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NCAA News Archive - 2007
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Double-A Zone
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By Josh Centor
The NCAA News
The NCAA News
NCAA blogger Josh Centor posted the following July 11 on the Double-A Zone (http://www.doubleazone.com), the official blog of the NCAA.
Today is my least favorite day of the year. I hate the Wednesday after the Major League All-Star Game because there’s just nothing going on around the world of sports. I really don’t like Monday and Tuesday all that much either, but they’re wonderful compared to today.
I know, I know, there are plenty of sporting events going on around the world. Of course, I could peruse minor league box scores and check in on some of the game’s top prospects. This morning, we discussed the World Championship of American Football happening in Kawasaki. There are soccer games happening in Europe. ESPN Classic always has old college games to watch. But still, nothing is readily available that appeases my appetite for SPORT.
A colleague of mine just dropped by to lament the day’s silence and offered that we should consider having college sports played in the summer. Before you cry “Absurd!” and stop reading, give it a second to sink in.
I played my college baseball in New England. I have a lot of memories, but one seems particularly vivid today – snow. It’s cold in March, but because the spring semester comes to a close in early May, teams are forced to start their schedules with temperatures in frostbite range. Could we have started playing in May and finished in August? Wouldn’t that have been more conducive to the game of baseball?
There are other sports that make more sense in the summer as well – softball, tennis, golf. None of those games are meant to be played outdoors in the winter. Moving spring sports to the summer could be a beautiful thing – and we wouldn’t ever have a dark Wednesday like this again.
While I embrace this concept, I acknowledge that there are more than a few roadblocks. First, if kids are playing in the summer, do they go to class at the same time? How do they gain professional experience without working summer jobs and internships? Are athletics administrators supposed to work 365 days each year? What about the Cape Cod League? Would USTA tennis tournaments be a thing of the past?
It’s conceivable that we could begin the academic year in March and have the first semester end in the middle of July. Five weeks off would give students enough time to rejuvenate for their second semester in August, and the three-month break would be from late December through early March. Basketball is played inside and could move to either semester. Soccer is an outside sport, but can be played in the cold. It can go in either semester too. I’m flexible.
Moving semesters seems like an idea that could go somewhere, but is it right to let our thirst for sports change the traditional structure of higher education? Should we take summer vacation away from those students who don’t play sports and replace it with three months of winter? Would they mind? Today is awfully boring, so maybe they wouldn’t mind the old switcheroo.
Perhaps I’m a bit off my rocker because the prospects of a Wednesday without sports is more than daunting, but answer one question for me. Could this work?
Today is my least favorite day of the year. I hate the Wednesday after the Major League All-Star Game because there’s just nothing going on around the world of sports. I really don’t like Monday and Tuesday all that much either, but they’re wonderful compared to today.
I know, I know, there are plenty of sporting events going on around the world. Of course, I could peruse minor league box scores and check in on some of the game’s top prospects. This morning, we discussed the World Championship of American Football happening in Kawasaki. There are soccer games happening in Europe. ESPN Classic always has old college games to watch. But still, nothing is readily available that appeases my appetite for SPORT.
A colleague of mine just dropped by to lament the day’s silence and offered that we should consider having college sports played in the summer. Before you cry “Absurd!” and stop reading, give it a second to sink in.
I played my college baseball in New England. I have a lot of memories, but one seems particularly vivid today – snow. It’s cold in March, but because the spring semester comes to a close in early May, teams are forced to start their schedules with temperatures in frostbite range. Could we have started playing in May and finished in August? Wouldn’t that have been more conducive to the game of baseball?
There are other sports that make more sense in the summer as well – softball, tennis, golf. None of those games are meant to be played outdoors in the winter. Moving spring sports to the summer could be a beautiful thing – and we wouldn’t ever have a dark Wednesday like this again.
While I embrace this concept, I acknowledge that there are more than a few roadblocks. First, if kids are playing in the summer, do they go to class at the same time? How do they gain professional experience without working summer jobs and internships? Are athletics administrators supposed to work 365 days each year? What about the Cape Cod League? Would USTA tennis tournaments be a thing of the past?
It’s conceivable that we could begin the academic year in March and have the first semester end in the middle of July. Five weeks off would give students enough time to rejuvenate for their second semester in August, and the three-month break would be from late December through early March. Basketball is played inside and could move to either semester. Soccer is an outside sport, but can be played in the cold. It can go in either semester too. I’m flexible.
Moving semesters seems like an idea that could go somewhere, but is it right to let our thirst for sports change the traditional structure of higher education? Should we take summer vacation away from those students who don’t play sports and replace it with three months of winter? Would they mind? Today is awfully boring, so maybe they wouldn’t mind the old switcheroo.
Perhaps I’m a bit off my rocker because the prospects of a Wednesday without sports is more than daunting, but answer one question for me. Could this work?
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