Keep College Athletics In College

I, like the rest of college basketball fandom, cannot wait to see North Carolina take on Michigan State friday on the USS Carl Vinson docked in San Diego. But the more I sit and think about this game, the most it honestly repulses me. I have no problem with having a marquee game on Veterans Day to honor the troops, but I think the "carrier game" is way over the top. Think about it: Two east coast teams traveling across the country during the week, during the middle of the first semester, to play one basketball game lasting 2 hours on an aircraft carrier that is charged with the defense of our nation. When you take away the novelty of the whole thing, it is quite honestly a crazy idea. What it definitely is is simply another example of college athletics getting too big for its own good. To have these student-athletes travel across the country for an exhibition like this is an absurd waste of resources and an even more absurd waste of the student-athletes' time. The two teams could have just as easily honored the troops with a game played in Washington, DC, our nation's capital, in front of an all-military crowd. And guess what? That could have been done without the time and expense of cross country travel and without the added distraction from the academic obligations of these student-athletes. For an NCAA (and a BCS, for this point) that time in and time out talks about keeping time in the classroom in mind when scheduling or setting up games, tournaments, or a potential FBS playoff, this is where the grand hypocrisy begins to rear its ugly head. Because the Quicken Loans Carrier Classic is not really about honoring the troops on Veterans Day, it is about making money. For the schools. For the promoter. It might be politically incorrect to say it, but they are simply using the military backdrop as a means by which to add to the intrigue and the money-making potential of the game. Again, if it was simply about the troops we would have no need to take the teams across the country to an aircraft carrier. Never mind the enormous diversion of military resources that the game requires. So the hoopla that surrounds the carrier game, to me it is a disturbing sign of the influence money has come to have on collegiate athletics. Its not about the student-athletes, its about the money. Solution? Keep college athletics in college. No more NIT in New York. No more Maui Invitational. No more bowl games in resort areas. No more final fours in New Orleans. UNC-Michigan State should be played either in East Lansing or in Chapel Hill. Not San Diego. Not New York. On campus. That's how you clean up collegiate athletics. Keep them in college.