The NCAA Is Really Starting to Piss Me Off

If I can put a crappiness scale rating to the NCAA on this, I'd put it at extremely crappy. Not very creative, but appropriate.

The NCAA has decided that there are eligibility questions with three Boise State Broncos, less than 36 hours before they start the season against Georgia in this year's Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game. Not exactly low-profile. Dr. Saturday has the nice recap.

Does this really have to happen now? Just what has the NCAA been doing all summer - these guys didn't just show up this past week.

If only the NCAA could be as ready
to start the season as Boise State.

(I'm not necessarily a Boise State fan, so I don't want this to come across as sour grapes through my blue-colored glasses. I usually find myself pulling for them, because for years they have been an excellent agent of chaos for the BCS and college football, and do I ever love chaos. Pro-Boise State is just like being anti-BCS. And that works for me.)

Chris Peterson (via The Idaho Statesman):

The three are being held out of the game due to a review of their NCAA eligibility. The review is not academic or violation of team rules.

This isn't a violation of team rules, it's nothing that the player brought upon himself in the past few days. He didn't kick anyone in the head.

I recall a similar situation last year with Ole Miss and Jeremiah Masoli. It had been known for months that he was going to transfer to Ole Miss. He transferred, enrolled in his graduate school classes, practiced... then the week before the opening game the NCAA declared him ineligible. Then a day or two later, reversed their decision. Ole Miss lost to Jacksonville State that weekend. The team had been jerked around, unable to focus and prepare properly (they had to figure out just who was going to play QB, after all) - and their season was lost from the opening weekend.

Because the NCAA finally got around to looking into whether or not Masoli could transfer and remain eligible. (Although, by the rules, he qualified with everything that the graduate school transfer rules called for. It should have never been in doubt.)

When the NCAA does stuff like this, it can ruin a season. Because one loss can completely ruin your chances at a national title, and without that goal still in reach, the rest of the games aren't as important anymore. Before long, players realize that they really aren't playing for anything anymore (perhaps pride, themselves, sure - if you want to put sunshine on it), and the complacency rolls in and the season is truly lost.

I've heard all the excuses about being understaffed, blah blah blah. Hire more people. (Or outsource your investigations to Yahoo! Sports - they seem to be more on top of things.) The NCAA is involved with billion-dollar television contracts and apparel sales, and as I understand it, there are a few people out there now looking for jobs. It makes no sense for this to happen to a team now, hours before kickoff.

You and I know that Ole Miss wasn't going to win the BCS title last year. But Boise this year?

Sooner or later, this kind of stuff is going to really cost somebody...

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