NCAA Football FanHouse

Learning from the mtn.

Charles Rich — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 10:44:00 EST

Filed under: Mountain West, Mid-Majors Basketball, NCAA Basketball Media Watch, NCAA FB Media Watch, Brigham Young Football, Utah Football, BYU, Colorado State Football, UNLV Football, Wyoming Football

With the Big Ten fledgling network still involved in a public spat with Comcast, comparisons to the Mountain West's less than spectacular first year with "The mtn." sports channel are inevitable. In the first year of operation, the mtn. has made it to a whopping 1.2 million homes.

It appears to be a flop. Utah and BYU took the lead and got the rest of the Mountain West members to help foot the bill in hiring an attorney to explore options with their TV deal.

In its annual meeting Tuesday, the MWC Board of Directors voted unanimously to retain Kelly Crabb, the lawyer originally hired and retained last week by BYU and Utah, in efforts to clarify the nature of the TV contract and delineate distribution strategies of The mtn. network.

Crabb will work with Commissioner Craig Thompson and an ad hoc committee made up of three Board members - BYU President Cecil Samuelson, Texas Christian University Chancellor Victor Boschini and Colorado State University President Larry Edward Penley. The conference presidents spearheaded the TV deal that the MWC settled on a year ago with the network co-owned by Comcast Cable and CBS' College Sports Television.

However, there is widespread displeasure because of the troubles in getting The mtn., distributed.

This has fueled speculation that the Mountain West may try to find a way to get out of its deal, and pull the plug on the mtn. The mtn. has not been picked up by either satellite provider, and very few sizable cable operators in the markets (PDF) where the schools operate (Comcast in Utah and Cox in Las Vegas and San Diego are the largest carriers that have it).
It's unlikely that the Mountain West would be able to pull the plug, nor is it clear that the schools really want to. They obviously want to make their fans happier and want to be added to satellite providers and more cable systems. The fans aren't pissed that the games are on the mtn. They are pissed because they can't see their team on TV. That's a lot of what the attorney they hired is likely to try to help accomplish. Negotiate and get the channel better distribution. That would include forcing Comcast and CSTV to work harder or cut the cost per household.

The Mountain West went the route of their own channel for a couple reasons.

Money was the big reason. ESPN actually tried to cut their payouts from $800,000 per school per year to $500,000. Comcast and CSTV offered the Mountain West $1.1 million per school per year.

The other reason, and almost as important. Control. The old contract with ESPN effectively made the Mountain West weekday fall programming filler for the Worldwide Leader. Teams would be playing on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Friday nights. Usually after 10 pm Eastern. The fans of the teams who actually attended the games hated it. Attendance suffered and it's hard to market the schools, conference and programs as well when the that TV coverage shows stands half-filled because people weren't able to get to the games on the weekdays.

By going with Comcast and CSTV, the majority of the Mountain West games went back to Saturdays.

But the big service the mtn. network has provided for the MWC has been the flexibility in the athletic schedules, specifically in football.

"Saturday afternoons is when I believe we should play football," Whittingham said. "That's what the mtn. has done. Our home schedule is all Saturday afternoon contests. I think that's a big positive."

Fitzpatrick also noted that the mtn. offers unprecedented coverage within the conference, including on-campus cameras and televised coverage of MWC sports such as swimming, baseball and softball, which are enjoying exposure never seen in the conference before.

It also means their games are featured on both CSTV and Versus. While that doesn't come close to the market penetration by ESPN channels (just ask the NHL), they do have more of their games aired nationally. In the last year of the deal with ESPN, only 7 Mountain West games were on ESPN.

Additionally, the deal to have their own sports channel gave the Mountain West more control over the distribution rights (and revenue streams) from their sports. This means, in the long-term they do have options in streaming games live over the web via their own sites and getting larger cuts of subscriber fees.

Other conferences besides just the Big Ten will eventually follow suit. The control and potential new revenue streams will be too good to pass. The same reason Major League Baseball teams keep setting up their own channels.

Mountain West was merely the first, and the example of things not to do.

Previously on Fanhouse:
Big Ten Network Getting Political Pressure
Big Ten Network May Not Be Huge Fiasco
SEC TV Network? Prepare to Get Nothing Accomplished Again. Ever.

Learning from the mtn. originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 30 Jun 2007 10:44:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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APR Reports Generate Anxiety and Relief

Charles Rich — Thu, 03 May 2007 02:52:00 EST

Filed under: ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Big East, Conference USA, MAC, Mountain West, Pac 10, SEC, WAC, NCAA FB Campus, ACC Basketball, A-10 Basketball, Big 12 Basketball, Big East Basketball, Big Ten Basketball, Conference USA Basketball, Pac-10 Basketball, SEC Basketball, Mid-Majors Basketball, NCAA Basketball Campus

The NCAA released its Academic Progress Reports (APR) for every school and the teams for each sport. A total of 6110 teams are included. You can view each school's individual report (they are in PDF). The APR is supposed to be a rolling 4-year average, but the NCAA isn't at that point. This is only the third year so there are adjustments and leeway given to some teams. The grace period is granted only if they are showing that they are closing on meeting the magic number of 925 by the time the 4th year is reached. (The APR records started being kept in the 2003-04 school year.)

If a team is at 900 or so, they won't be getting penalized immediately. The penalties can range from warning letters, practice restrictions, lack of access to postseason competition, restricted membership and loss of scholarships for the teams that don't meet performance standards. Already, teams across various collegiate sports have been penalized with scholarship losses.

The BCS schools for football and basketball, generally are in good shape. Only a few programs are facing scholarship reductions. Many are close or have been warned, but scholarship reductions are rather limited. Some of the notable teams penalized after this latest report:

Iowa State University, Basketball -- 2 scholarships
University of Cincinnati, Basketball -- 1 scholarship
San Jose State University, Football -- 7 scholarships
University of Arizona, Football -- 4 scholarships
UNLV, Football -- 3 scholarships
University of Toledo, Football -- 4 scholarships

Iowa State basketball was hit hard under the tenure of Wayne Morgan and the shake-out of many players after his termination. Considering that players often leave when coaching changes happen, this will have an impact on the hiring and firing of coaches -- and the timing as Mike DeCourcy at the Sporting News noted.

So a university trying to improve on-court performance can't just consider whether its coach won enough games in his third year on the job. It has to factor in whether moving him out will be sufficiently disruptive to lead to a slip in APR performance. That can lead to embarrassment -- ask Bob Huggins about what a dubious 0 percent grad rate did for him at Cincinnati -- and the competitive disadvantage of losing scholarships, practice time and possibly postseason eligibility.

Presidents and athletic directors must begin to consider whether firing that coach is worth the cost not in contract buyout dollars. They should examine whether it puts their school in APR jeopardy. And they should inform their boosters there are other factors to consider beyond an elusive NCAA Tournament bid.

I think DeCourcy may be overstating things a bit. Simply because wins and losses are still the thing that matter most to athletic departments, fans and the boosters. It may, however, act as something of a drag on rapidly pulling the trigger in some cases. Especially as at schools that have been struggling to get their APR up to the minimum level. That may cause some hesitation to at least give time to make sure that the next coach won't have more leverage in negotiating if sanctions loom.

That point, however, is still a distance away. Not until penalties are regularly assessed and it is clear that penalties will apply regardless of the school and their athletic prestige, will schools realistically consider the potential risk.

Presently, the hardest hit programs at the moment are coming from the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) and at schools located in the State of Louisiana (strong correlation to Hurricane Katrina that sent students to other schools). These programs were granted a warning letter to show improvement by next year considering the circumstances.

There were some bright spots in football and basketball. The NCAA also recognized programs that had very high APR. In basketball this included:

BYU
Florida State
UNC
Notre Dame
Villanova
Wake Forest
Xavier

In Football:

Boston College
Duke
Rice
Stanford

APR Reports Generate Anxiety and Relief originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 03 May 2007 02:52:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This Is Why Legal Gambling Helps

Charles Rich — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 23:34:00 EST

Filed under: MAC, NCAA FB Gambling, Mid-Majors Basketball, NCAA Basketball Gambling, NCAA FB Police Blotter, NCAA FB Scandal, Toledo Football

Has it really been 7 years since the last misguided attempts by college coaches and the NCAA to try and ban legal gambling on college sports. Cynically, I expect that the Toledo point shaving scandal that is now blossoming will renew calls for the sort of ban. They will cite the gambling on college sports as being the reason for it happening. Not that it would matter in this day and age. Not with the internet, offshore betting houses, legal sportsbooks in Canada and England. That won't matter. Someone will strike a righteous tone of how legal gambling and publishing point spreads encourages scandals like this.

It's a joke. How do you think Federal officials became aware of something fishy going on at Toledo in the first place?

The oddsmaker, Kenny White, chief operating officer of Las Vegas Sports Consultants, said that beginning in the 2004 season he and his associates noticed that there was heavy betting on certain Toledo football games and those of another Mid-American Conference team he declined to name.

"But then it stopped and it was just Toledo," he said.

The unusual betting pattern continued into the 2005 season, according to White. As his suspicions grew, he watched tape of all of Toledo's football games in 2004 and part of 2005.

"We really couldn't pinpoint a single player or coach or official," he said. "But we knew something was happening there."

At that point, about October 2005, White said he filed a report with the Nevada Gaming Commission and the NCAA. His report did not mention basketball games.

It's in legal sportsbooks' best interest to make sure the games are clean. If the games are being fixed or point-shaving, it hurts them. Notice that even the NCAA was notified of the problem. The sportsbooks are happy to alert the NCAA to potential scandals.

Previously at Fanouse:
Point Shaving at Toledo

This Is Why Legal Gambling Helps originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 03 Apr 2007 23:34:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Point Shaving at Toledo

Charles Rich — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 12:15:00 EST

Filed under: MAC, NCAA FB Gambling, Mid-Majors Basketball, NCAA Basketball Gambling, NCAA Basketball Police Blotter, NCAA FB Police Blotter, NCAA FB Scandal, Toledo Football

I keep going back and forth as to whether point shaving schemes at smaller schools make more or less sense. On the one hand, the programs and the players draw a lot less scrutiny as to the actions. Making it easier for things to come in under the radar.

The counter-argument is that these smaller programs hardly see the heavier gambling action. So if there is any significant betting one way or the other, it can catch everyone's attention when there is sudden swing.

The Toledo Athletic Department is finding itself rocked with a scandal that definitely involves the football team and quite possibly involves the basketball team as well.

As the 2005 GMAC Bowl drew closer, a Michigan gambler assured other bettors that University of Toledo football player Harvey "Scooter" McDougle offered bribes to teammates so the point spread would be covered, according to a federal criminal complaint.

Mr. McDougle, 22, who was charged Thursday in U.S. District Court in Detroit with conspiring with others in a points-shaving scheme, sat out the game because of injuries.

So far no other players have been named.

McDougle was charged in Federal Court with "conspiring to bribe to affect the outcome of a sporting event." This carries a maximum sentence of 5 years and a $250,000 fine.

The guy arranging everything so far has only been identified as "Gary." He would place the wagers in casinos in Canada. At least one other player was offered around $10,000 to sit out a game. McDougle received cars, cash and other gifts from "Gary."

The filings indicate that the basketball team may have been involved in point shaving as well. "Gary" apparently bet on both sports and McDougle may have helped him in contacting basketball players.

This will be a huge blow to Toledo Football Coach Tom Amstutz. He's considered one of the better coaches in the MAC and often mentioned as a potential target for the bigger name schools. Few coaches, though, survive point shaving scandals.

Point Shaving at Toledo originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 31 Mar 2007 12:15:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Steve Alford Hates Football

Bruce Ciskie — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 16:10:00 EST

Filed under: Iowa Football, Big 10, Mid-Majors Basketball, NCAA Basketball Coaches

When he was named the head coach at New Mexico last week, former Iowa basketball coach Steve Alford (right) said all the right things. Instead of backhanding the University of Iowa for a perceived lack of commitment toward basketball, he simply said it was the right time to make such a move, and he talked up the atmosphere he was going to experience at New Mexico.

We all knew he was full of crap, but at least he wasn't tossing his Iowa bosses down the stairs for not caring enough about basketball.

As it turns out, he was simply biding his time.

Monday, during an interview on ESPN Radio with Trey Wingo, Alford made his feelings known. He said that after growing up in Indiana, he was "just really eager to get somewhere where they were that passionate about basketball".

He went on to tell Wingo that it was tough to coach the "second" program on campus.

"Because the recruits see that, and the recruits see the commitment," Alford told Wingo, who was filling in for Dan Patrick. "I can talk for eight years all I want at Iowa about trying to get my own strength coach, my own weight room and own practice facility, but when that never happens and $100 million is being put into football complexes, recruits see that."

I have a lot of respect for what Alford did at Iowa, but he's way off base here. Granted, I don't live in Iowa, but it seems to me that Iowa Hawkeye football has been the top dog in the state for longer than either Alford or I have been alive. If Iowa's administrators promised Alford things in terms of facilities or "commitment" that they didn't deliver on, Alford should have said so. Instead, he comes across as someone who didn't get their way and wants to whine about it.

After all, there are number of Big Ten schools who have "put $100 million into football complexes" in recent years, but don't seem to have any issues recruiting players in other sports.

Illinois has started a $116 million stadium renovation. Do you hear Bruce Weber whining about how recruits don't think they care about basketball there?

Ohio State recently completed a $194 million Horseshoe renovation. Despite that obstacle, Thad Matta has been able to stock enough good basketball players to build a national championship contender.

When Wisconsin finished up a $109.5 million fix-up of Camp Randall Stadium, did you see Bo Ryan pitch a fit about it?

(By the way, I know that tOSU and UW have relatively new basketball facilities, but Illinois doesn't. Assembly Hall opened in 1963.)

Oh, and speaking of money being poured into football facilities, the University of Minnesota should be careful. After all, I'm guessing that, if he's anything like Alford, Tubby Smith won't be pleased about a basketball arena that's 80 years older than the football stadium, especially when he's reminded that his basketball facility hasn't gone through a renovation since the 1980s.

Steve Alford Hates Football originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 27 Mar 2007 16:10:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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