), Big xii, Pathetic Ten and Big Least could get together, only play each other to guarantee good games and decide a champion through a playoff?

I know it's a pipe dream, the NCAA weilds too much monetary power in football and other sports to let this happen.

[Shug2003 1]

This idea of an extra game absolutely stinks!!! It is money driven by AD's and Presidents with little or no consideration for the players feelings and the "grind" of a long season and nagging injuries many players have. I completely agree with CTT in essentially stating what I just said. I love college football and Auburn football as well or better than most anybody else, but hey, this is getting totally out of hand. Enough already!!!

[AUHansel 0]

it's not a bad idea...for conferences that don't have a championship game. they are the only ones that will benefit from this.

[theMan 0]

If the extra game is to be permanent, I think the SEC office should move the SEC Championship game a week later in the season to make room for the 12th game.  But then that would be too logical wouldn't it. 

158782[/snapback]

I agree.