“Control and money are the driving forces.”

Jon Solomon has a good follow-up on the story that the NCAA is going to take a look at severing some D-1 schools from the current governance structure over the division.  It’s been coming for a long time.

The haves, meanwhile, will continue to spend because they can negotiate their own lucrative TV deals, thanks to a landmark 1984 Supreme Court decision. They will dictate terms in the football playoff talks because they possess the teams the public wants to see. And they will want NCAA rules that serve their interests, believing there are too many schools playing Division I football as it is.

There’s some kind of separation coming.  Bank on it.  The only question may be whether the NCAA as we know it survives the split.

Of course, if it doesn’t, there’s always the familiar last refuge.

“That was discussed even in 1996: ‘If we can’t have control of the (NCAA voting) structure, we’ll do our own thing,'” Dempsey recalled. “I think to accomplish their goals, the threat will always be there.”

But Dempsey warns of consequences if the haves break away from the NCAA and stage their own basketball tournament.

“I think many schools would go to Congress and seek their involvement,” Dempsey said. “I’m not sure the institutions want to go into the political arena and get Congress involved…”

Derrick Lott and the AJ-C: a new low?

I suppose there are two ways you could look at the news that Derrick Lott is leaving the team.

There’s the way that takes the announcement at face value, based on how the defensive two-deep is beginning to take shape in Grantham’s mind.

… This spring Lott was hoping to take advantage of the graduation of DeAngelo Tyson, one of only two starters leaving the team. But he was still behind Garrison Smith, who started when Tyson got hurt last year, and this spring Cornelius Washington and Ray Drew were getting snaps at end.

“Derrick and I met, and he believes he will have opportunities for more playing time elsewhere,” Richt said in a statement. “We support him and will assist in any way possible during this process.”

Pretty cut and dried, no?  Kid sees the writing on the wall and decides he wants to go elsewhere.  (Happens every day in the SEC, it seems like.)

Then there’s the AJ-C‘s way.  Cue the prairie dog.

This is a pretty shameless inference:

… If you find the timing curious, I do, too. For one, defensive line coach Rodney Garner spoke glowingly of Lott’s progress and abilities earlier this week. Though a career backup, Lott had tripped over some bad fortune — he ripped his leg open in a scooter accident before this past season — and appeared to be coming into his own this spring. According to several accounts of recent interviews with Lott, he spoke excitedly and optimistically about the upcoming season and the prospects it held for him.

Lott’s decision comes on the heels of the news that two more defensive players — All-America safety Bacarri Rambo and star linebacker Alec Ogletree — had flunked drug tests and are going to be suspended for multiple games at the beginning of the season. Alan Ingram, Rambo’s coach at Seminole County High School, said yesterday that as many as five Georgia players had failed surprise post-spring-break drug screenings.

If you know something specific, Chip, spit it out.  Otherwise, all you’ve done is cast aspersions some kid’s way.  I’m sure Lott will appreciate your speculation as he looks for another program.

And while I’m on the subject, WTF is with “Lott could not be reached for comment. He was probably attending a show”?

If I were Richt, I’d be pretty pissed right now.

One thing that NCAA playoff label brings

USA Today looks at the rising salaries of college basketball coaches, which is now percolating down to schools with smaller athletic budgets.  It’s a classic case of keeping up with the Joneses, brought on by an expanding tournament which is the gauge for success.

Football is different.

VCU digging deep to thwart the get-Smart bids by Illinois and N.C. State is emblematic of a widening dollar gap between major-conference schools and so-called midmajors.  Football TV contracts and attendance for the six power conferences of football’s Bowl Championship Series mean big money, while competitive ambitions at midmajors often outrun their athletics departments’ ability to pay for them.

VCU is paying for Smart’s raise with increased student athletic fees.

Mmmm… tacos.

This FSU snark about Erving Walker’s arrest is pretty funny:

https://twitter.com/#!/davidraider88/status/185887084073070592