Jeff Jacobs: A Bleak View Of NCAA's Future

[jostar1]

Jacobs interviewed Walter Harrison, President of the University of Hartford. The views are mostly Harrison's.

"The Power 5 conferences have very large liabilities, the lawsuits present a total potential change to their business model, and autonomy is essentially a way they felt they could be in a better position to withstand the most drastic suits," Harrison said. "From that point, the [NCAA] steering committee delivered for them."

A total of 75 schools would be needed to override the Power 5 autonomy and force the NCAA to reconsider the move.

"There's a lot of unhappiness at my level," Harrison said. "Phil Hanlon, president of Dartmouth, on a conference call said, 'So how does this help us?' That's one reaction. The other is, this isn't what we envisioned college sports to be like.

"A number of Power 5 presidents I know also have told me that [an override] would cause them to jump ship, either move to their own division or leave the NCAA altogether."

Faced with that possibility, few expect the smaller schools to risk losing the big boys.

"I realize there's a lot of anxiety in Connecticut, but no matter what happens, I think UConn will be OK in the end. I don't have the road map, but I'm certain given their success in men's and women's basketball, especially men's, they're going to be an attractive candidate for some major conference. It will happen."

http://www.courant.com/sports/college/hc-jacobs-column-0817-20140816,0,4183863.column

 

[Ha Who]

He sure stood up for us during our time of troubles.

 

[Dooley]

Must be Conference Realignment day at The Courant because here's another article put on their website: http://www.courant.com/sports/college/hc-college-football-realignment-0817-20140816,0,2485597.story.

This particular piece is written by a LA Times contributor so it's nice to see what people across the country think. Lists obvious winners and loser of CR. A few of my favorites:

"In the children's game of musical chairs, the big loser is the kid who can't find a seat when the music stops.

In college football's game of musical chairs, the big loser is probably Connecticut.

Or, in the expanded game, toss in Boise State, Cincinnati, Central Florida and maybe Brigham Young."

"Loser: Connecticut (also Cincinnati, Central Florida). The Huskies are a former Big East football programs that got boxed out, mainly because of politics and feet-dragging, from following Syracuse and Pitt to the ACC. Connecticut played in a Fiesta Bowl as recently as 2010, but all it got was a lousy T-shirt. The Big East began the BCS era in 1998 as one of six privileged football leagues. It has now been re-cobbled among the Gilligan's Island "And the Rest" leagues along with the Mid-American, Sun Belt, Conference USA and the Mountain West.

American commissioner Mike Aresco, at this summer's media day, vowed to keep fighting for his league's place in the new universe. The American conference is propped up now by Cincinnati, Connecticut, East Carolina and Central Florida, with Navy coming aboard in 2015.

Aresco said "we will not take a back seat to anyone" and then quoted Abraham Lincoln, "some see opportunity in every obstacle, while others see obstacles in every opportunity."

Good luck with all that."

 

[Vuce]

Gee thanks Mr. Harrison. Glad you are so confident

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

He sure stood up for us during our time of troubles.

Yup, Mark Emmert loved Harrison's support.

 

[CL82]

He sure stood up for us during our time of troubles.

He can rot in hell.

 

[jrazz12]

If there's a group of complete morons more incompetent than Mark Emmert in today's NCAA landscape, and believe it or not there probably is, it begins and ends with Walter Sh!thead Harrison. President of that esteemed institution in Hartford so respected on the national and international stage that his direction and guidance on academic integrity are clearly incorrigible and should never be questioned in matters related to the academic progress of student athletes. Keep up the good work fyckface, your irrelevance precedes you.

 

[Nostical]

In an early morning silver lining assessment, I've come to appreciate these media articles that highlight UConn as the biggest loser in CR and how being passed over by the P-5 was a "very surprising slight"--rather than having it not spoken about at all. Keeping UConn in the spotlight of CR predictions and media analysis affords us a continuing opportunity to inform the opinion makers and interested media folks on how the school is positioning and strengthening itself in all areas to be ready for prime time and hopefully leads to a drumbeat of inevitability.

 

[CL82]

Harrison should be persona non grata in state.

Hello, Olive Garden.
Yes I'd like to make a reservation for 4 at 8pm tonight.
Okay, name?
Walter Harrison.
No.
What?
No.
I'm sorry?
NO.
Uh, I can't have that reservation?
NO! No you can't.
Uh okay well when can I get a reservation?
When hell freezes over you rat bastard. CLICK.
....honey Olive Garden won't take us either, where to you want to go to dinner, Massachusetts or Rhode Island?​

 

[buddy]

Conveniently, Jacobs left out the part of Harrison's backstabbing of UConn.

 

[Waquoit]

Yup, Mark Emmert loved Harrison's support.

And look where it got Harrison, nowhere. They loved his badmouthing when it suited their purposes. But at the end of the day no one respects a backstabbing rat.