Otto Fad, owner/publisher
College Football Annual Advantage

Discussing the NCAA Football Study Oversight Committee's decision to review stricter standards for Division I-A football programs:

"You're forgiven if you're experiencing a sudden sense of déjà vu. Just last year, a measure to enforce existing attendance standards (Proposal No. 2000-36) made it through every NCAA legislative hurdle save the final one. The get-tough proposal, which was endorsed by the Division I Management Council, ultimately was tabled by the Board of Directors. Now, some propose to mandate attendance standards, scholarship levels, numbers of intercollegiate sports programs and minimum number of home games versus I-A opponents.

"The football study could have been an opportunity to mend fences, but instead we are back to building higher ones. ...

"Face it. The 'higher fences' strategy doesn't matter to the BCS schools one bit. Why would BCS people support change that doesn't directly affect them, especially if it comes at the cost of further alienation and hard feelings from the group most directly impacted?

"On the other hand, if folks in I-AA want a higher fence between them and I-A, they should have a fence on the other side, too. Why should there be a line between Appalachian State and Marshall, but no line between Davidson and Appalachian State?

"Don't get me wrong. I still believe that a single undivided Division I is preferable to drawing official lines. But if you're going to start slicing and dicing, why stop with the toughest cut? ...

"It may be puzzling to know why increased regulation would be pushed in the current climate. But it is perhaps even more curious that anyone would fight to protect their own status by denying former rivals and league mates a chance to shed a crippling, second-class label.

"I see nothing on the radar right now to indicate that such a situation is imminent, unless NCAA officials can succeed in convincing BCS presidents that their schools are heading for a fall of unprecedented proportions.

"As long as the status quo works for the BCS, can anyone out there act in the best interests of football?"

Nick Saban, head football coach
Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge Advocate

"Right now, the problem is there's so much difference between the I-A schools and what your needs and what your problems are. We don't have the same situation as Idaho State or Kent State, which is where I went to school. Sometimes we want to change things and do things that would benefit us that we can't get passed, because the more and more schools that get in Division I-A vote it down because they can't afford it."

David Cutcliffe, head football coach
University of Mississippi
Baton Rouge Advocate

"I know there are certain programs that feel they are ready to make that move. But we need to set standards that really help them. You don't want to see people ruin their programs. You don't want to see people who have good, longstanding programs suffer."