NCAA History Guide

The NCAA is often criticized for its commercialism and lack of true collaboration. With the NCAA-run March Madness tournament just completed, however, it’s hard to imagine a world of college sports in which the NCAA does not play a pivotal role. In football, on the other hand, strides are being made that just might change the relationship between universities, conferences, and the NCAA.

The first, seemingly unimportant, development is the branding of the new College Football Playoff. The new format, set to debut after the 2014 regular season, hopes to resolve some of the arguments for reform that have become increasingly prevalent in the last several years. The logo has just been chosen this week, and the gaining momentum for the new playoff leads to a startling realization: unlike the championships for nearly every other college sport, the branding of the College Football Playoff features no mention of the NCAA. This may in fact be a deliberate choice. As college football seeks to reformat their playoff process, they may also be looking to refocus on college football, rather than the NCAA. Continue reading “The NCAA Fate in Football” »

About Mikalah Jackson

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Are you looking for a great way to stay fit during the off season? Well, there are a ton of different options out there, but as a college student many options can be expensive. Today I’ll look at some economical ways to stay fit during the off season.

Home fitness programs – P90x and others

A home fitness program is always a great economical solution; with so many videos and dvds out there, training at home is easy. I personally recommend P90x as it is a great program that really hits all areas as it includes weight lifting, cardio, stretching and yoga. The dvds are only around $100 – cheaper if you get them used and you’ll only need to spend another $70 or so for workout bands, a pullup bar and yoga mat.

An alternative to P90x is Insanity. This program focuses more on cardio, so you’re going to have to supplement this with another weights workout separately. Of course there are a ton of different dvd sets that you can get. There has also been a massive surge in fitness apps, so if you have a smart phone, I’d recommend checking the selection to see if anything looks interesting.

Continue reading “Cheap Fitness Programs to Stay Fit During the Off Season” »

About Marie Curie

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Most active people have, at one time or another, had to deal with injury. Injuries occur either through accidents, due to poor training practices, or from using the wrong gear. Failure to warm up or stretch before or after training can also lead to injuries. While some types of injuries may be minor, others are more serious and take a longer time to heal.

Most active people have problems coping with injuries because they are not used to reduced activity. Some even refuse to admit they are injured and they continue with activities that make the injury worse. Several things can be done to cope with a sports injury.

1. Admit you are injured

The first thing you need to do is to admit you are injured and thus you cannot do most of the things you do every day. If you are an athlete, this means that you should not attempt to compete if you have an injury, however slight, as you risk making it worse. Admitting it will also help you to get help. Do not assume that the injury will just ‘heal itself’.

Continue reading “5 Ways To Avoid ‘Losing It’ When You Have A Sports Injury” »

About Marie Curie

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It’s about that time of year again, basketball fans – March Madness! Whether you’re on spring break now or next week, you’ll still return in time to catch the start of the tournament on March 19. Or, maybe you’ll be on break during the tournament, but most bars and sports restaurants will broadcast the games.

Schedule

This year’s complete schedule, courtesy of the NCAA website, is as follows:

• First Four – March 19-20
• Second/Third Rounds – March 21-24
• Regionals – March 28-31
• Final Four – April 6 & 8

Continue reading “March Madness is Upon Us” »

About Alfredo Rodriguez

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While rifling through old files on my computer, I came across a pretty old post about Les Miles and LSU. Time sure flies. And, he’s still head coach of the LSU football team, which I suppose isn’t that much of a surprise, but still worth mentioning if you didn’t think he would be (or just don’t know who he is). Just for fun, here’s the post:

Les is More, Sorta

This week LSU announced they had extended the contract through 2010, bumping his annual salary from $1.25 million in 2005 to $1.65 million in 2006. This seems to me like a bit of a kneejerk reaction on behalf of LSU and am not sure that Miles is a proven commodity that would warrant a raise after a great season with Nick Saban’s players. I for one really enjoyed his sideline antics and moments of panic during the Tennessee loss last year. Deer meet headlights, headlights meet deer…

Continue reading “In College Football History: Les Miles” »

About Alfredo Rodriguez

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Okay, you’ve probably heard it enough by now – Alabama won the BCS championship. As much as I was rooting for the underdog, the outcome wasn’t much of a surprise. The only negative about it was listening to my stepdad walk around the house shouting “Roll Tide Roll!” and “Back to Back!” After about 2 or 25 times, it gets old. I can’t blame him for being excited, though. Having back-to-back championships is an impressive accomplishment. Nick Saban gets a pat on the back.

Continue reading “Roll Tide Roll!” »

About Marie Curie

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For decades, it has been customary for the NBA to draft players who had obtained a bachelor’s degree. It was a relationship that benefited both the NCAA and the NBA. Since the NBA didn’t have to fund a minor league, colleges would keep players who would have gone professional.

As college basketball became more popular and commercialized, players found it more difficult to function as both player and student. This was a real problem especially for lower class, less educated, talented teenagers. They were paying for an education where they weren’t learning as much as they ought and not being paid for their athletic abilities.

Continue reading “College Basketball: Skipping Out to Go Pro” »

About Alfredo Rodriguez

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So many die-hard fans watch their favorite NCAA teams every day, either live and in person or in the comfort of their own home. You may be one of them. But do you know the one event that started the NCAA as a whole?

The wide variety of college athletic teams in the organization now is huge compared to the starting point of the organization. Any guesses as to what one event started the NCAA? It all started with one rowing competition between two top schools: Harvard and Yale.

Continue reading “Formation of the NCAA: Un Unexpected Beginning” »

About Alfredo Rodriguez

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With pastimes and hobbies being limited overseas for our dedicated troops, there remains one constant, strong interest for all troops: college football. One of the most popular items sent in care packages for soldiers from fellow Americans safe at home are footballs. This surely has to say something for how passionate these men are about one of America’s favorite pass times.

When one watches the masses of people that assemble for rivalry college football games and, on a larger scale, the gargantuan crowd that appears for the Super Bowl, it’s hard to imagine that the sport of football began in small, elite colleges, making the sport virtually unknown to the rest of the United States. Amazingly enough, it is almost solely due to the armed forces that football has attracted so talented athletes, dedicated fans and gained, tremendous overall success.

Continue reading “Importance of College Football to Our Troops” »

About Adrianna Avila

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Oh, football season. A time when students and families wait in long lines, crowd bars, and gather in parking lots on Saturdays to watch the teams they’re rooting for (hopefully) dominate the opposing team. People spend money on team gear, food, accessories, and travel. If you take a look around stadiums, you’ll see waves of the team colors, painted faces, colored hair, and all sorts of outfits signaling strong team spirit.

Everything about college football Saturday will start off fun and exciting. The players are excited, the crowd is riled up, and, if it’s an especially great day, the sun will be shining. Students stand up to watch the game, the crowd cheers, and then kickoff happens. As viewers eagerly watch what follows, they cross their fingers and hope their team will play well.

But, losses are inevitable. Sometimes a team, even one that’s doing so well, will lose. Then what happens to the fans?

Continue reading “Disappointed Football Fans” »

About Alfredo Rodriguez

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