Every now and then, the people in charge of college athletics come up with an out-of-the-box idea that actually makes sense.
So it is with NCAA president Charlie Baker during his appearance Sunday on Face The Nation. He said there is background chatter among member schools about setting up regional conferences for sports other than football and possibly basketball.
"Most of the conversation I've heard among schools, at least at the Division I level, is whether they should try and figure out some way to create a more regional approach to sports other than football, right? Because football is, depending upon the conference and the league and the program, somewhere between 11 and 14 games in a season, whereas you have many other sports, men's and women's sports, where you play literally 30, 40, 50, 60 games," Baker said.
"And I think the conversation that people have started to have is whether or not there's a way to think a little differently about how to schedule the football stuff than the way you schedule some of these other sports."
Would something like this make sense for USF? Admittedly, the idea probably hasn't penetrated the radar for CEO of Athletics Rob Higgins, but the administrators are always looking to control costs and this could be a way. It would also reduce travel wear-and-tear on the athletes and coaches, which would be a bad thing.
Looking back at the just-completed sports season at USF, we can see where the regionalization idea has obvious merit economically. The women's tennis team had American Conference road matches at Wichita State and against Rice in Houston. That was also the site of the conference tournament.
The volleyball team had trips to non-conference tips to Knoxville, Minneapolis, and Omaha as well as conference trips to Philadelpia (Temple), Houston (Rice), New Orleans (Tulane), Greenville, N.C. (ECU), Charlotte, Birmingham (UAB), and Memphis.
Men's golf traveled extensively.
No one is trying to deny athletes from those and other sports that don't produce much (if any) revenue the opportunity to experience high-level competition. And, yes, learning to travel properly and still perform is a necessary skill that can translate beyond the playing venue.
But if those sports could reduce travel costs while fostering new and meaningful rivalries with schools that are relatively close by, why not consider it?
"A lot of these other sports, you're playing midweek, you're playing over the weekends. In those sports, the travel question becomes- becomes, I think, a much bigger challenge and a bigger issue than it is for the other - than for just football," Baker said.
Ed O'Keefe, the show's host, then asked if Baker was suggesting a football league separate from the other sports. It was a reasonable question.
"No, I'm saying that- that schools and conferences have just started to have conversations about whether or not there should be some thought put into whether or not it makes sense to think a little differently about how to handle some of the sports that have huge numbers of games relative to some of the sports that have a much fewer number," Baker said.
He added, "That's a really embryonic conversation, but I think it's a good one for people to have."
Obviously, there would be considerable pushback from some of the affected sports.
As a hypothetical, imagine how athletes at so-called "minor sports' at Florida would react if they were told that their team would no longer compete in the SEC. Instead, they would be in a new hybrid conference with programs thoughout Florida and maybe South Georgia.
And there's the significant issue of television coverage. ESPN+ has been a portal to make all the sports that could be affected available to watch and attract new fans.
Maybe far-flung conference could reorganize into divisions and come together only for the post-season tournament.
It won't happen right away. It may not happen at all.
But like Baker said, it's a good discussion to have.
Add us as a preferred source on Google