NY Times Al-Qaeda

[saniflush 0]

Don't they have some musicals to do a review on?

LINK

August 23, 2006

In College Football, Big Paydays for Humiliation

By PETE THAMEL

The University at Buffalo football team went 1-10 last season and did not score a touchdown until the fourth game. For nearly a decade, it has been considered one of the worst teams in college football.

Buffalo is just the kind of opponent some of the nation’s top-ranked teams are looking for — and are paying rapidly rising prices to play this season. The Bulls will travel this coming season to play Auburn, a national title contender, and Wisconsin, a perennial Big Ten Conference power. Although Buffalo appears destined to be humiliated, the university will receive a $600,000 appearance check for each game.

Scheduling easy victories is a tradition as timeless in college football as fight songs and homecoming. But after the National Collegiate Athletic Association approved the addition of a 12th regular-season game for the coming season, the appearance fees began climbing in a bidding war for games against college football’s flotsam and jetsam.

Buffalo became such a hot commodity in the off-season that it broke contracts with West Virginia and Rutgers because Auburn and Wisconsin were offering at least double the money. Troy State of Alabama will receive $750,000 from Nebraska to play in Lincoln this season. Louisiana-Lafayette will get the same amount from Tennessee next year.

With the weakest teams in Division I-A becoming more expensive, top programs are stooping lower for competition. Iowa, a Big Ten favorite this year, wooed Montana, a Division I-AA program, for $650,000.

“It’s all about the money — any administrator will tell you that,” said Rich Rodriguez, the head coach at West Virginia. Buffalo dropped West Virginia from its schedule, without even a courtesy phone call, to earn an extra $300,000 to play at Wisconsin. Mr. Rodriguez added: “It’s not for the excitement of college football. Let’s not kid ourselves.”

When the N.C.A.A. proposed allowing 12 games, most coaches objected. Some saw the proposal as exploiting players to fill athletic department coffers. When the extra opponent is a bigger, faster and stronger team, not only does the risk of embarrassment rise, but the potential for injury also increases.

N.C.A.A. officials agree that the change was about money. Football home games are typically the primary source of revenue for an entire athletic department. Other than football, the only college sport that makes consistent money is men’s basketball. The other men’s and women’s sports, except in rare cases, cost more to run than they generate.

David Berst, the N.C.A.A.’s vice president for Division I, said the organization’s board authorized the 12th game because universities could increase revenue. He said data showed no significant injury risk in playing one more game. Coaches are resigned to the change.

“It was a unanimous vote by the coaches and administration in our league not to have the 12th game,” Iowa State Coach Dan McCarney said of the Big 12 Conference. “What are you going to do? Whether you like it or you don’t like it, it’s there.”

That is because the 12th game means another Saturday to fill hotel rooms, pack restaurants and bring in millions of dollars more in ticket and concession sales. Wisconsin and Auburn, for example, have stadiums that hold more than 80,000 fans and can usually sell out any game, regardless of the opponent.

Adding a weak team like Buffalo can be beneficial for two reasons. First, it practically guarantees a victory. Second, weak teams will visit for a lower price than better teams, meaning a higher profit on each home game. And many of the weaker teams do not insist on a home-and-home series that would require the better team to visit the next year. That means the better team has an open home date for the next season, which it can use to play another weak team.

When teams like Notre Dame and Michigan State play each other, little money is exchanged, as they are “paid” by playing at the other’s home stadium the next year. The better the team for a game that does not require a return visit, the higher the fee. For example, a solid Air Force team is receiving $850,000 to play at Tennessee this season.

Fans at Wisconsin may complain about sitting through home games against Western Illinois, San Diego State and Buffalo. But the coaches love it, even if they oppose the idea of a 12th game. Wisconsin will be favored in all three games and, by winning, would be halfway to qualifying for a bowl game.

“I don’t think it’s realistic to say we’re going to play Nebraska, Florida State and U.S.C. every year,” said John Chadima, Wisconsin’s associate athletic director. “Everyone is trying to search for a team like Buffalo to come in and play them. Both sides realize there is a good guarantee involved with that.”

Mr. Chadima, who has arranged Wisconsin’s schedule for 17 years, said he had seen a sharp increase in the cost for nonconference foes over the past five seasons.

For the weaker teams, a bigger appearance check means a chance to upgrade. Buffalo Coach Turner Gill said the Bulls were able to buy new furniture for their football complex and improve their weight room with the $1.5 million from their three nonconference road games. Buffalo plays in the Mid-American Conference.

Louisiana-Monroe, which received $700,000 for a game at Kansas, has already spent the money on video equipment. Florida Atlantic, in the Sun Belt Conference with Louisiana-Monroe, will make more than $1.8 million by opening the schedule with games at Clemson, Kansas State, Oklahoma State and South Carolina. That is nearly twice what Florida Atlantic made for playing its four nonconference games last season.

Florida Atlantic played its football season in 2001 and went 2-9 in its first full Division I-A season last year. Coach Howard Schnellenberger insisted there was no increased risk of injury and that he would even pay the same amount to have his Owls play those games because of the exposure and experience for his team.

Mr. Schnellenberger, who has been coaching college football since 1959 and led Miami to a national title in 1983, has been around long enough to recruit Joe Namath to Alabama, while an assistant to Bear Bryant. Mr. Schnellenberger pointed to numerous programs, including Florida State in the early days under Bobby Bowden, that used a similar formula to build the athletic department into a power.

“We’re doing it to give the kids a chance to play better teams than the ones in our conference,” Mr. Schnellenberger said. “We want to be competitive with the best teams in our conference sooner rather than later.”

Not everyone is so rosy about the frenzy involved in finding a 12th opponent. West Virginia and Rutgers learned via the Internet during the off-season that Buffalo had broken their contracts for 2006. When Buffalo did not return phone calls about whether the deal was off, West Virginia’s president wrote to Buffalo’s president demanding an explanation.

“The manner in which it appears that this situation is being handled has detracted from the considerable respect we have gained over the years for your school and conference,” David C. Hardesty, West Virginia’s president, wrote on Feb. 26.

When Buffalo responded two weeks later, it said that the Mid-American Conference was in charge of its scheduling. Buffalo’s athletic director, Warde Manuel, said he regretted the way the situation was handled and that he, and not the conference, would handle Buffalo’s future scheduling.

“It literally had nothing to do with money,” Mr. Manuel said. “This wasn’t a money grab for me at all.”

Rick Chryst, commissioner of the Mid-American Conference, said he took over Buffalo’s scheduling because of Mr. Manuel’s being new to the job and the poor financial situation for the university’s athletic department.

“My sense is that he’s feeling like they’ve got only a year or two to try to get some resources into their program,” Mr. Chryst said. “In terms of that, the guaranteed difference with Auburn and Wisconsin became significant.”

West Virginia ended up scheduling Eastern Washington, a Division I-AA team, for $450,000 in Buffalo’s slot. Buffalo still owes West Virginia $200,000 for breaking the contract. The money is expected to come from the Mid-American Conference.

“If you’re going to break the contract, do the right thing and send the check,” said Ed Pastilong, West Virginia’s athletic director. “I’d like to have that money.” Even worse than being jilted was having to scramble to fill the schedule. Games are generally arranged five years in advance, and West Virginia had signed its contract with Buffalo in 2001.

“Getting a game six months prior to the season is like finding a date the night before the prom,” said Nick Carparelli Jr., the Big East Conference’s associate commissioner in charge of scheduling. “All the other girls have already been asked, and you’re left taking what’s left, if there’s anything left.”

Despite being rejected by Buffalo this year, Rutgers is not seeking the $225,000 it is owed for the broken contract. Instead, Robert E. Mulcahy III, the athletic director at Rutgers, said he was trusting that Buffalo would follow through on a verbal agreement to play in 2007. (Buffalo is, however, asking for $25,000 more than this season’s price.)

The big money has trickled down to Division I-AA, where payouts that were between $100,000 and $150,000 five years ago are now as high as $650,000 a game. Northwestern State, a Division I-AA program in Natchitoches, La., is playing three Division I-A teams this year.

Greg Burke, Northwestern State’s athletic director, said the team usually played two games against Division I-A opponents. But the combination of the high-dollar offers and the threat of less state financing in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina were factors in making a change. The combined payout of $815,000 will account for nearly one-fifth of the athletic department’s operating budget, Mr. Burke said.

Sometimes these games backfire for major colleges and create a wonderful publicity opportunity for the supposedly weaker opponents. Last year’s stunner came when the University of California at Davis, a fledgling Division I-AA program, scored in the waning moments to upset Stanford. Two seasons ago, Maine won at Mississippi State.

While those moments are rare, they inspire the players who face better opponents in hostile environments.

“Everyone loves to play home games, but a game is a game,” said Jamey Richard, a junior offensive lineman at Buffalo. “If you want to play Division I ball, you’ve got to play a tough schedule. What better way to prove yourselves than playing top teams?”

Thayer Evans contributed reporting from Kansas City, Mo., for this article.

[bigsixfive 327]

The question that comes to mind is: What did Wisconsin do?

The NYT should love UW since they have the professor that claims the government blew up the WTC.

[quietfan 233]

Sorry, I don't see a problem with this article.

I agree the Auburn directed studies article was BS--full of unfounded allegations, unfair to athletics, and slanted in a way that ignored the fact that every school offers directed studies classes.

But I don't see anything in this article that's not factual, and Auburn is a very small part of the article. Many other schools are mentioned as well. We may not like the NYT, but that doesn't mean every article they publish is false or a direct attack at Auburn.

JMHO.

[PChamp119 96]

I agree

[saniflush 0]

I agree quietfan that there is nothing wrong with this article in and of itself. I just wish curling season or ice fishing would hurry up and get here so they would have something to write about. I don't see what point they are trying to prove other than the big bad colleges play weaker teams when they can. Hey NY Times....Here's another news flash for you....Some college students take easy classes!

[AFTiger 282]

What the NY Times did not say is that Miles Brand who pushed this 12th game through is the worlds biggest hypocrit who complains about the money aspect of the game while forcing the colleges to accept the unwanted 12th game.

[hccobb 0]

Sorry, I don't see a problem with this article.

I agree the Auburn directed studies article was BS--full of unfounded allegations, unfair to athletics, and slanted in a way that ignored the fact that every school offers directed studies classes.

But I don't see anything in this article that's not factual, and Auburn is a very small part of the article. Many other schools are mentioned as well. We may not like the NYT, but that doesn't mean every article they publish is false or a direct attack at Auburn.

JMHO.

Quoted for truth.

[DKW 86 6,364]

If there are 119 other schools out there why are we the ones quoted most prominently in this article?

Oklahoma doubled our offer to play Bowling Green and screwed our schedule strength in 2004. Still want to know why WE are so popular in NYT.

[auee90 0]

Was the 12th game this year mandatory? I thought it was optional; or optional, but highly recommended due to the financial aspect.

[GalensGhost 0]

There are a number of 1-10 teams that are fattening up schedules of big time teams. It appears to me that whoever wrote this article looked at Auburn's schedule -- they do have an agenda, there, you understand -- and picked one of the Tiger's opponents to make the focal point.

[Bottomfeeder 239]

If there are 119 other schools out there why are we the ones quoted most prominently in this article?

Oklahoma doubled our offer to play Bowling Green and screwed our schedule strength in 2004. Still want to know why WE are so popular in NYT.

We are still in the frontal lobe due to the socilogy department.

[quietfan 233]

You know, it's also possible that their mind was on Buffalo, school from their own state that was just in the news as having troubles staying at the 1-A level a couple of days ago.

[aucanucktiger 1,525]

"But I don't see anything in this article that's not factual, and Auburn is a very small part of the article. Many other schools are mentioned as well. We may not like the NYT, but that doesn't mean every article they publish is false or a direct attack at Auburn".

Okay here are some problems with this article and why (for one) this old argument is intellectually dishonest at best.

The "poor Buffalo" angle doesn't play anymore. If you interview the Buffalo players, most of whom weren't even contacted by a big time program during recruiting, they'll probably tell you getting a CHANCE to play on an Auburn or a Nebraska's home field in front of that many fans got their adrenaline pumping more than any game this year (and that whatever the score ends up being, they got a life-long thrill out of this).

NOBODY is being forced to play this game. Both teams need this game and it helps both schools, Buffalo will get some new jerseys w/ the $ out of it and AU will get essentially a scrimmage w/ real stomach butterflies for next years starters to get some playing time. Writers like this CANNOT be as lacking in basic football knowledge as this article indicates.

Parity in Div. 1 has reached a point where we see upsets (and several near upsets) in this type of game EVERY year.

What does this idiot writer want, the Buffalo's of the world to play only the La-Lafayettes of the world and their 18-22 year olds to stay in their own neighborhood? The problem w/ the "facts" in articles like this is in the selectivity of the point of view (i.e. Buffalo: victims, Auburn: villain) rather than giving readers some credit.

And yes, considering the number of good Div. 1 teams playing at least one bad team this and every year, the fact Auburn is one of the few mentioned by name in this article, the aforementioned slant to the article, and the NYTs track record against us, I consider this another in a series of NYT attacks on my alma mater.

[KunzelTiger 0]

Buffalo may be in NY state...but they are completely different states...NYC is in New York City..and Buffalo is in New York State... NYC is not doing this to say "oh poor buffalo"..they're doing it to say "Auburn, you're bad for beating up on buffalo"

I still wonder why all the attention