“I hope I’m on scholarship for four years.”

Hey, here’s a real shocker for you (h/t Players).

In the summer of 2011, the NCAA changed this rule. It passed legislation giving Division I universities the option to offer multiyear scholarships, guaranteeing an education as long as the athlete stays out of legal trouble, doesn’t violate school or NCAA rules, keeps playing the sport and maintains academic eligibility. The athlete is also free to leave, under the same transfer rules as always.

But nearly two years after that legislation, multiyear scholarships are rare, not publicized by universities and largely unknown by the athletes. According to data of 82 universities at the Division I-A level obtained by the Post-Gazette through open records requests, only 16 have offered more than 10 multiyear scholarships. Thirty-two of the universities have offered between one and 10, and thirty-four have not offered any.

You can read the whole thing, but it all boils down to this:

1. Coaches don’t like losing control.
2. The NCAA was covering its ass in its usual less than coherent way.  (“The great majority of athletic scholarships are still good for just one year, renewable on a coach’s decision, a procedure that flaunts the education-first narrative pitched by the NCAA and member schools, especially at a time when promising an education until graduation is possible.”)
3. Student-athletes don’t have a clue what they’re being offered.

Same old, same old, in other words…

Easy in, easy out.

I had a little time to kill yesterday, so I popped on the replay of the Georgia Tech game.  One thing that really struck me was how quickly the opening series went:  Mitchell returns the kickoff almost fifty yards to the Tech 44 and four plays later the Dawgs are in the end zone.  It barely took a minute.

That got me to wondering if that was Georgia’s easiest opening score of the season.  With a little research, here’s the list (every successful opening drive resulted in a touchdown, by the way):

• Buffalo:  7 plays, 53 yards, 3:10
• Missouri:  did not score
• FAU:  7 plays, 71 yards, 2:25
• Vanderbilt:  7 plays, 47 yards, 2:11
• Tennessee:  13 plays, 84 yards, 6:06
• South Carolina:  did not score
• Kentucky:  did not score
• Florida:  3 plays, 20 yards, 1:23
• Ole Miss:  did not score
• Auburn:  6 plays, 76 yards, 2:05
• GSU:  10 plays, 79 yards, 3:39
• Georgia Tech:  4 plays, 44 yards, 1:03
• Alabama:  did not score
• Nebraska:  did not score

Yes, you read that correctly – it took more time off the clock for Georgia to score after the Florida fumble than that drive against Tech took.  That all being said, honesty compels me to admit that the opening drive against Auburn may have even been easier.  What do you guys remember?

Monday morning buffet

It’s the start of a new week.  You need to eat.

• If this is the kind of stuff I’m missing, I could get used to the AJ-C‘s new paywall real fast.
• When I say it’s not easy being a mid-major, this is what I’m talking about.
• Todd Grantham’s not worried about his young safeties.  We’ll see if he feels the same way after the Clemson game.
• It looks like Mike Slive’s got more catching up to do on the commissioner pay front.
• Bernie’s a braver Dawg than I am.
• Most surprising thing about this poll?  That better than forty percent of the participants aren’t willing to pay more on their cable bills for the SEC Network.  Least surprising? That more than a quarter of them would be interested in a Finebaum show on the network.
• Do you care about this?  I don’t.