The team has decided to forgo any postseason games, hoping that their self-imposed ban — deemed a ‘necessary’ response to the NCAA’s ongoing investigation into the university’s compliance practices — can help mitigate further penalties from the NCAA at the conclusion of their investigation.

“I’m clearly disappointed,” said Miami coach Al Golden, who university officials said was not involved in the choice to go forward with the ban. “I believe it’s the right decision and I’m 100 percent behind the decision. … We’re one step closer to putting these issues behind us.” (via ESPN)

The self-imposed ban is based on a Yahoo! Sports report containing allegations made by Nevin Shapiro — a former Miami University booster who is currently serving 20-years in prison for a ponzi scheme — allegations that over 70 Miami football players took illegal benefits from 2002 through 2010.

The NCAA sanctioned 12 current players at the beginning of the college football season based on Shapiro’s allegations.

While the University has no plans for any other self-imposed penalties, they may still receive a bowl payout from the ACC, as the conference pools all revenue from postseason games and distributes those monies to the 12 ACC teams regardless of whether or not they participate in the bowl season.

Miami made itself bowl eligible with its 6th win of the season this past Saturday, a 6-3 victory over South Florida.

The National College Players Association and the Drexel Department of Sport Management released a joint study that found that TV revenues from five major athletic conferences and the NCAA average approximately $784 million per year in new annual revenues. They go on to conclude revenues from televised college football total nearly $2 billion a year.

The study, entitled “TV Money Windfall in Big Time College Sports”, can be found on the NCPA website. As co-author Dr. Staurowsky explains the study was to address potential scholarship shortfalls in college athletics,

In explaining the purpose of the study, Drexel University professor Dr. Ellen J. Staurowsky noted, “During the past few months, proposals to address the scholarship shortfall have prompted questions regarding how such proposals would be funded. With this influx of new money, we argue that this is the time for college presidents, conference commissioners, and athletics administrators to make covering the full cost of attendance a budget priority.” (via Press Release)

So, what is done with the $780+ million in new revenue? According to the study, trends indicate that colleges will likely spend the revenue on athletic facilities, and salary increases for coaches and athletic directors.

The study is released on the heels of various NCAA proposals which look to decrease roster sizes, potentially eliminating nearly 1500 scholarships in Division I college football and basketball.

Ramogi Huma, NCPA President and co-author of the study, stated, “It is inconceivable to me that the NCAA and its colleges are considering eliminating over 1500 educational opportunities while enjoying $784 million in new annual revenues that, thanks to their ‘educational mission’, they will receive tax free.” (via Press Release)

The NCPA, which was created in 2001, currently has over 14,000 members from over 150 Division I schools. They work as an advocacy group for college athletes across the nation.

The Justice Department sent a letter to NCAA President Mark Emmert inquiring as to why a playoff system isn’t used in college football, what steps have been taken to create a playoff system, and whether or not Emmert truly believes the BCS system serves the interests of the fans, schools, and players completely.

The Justice Department inquiry is looking to obtain more information on the BCS system, and to determine whether or not the system creates an illegal monopoly amongst NCAA “power conferences”, which would violate federal anti-trust law.

The inquiry almost coincides with the actions of Utah AG Mark Shurtleff, who initially struck up the “BCS is illegal” mantle in 2008 — when Utah was denied a spot in the National Championship game, despite going undefeated.  Shurtleff is currently in the process of looking for other plaintiffs to join in an anti-trust law suit that he plans to file against the NCAA this summer.

Meanwhile, the NCAA has declared that it will provide a timely response to the Justice Department’s letter, whenever they receive it.  Furthermore, they can’t quite figure out why the government is worried about college football when there are larger world issues to reconcile,

“Goodness gracious, with all that’s going on in the world right now and with national and state budgets being what they are, it seems like a waste of taxpayers’ money to have the government looking into how college football games are played,” he said. — Bill Hancock, BCS Executive Director (via Fox Sports)

What Hancock has seemingly overlooked is that violating federal law is a crime, which is the type of thing the government investigates, and the NCAA is a multi-billion dollar a year industry, propped up largely by football programs, some of which are exceedingly wealthy (i.e. Penn State had a profit of $50 million in 2009).  Is it balancing the budget? Of course not.  On the other hand, its far more than a petty theft crime.

Of course, the fact that the Justice Department is inquiring into the validity of the BCS system does not mean that the NCAA will see a playoff anytime soon.  In fact, college football fans shouldn’t get their hopes up; a playoff system is far a given.

Why?

No judge would be able to force the NCAA to institute a playoff, even if the NCAA loses an anti-trust lawsuit.  At best, judges can award damages to the plaintiffs in the case, or issue an injunction — this would prevent the NCAA from continuing with the BCS system (unless that’s changed on appeal…right, NFL fans?), but would not force a playoff system into place.

So what are we left with?

We are left with a government inquiry into a college football system that may or may not violate federal law.  If it does violate federal law, we could see a judge suggest a playoff system, but the NCAA could just as easily return to the bowl system that was in place before the BCS.

And all of that assumes that Shurtleff can be victorious in an anti-trust lawsuit.  Anti-trust law was specifically designed to protect consumers — promoting competition amongst businesses prevents things like price fixing, cartels, etc.  Does the BCS System damage consumers?  More importantly, does it damage consumers more than the previous Bowl System?

That is the analysis of the courts.  Not whether or not Utah or Boise State was cheated because they went undefeated and were unable to play in the National Championship.

The battle for a college football playoff still has quite a long way to go…uphill.

Under the new NCAA rule, college basketball players will have less time to make their decision regarding their declaration for the NBA draft. Last week the NCAA Board of Directors adopted the rule which will require basketball players to make their declaration regarding their eligibility by the first day of the spring signing period (usually in mid-April). This means that potential NBA players would have to either sign with an agent and declare for the draft by mid-April, or return to college for another year of college basketball. The rule is expected to go into effect next season.

This year, players have until May 8th to withdraw from the draft. The draft itself takes place on June 23rd.

What may seem like a few weeks change, will actually significantly effect the decisions of college basketball players because NBA camps are only starting in mid-April…if they’ve even started at all. That puts borderline NBA players in a predicament; they would in essence have to declare for the draft blindly, not knowing whether or not they even have a chance to be one of the 60 players chosen in June’s NBA Draft.

On the other hand, coaches are now able to determine the make-up of their team that much earlier, which will allow for them to make better recruiting decisions for the next college basketball season.

“For players, I just don’t see how that helps them a whole lot,” Butler forward Matt Howard said Thursday during a shootaround at Hinkle Fieldhouse. “It almost makes it pointless to put your name out and not sign with an agent.” (via ESPN)

While the NCAA’s new rule certainly does nothing to help the decision making process of the borderline NBA player, it will probably increase the quality of play in college basketball — due to some players deciding to stay in school because of the shortened declaration window.

The overwhelming amount of parity and lack of “superstar” players was often decried by college basketball fans and analysts throughout the season.

With many predicting that the NBA is pushing for a higher age limit for new NBA players (current requirements: at least 18 years old, with one season of college basketball played) one has to wonder if the NCAA’s decision will be a moot point once the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement is in place…whenever that is.

Until then, the decision remains in the hands of the players…they just have to make up their mind much more quickly.

Sidenote: In a not-even perfect world, the NBA and NCAA would work together to improve both of their games and the quality of the players playing in both of those leagues. We wouldn’t seemingly end up with an NCAA rule that will lose a vast amount of its relevance due to an NBA rule that comes a long a few months later. I, for one, would love to see these two entities working together more in the future. At present, we all continue to wait.

[format] It is Domino’s first partnership with collegiate athletics on a national scale, and the first sports marketing sponsorship for the company since 2007. [/format]

The partnership will allow Domino’s the right to various NCAA events including NCAA March Madness®, the Men’s Final Four®, Women’s Final Four®, Men’s Frozen Four®, the Men’s College World Series® and Women’s College World Series®.

[quotes]“We are very proud to be the ‘Official Pizza of the NCAA,’ and look forward to a terrific opportunity to connect our brand with national and local platforms showcasing our country’s finest student athletes,” said Russell Weiner, Domino’s Pizza chief marketing officer. “Hard work, commitment to winning and an emphasis on team achievement are all attributes Domino’s and the NCAA have in common, and we are excited to bring these traits to life through this partnership.”[/quotes]

Besides becoming an NCAA sponsor, Domino’s is teaming up with Coca-Cola — a long time NCAA sponsor, Turner Sports, and CBS Sports to create an “NCAA Corporate Marketing Team” of sorts.

[quotes]

“Coca-Cola’s involvement with the NCAA and our championships has brought a tremendous amount of positive exposure to our long-standing partnership,” said Peter Davis, NCAA director of corporate alliances. “With this announcement as the ‘Official Pizza of the NCAA,’ we welcome Domino’s Pizza to our NCAA championships, and we are excited to see the energy with this new relationship.”

“We continue to enjoy a long and successful relationship with Coca-Cola, and we are excited to partner with them to welcome Domino’s to the NCAA Corporate Marketing Team,” said Devron Edwards, CBS Sports director of NCAA marketing.

[/quotes]

NCAA fans can expect to see a lot of Domino’s activation when the 2011 NCAA Mens Basketball Tournament begins on March 15th.

1. Money
2. Last year, they teamed up with CBS to win the 14-year $10.8 billion deal to broadcast the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.
3. Money
4. They already manage sites like NASCAR.com, NBA.com and PGA.com, along with SI.com from their parent company.
5. Money

Beginning this season, Turner stations (TBS, TNT and TruTV) will begin airing men’s basketball tournament games and alternating championship game broadcasts with CBS in 2016. But this digital rights deal might hold the key.

With more and more users watching streaming broadcasts on laptops and mobile devices, how long will it be until championship games are shown this way? Turner Sports probably knows the answer to that. NCAA exec Greg Shaheen said that he expects to see March Madness on Demand take a dramatic step forward.

The deal includes all 88 NCAA tournament championships, but the men’s basketball tourney is the digital Holy Grail.

As most people probably already know, there is serious talk about expanding the NCAA tournament to 96 teams (read as: A done deal).  In a move that I’m sure surprises everyone, it seems as though the move to expand the tournament may be about money.

I’ll give you a minute to recover from the shock.

The long and short of it?  The NCAA recognizes, as does everyone else, that the NCAA tournament makes money and is arguably the most exciting playoff in American sports.  They also realize that expanding the tournament, apparently even at the cost of watering down games, can bring in more revenue to the NCAA coffers.  Fortunately for them, they just happened to be in a year where they have the ability to opt out of their television contract with CBS.

How serendipitous!

Any plans to expand the tournament hinge on the NCAA’s $6 billion television deal with CBS.

The 11-year deal, signed in 1999, has a mutual opt-out until July 31. The NCAA has already spoken with numerous networks about expansion, so the opt-out is at least on the table, and adding 32 more teams is certainly going to bring in more revenue. (via ESPN)

Sources say that the NCAA would be leaving roughly $2 billion on the table if they were to opt out, but the additional games the NCAA can bring to a network to broadcast would seemingly allow the NCAA to push up the monies in any television deal so that the $2 billion could be recouped fairly easily.

Well, fine…the NCAA may potentially be trying to squeeze/use leverage to obtain a more lucrative contract.  But, its not like anyone has ever done that before.  At least they’re going to retain the precious notion of the student-athlete…right?

Oh…some people are missing a whole week of school?

Q. We’re misunderstanding each other. Under the new model that you laid out, you play 64 teams Thursday/Friday. 32 advance to games Saturday/Sunday. Then you are down after those games to 32 teams.
GS: Right.

Q. You’re saying you play games in the round of 32 Tuesday/Wednesday. They would then advance to regionals when?
GS: They would continue into the regional as it’s normally scheduled now.

Q. So they would go Tuesday to Thursday, Wednesday to Friday?
GS: Right.

Q. So they miss an entire week of school. That’s what I’m trying to get.
GS: If you listened to my original answer, they leave now on Tuesday.

Q. I’m talking about the second week, not the first week. They play a game Saturday/Sunday, play a game Tuesday or Wednesday, then go directly to the regional. Tell me when in that second week they’re going to be in class.
GS: The entire first week, the majority of the teams would be in class. (via ESPN)

That little gem is a part of the transcript between the Washington Posts’ John Feinstein and NCAA SVP of basketball/business strategy Greg Shaheen.  I’ll save you the trouble of reading the rest of the transcript; Feinstein keeps asking the same question and Shaheen keeps refusing to answer.

To review…the NCAA is full of student-athletes who are going to be used a bargaining chip to raise more money for the NCAA with an expanded tournament, all while causing the “student-athletes” to miss more school than ever before.

Student. Athletes….Right.

So…for all intents and purposes the expansion to 96 teams is a money grab with a complete disregard for the NCAA’s own rules regarding amateurism and student-athletes.  But why?

Maybe, its the solvency of collegiate athletics.

Huh?

The vast majority of NCAA sports gush red ink, which is certainly related to why the NCAA is currently in a desperate bid for a cash infusion via the expansion of the NCAA Tournament from 64 to 96 teams.

The extra dollars raised by the expansion of the March Madness field will go to being able to continue to stage an eye-popping 87 NCAA Championships per year. That’s precisely why the NCAA Board of Directors is increasing the men’s basketball tournament field – despite what the governing body may tell the public.

Those additional monies though will not go directly to any schools, who have their own problems with massive shortfalls. Those shortfalls are precisely the reason you are now seeing rampant talk of conference expansion and possible super conferences.

The extraordinary debt incurred by second division schools in BCS conferences because of overextended athletic departments cannot be sustained. But a conference expansion means more television and bowl game revenue generated to prop up the dreg schools unable to compete on the field and at the gate. Though eventually that Ponzi scheme will run dry too. (via Sports By Brooks)

It makes sense.  If you aren’t a high profile basketball or football team, its highly probable that your program is losing money annually.  Of course, with the NCAA being a non-profit, I would want to know exactly how much money is needed to “prop up the dreg schools”; especially at a time when the NCAA is bringing in approximately $4 billion a year in licensing and are charging over $1 million per 30 second ad during the basketball championship game.

At some point you have to question whether you already have enough money to keep that womens field hockey team a float, or if maybe the NCAA isn’t as “non-profit” as they seem.

Which makes the Ed O’Bannon v. NCAA lawsuit all that more interesting.  Assuming there isn’t a settlement early on,  the NCAA financial records and books will be open to scrutiny due to legal discovery process.  Although they’re being examined to determine revenue generated from utilizing players images without their permission  (without paying them money in return) in the O’Bannon case, the fact that the books will be examined at all will clearly spark discussion about any revenue producing endeavors undertaken by the NCAA.

In short, we know that the NCAA is all about the money; the proposed 96 team basketball tournament merely cements that fact.  The next question?  Whether or not they’re not only blurring the definition of the “student-athlete”, but also the idea of a non-profit.

Sure, it would be easy to say that EA Sports NCAA Basketball franchise got “O’Bannon’ed”, but truth be told, there was a strong likelihood that we would have seen the death (read as: extended sabbatical probably meaning death) of the franchise anyway.  Apparently another NCAA game just didn’t fit into EA Sports plans financially, although the Ed O’Bannon lawsuit certainly didn’t help matters.

Earlier today Electronic Arts released their third quarter fiscal 2010 report which also included a list of titles planned for release in the coming fiscal year. All the usual suspects were listed with the exception of one. In addition to to that the rumored release date frame for a couple new franchises can be confirmed as well as the addition of a new fighting title in the works.

As I’ve been discussing the likelihood of for months it now appears a foregone conclusion that the NCAA Basketball series has been canned. It was not included on the fiscal 2011 list which had every other yearly title on it. The signs have been there for a while and included poor sales, complete lack of any post-release support, development team movement, and continued talk of trimming unprofitable titles. (via PastaPadre)

Well…at least Ed O’Bannon can sleep well at night knowing that his likeness won’t continue to be misused by the NCAA.

Although I think he may be aiming his sites a little higher.

According to the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) and the Sports Video Group, nearly four in 10 (38%) sports fans said that they will download and watch a game at no cost over the next two years, an increase of 10% from 2007.

“As both broadband and cell phone penetration steadily increase… consumers continue to migrate their entertainment viewing to new platforms,” said Jason Oxman, the CEA’s senior vice president of industry affairs.

CBS is already capitalizing on the increase in online viewership, with their decision to allow users to watch all 63 games of the tournament, online,

CBSSports.com, in partnership with CBS Sports, CSTV and the NCAA, today announced that in 2008, for the first time, its NCAA March Madness on Demand (MMOD) service would give users the ability to view all 63 games* of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, from the first round of the tournament through the Men’s Final Four(R) and Championship in San Antonio.

It will be interesting to see if other sports attempt to capitalize on the increase in internet usage to the extent of CBS and the NCAA. Will we see all regular season and playoff football games online through NFL.com? More baseball games online through MLB.com? Granted, I doubt anything will be free like the services on NCAA.com, but a pay site for football and baseball games? Why not? CBS has had no problem selling advertising, with advertising revenue doubling from 2006 to 2007, the NFL and the MLB have a marketable product, and heaven knows there is always a game that you want to see that you’re unable to see…So, I think its time to copy that business model and run with it.

UPDATE: Paid Content has some info about the NCAA Tourney’s First/Second Round numbers.  They look impressive.

MSN Money: All Games, from First Round through Championship: CBS’s 2008 NCAA March Madness on Demand

Digital Media Wire: More Fans Watching Sporting Events on the Internet