Bowls licensed, still no playoff

This week the NCAA Postseason Football Licensing Subcommittee review applications for and licensed 32 bowl games for the 2007-08 season. There are the same 27 non-BCS bowl games and 5 BCS bowl games that took place last year. Jeff Hathaway, athletics director at the University of Connecticut and acting chair of the NCAA Postseason Football Licensing Subcommittee said licensing these bowls “shows the good work and management that these bowl organizers have done to create a positive experience for the student-athletes.”

Unfortunately, there has not been any news of a playoff being implemented. Revenue and distribution reviews proved that in the 2006-07 season, there was no shortage of financial flow. The subcommittee said that approximately $217.6 million in bowl revenue was distributed to participating teams and conferences. If money is not a problem, there should be no problem for converting the current BCS system into a playoff.

Since the BCS system came into play in 1998, many fans and sports writers have made it abundantly clear that they would rather see a playoff system than have a complicated system computer rankings and human votes determine which two teams qualify to play for the national title. From a public relations perspective, it would be extremely beneficial to implement a playoff system for the postseason of Division I-A college football. Fans would be happy. Coaches and players would not feel cheated. And for once, there would be no confusion at the end of the season about who was the best team.

Don Imus, what were you thinking?

As everyone knows by now, Tennessee beat Rutgers in the Division I women's basketball national championship. Tennessee got a lot of recognition for its many championships and for Pat Summitt's great coaching. Tennessee's athletic program received a lot of positive attention and publicity for its achievements. This was deserved and expected especially because of the sensational Candace Parker, who is arguably the best women's college basketball player of all time.

But what about Rutgers women? After having a great team for years, Rutgers was finally able to advance to the final game. The team was able to pull off a win over Duke after losing to them by 40 points earlier in the season. Duke was expected to win the national championship because they only had one loss on the season prior to the tournament. Rutgers was able to pull off a one-point victory over Duke to advance to the elite eight.

In the men's championship, Ohio State reclaimed its title as the runner up school, but they still got positive attention for having a great athletic program. Ohio State proved its strength in athletics, the Buckeyes just proved the Gators to be better. However, in the women's tournament, Rutgers lost in the final game and has gotten a ton of negative attention.

Thank you Don Imus for being irresponsible and unprofessional. To go on the air and refer to the members of the Rutgers team in a racist and sexist manner is completely unacceptable. I am still in shock over the comments he made, but what shocks me more is that he was not fired immediately. He has now been fired for his unreasonable behavior. Hopefully broadcasters will learn from his mistakes and there will be no similar incidents in the future.

How 'bout those Gators?

It must be the year of the Gators. University of Florida officials couldn’t be more excited: three national championships in two major sports in one year. What more could they ask for? The media attention Florida is getting now is nothing short of remarkable. Gainesville is now known as “Titletown” by sports fans everywhere.

And poor Ohio State. They’re getting so much attention, but for being second best in the two major college sports. The Buckeyes are cursed: they can’t beat the Gators. Troy Smith couldn’t do it. Greg Oden couldn’t do it – and he got two tries. But the national championship game gave Ohio State a ton of publicity, and they can’t be upset about that. They have proven their strength in athletics, but they also proved that Florida has a better athletic program.

What about the women? Rutgers made an unexpected run to the championship game of the women’s tournament but was crushed by the Lady Volunteers of Tennessee. As upset as I am that Rutgers didn’t win the championship, I was happy the Lady Knights helped put Rutgers on the map. The Rutgers football team made history this past season with a wonderful football record and bowl game victory, and the women making the championship helped Rutgers make its name better known.

All in all, the Division I basketball championships were wonderful for the public relations at all the involved universities. With that said, go Gators!

Gators vs. Buckeyes....again

Since when are Ohio State and Florida rivals? Since Florida beat Ohio State 86-60 in Gainesville on December 23, Gators and Buckeyes have not been on good terms. When Florida beat Ohio State 41-14 in the BCS Championship football game, the relationship between the schools was only made worse. But many people argue that it is not a true rivalry. Most sports enthusiasts will tell you in order for a competition to qualify as a rivalry, both teams must have previously won and must both stand a chance at victory. While Ohio State is a worthy competitor of Florida, the Buckeyes and Gators cannot truly be considered rivals because Ohio State has not beaten Florida in basketball or football.

Tomorrow night the two teams will compete for the second time this season. This meeting will have a lot more on the line though: a national championship. Florida hopes to make history by winning back-to-back national championships with the same five starters. Ohio State hopes to prove it can beat Florida in a major sport. Moreover, Ohio State does not want to see a repeat of the BCS Championship Game in which Ohio State came into the game with a better record than Florida, was heavily favored to win and lost by 27.

University officials at both schools - especially Florida - must be loving the attention. Both schools have been heavily publicized for both the football and basketball championships. Florida gets more attention for defending the national titles in both sports. Now all that is left to do is await the outcome. Will Ohio State shock the nation and actually beat Florida in a major sport for once? Or will the Gators prove that Gainesville is in fact Titletown? Either way, from a public relations perspective, both teams benefit tremendously. The media coverage of this is rare and special because it is improbable for the same two schools to play each other for championships in two different major sports in the same year.

Let's go Gators!!!!!!!!! (And Lady Knights! They dominated LSU to make the final game in the women's tournament!)