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Then why aren’t they fighting for it? Why are the folks in charge of the game responding by hiding their product like it’s some sort of controlled substance?
I’m not saying the coaches involved should be ordered to open the scrimmages to the media. I’m saying those so inclined should be allowed to do so without risking an NCAA rules violation.
According to NCAA rules passed in 2005, Division I members can trade one or both of their allotted exhibition games against non-D-I opponents for a scrimmage “provided they are conducted in privacy without publicity or official scoring. Individuals other than athletics department staff members and those necessary to conduct a basketball scrimmage against outside competition may not be present during such a scrimmage.”
That last portion of the rule was inane when it was conceived, but the direction of the game since has rendered it detrimental. As college football has grown more popular because of the appeal of the College Football Playoff, the folks in charge of college hoops have wondered aloud about the diminishing popularity of their own sport.
Mostly, they’ve followed or longed to follow all the really bad ideas emanating from their college football brethren. Closing practices to the media is one of those college football concepts that many basketball coaches have embraced. The NCAA Tournament selection committee discussed the possibility of producing a TV show similar to the song and dance college football stages weekly toward the end of its season, but thankfully passed.
When I bring up the subject of why it’s foolish for basketball coaches to conduct their practices in private, I invariably encounter a handful of fans who want to defend their coach’s right to go about his work without the prying eyes of the media distracting him. They ask: Why do the media need to be in there? Answer: They don’t, unless the people in charge of the sport want the most interesting and informed stories being published and aired to draw more spectators to the sport.
I’m not saying the coaches involved should be ordered to open the scrimmages to the media. I’m saying those so inclined should be allowed to do so without risking an NCAA rules violation.
According to NCAA rules passed in 2005, Division I members can trade one or both of their allotted exhibition games against non-D-I opponents for a scrimmage “provided they are conducted in privacy without publicity or official scoring. Individuals other than athletics department staff members and those necessary to conduct a basketball scrimmage against outside competition may not be present during such a scrimmage.”
That last portion of the rule was inane when it was conceived, but the direction of the game since has rendered it detrimental. As college football has grown more popular because of the appeal of the College Football Playoff, the folks in charge of college hoops have wondered aloud about the diminishing popularity of their own sport.
Mostly, they’ve followed or longed to follow all the really bad ideas emanating from their college football brethren. Closing practices to the media is one of those college football concepts that many basketball coaches have embraced. The NCAA Tournament selection committee discussed the possibility of producing a TV show similar to the song and dance college football stages weekly toward the end of its season, but thankfully passed.
When I bring up the subject of why it’s foolish for basketball coaches to conduct their practices in private, I invariably encounter a handful of fans who want to defend their coach’s right to go about his work without the prying eyes of the media distracting him. They ask: Why do the media need to be in there? Answer: They don’t, unless the people in charge of the sport want the most interesting and informed stories being published and aired to draw more spectators to the sport.
When the late Bryan Burwell was president of the United States Basketball Writers Association in 2010-11, he worked hard to get the NCAA to change the rule regarding “secret scrimmages.” Essentially, he was told some NCAA stakeholder would have to propose a rule change, and finding that group has proved to be elusive.
So the secrecy continues. Instead of getting a peek at the Seton Hall-Penn State scrimmage box score through Adam Zagoria’s Twitter feed, we ought to be able to read a story on his blog page that gives real detail and insight about how Lions’ Deividas Zemgulis hit three times from 3-point range or promising 6-3 freshman guard Tony Carr managed to rebound so effectively.
Instead of actual basketball, though, mostly what the media have available to discuss is an NCAA rules invesigation involving allegations that sex workers were sneaked into college dorm rooms and employed to entertain players and recruits.
That can't be how the people in charge of the game want college basketball to be viewed.
So the secrecy continues. Instead of getting a peek at the Seton Hall-Penn State scrimmage box score through Adam Zagoria’s Twitter feed, we ought to be able to read a story on his blog page that gives real detail and insight about how Lions’ Deividas Zemgulis hit three times from 3-point range or promising 6-3 freshman guard Tony Carr managed to rebound so effectively.
Instead of actual basketball, though, mostly what the media have available to discuss is an NCAA rules invesigation involving allegations that sex workers were sneaked into college dorm rooms and employed to entertain players and recruits.
That can't be how the people in charge of the game want college basketball to be viewed.