Tramel's ScissorTales: Dunce caps for ACC & Pac-12 commissioners over playoff rejection
We don’t use the word “dunce” much anymore. Too many psychological ramifications.
Dunce caps were used as a disciplinary tool in the 19th and early 20th centuries, mostly in Europe and the U.S., for students who were disruptive or slow learners.
Good thing they weren’t around circa 1970. I’d have worn one all day long.
Talk about your terrible ideas. Next time you want to rip modern education, remember dunce caps and acknowledge how far we’ve come.
Anyway, just because dunce caps were misused in classrooms doesn’t mean they aren’t valuable elsewhere.
We could use a couple of dunce caps in college football. Commissioners George Kliavkoff of the Pac-12 and Jim Phillips of the Atlantic Coast Conference teamed with Big Ten counterpart Kevin Warren to torpedo the proposed 12-team College Football Playoff, which could have been implemented as soon as the 2024 season and would have been extended well past the current CFP contract, which goes through the 2025 season.
The Big Ten, ACC and Pac-12 were all aquiver over the OU/Texas move to the Southeastern Conference. Those three leagues formed a self-proclaimed alliance that in effect was trying to stare down the SEC.
Dunces.
Didn’t even know they were in a game of dangerous liaisons. Last week, the Big Ten invited Southern Cal and UCLA to join the conference, gutting the Pac-12, disarming the alliance and putting the entire structure of college football in serious jeopardy.
Tramel's ScissorTalesWill a 14-team Big 12 Conference play football with divisions?
The proposed 12-team playoff included six automatic berths for conference champions. The Power 5 conferences would have been guaranteed a berth virtually every year.
But when a new playoff system is determined in a couple of years, there is no guarantee of such access.
First off, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey is not happy with the dunces. On the emotional spectrum, he’s somewhere closer to outraged than annoyed. Despite the Big Ten’s recent power play, the SEC still holds the cards.
The SEC will grant out playoff passes as it sees fit. Even the Big Ten might have to kiss Sankey’s ring. It would be no surprise if the new format is for fewer teams, with no automatic qualifiers and stringent criteria that favors the SEC.
The 12-team format was good for everyone. The five mid-major leagues were guaranteed one slot. Notre Dame had access. The first round included home sites, the quarterfinals and semifinals were bound for bowls, and the title game would be played as now, at a neutral site that bid for the game.
It covered all comers. The most afflicted entities in college football are the mid-major conferences, and they were fully behind the plan. Even had a representative — Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson — on the four-man committee that produced the idea.
And now we enter a period of incredible instability. The Pac-12 is teetering on the brink of collapse. The ACC has stability only through contracts that keep the league tethered through 2036 with a getting-worse television contract. The Big 12, revived with the addition of mid-majors Cincinnati, Brigham Young, Central Florida and Houston, is looking good only in comparison to the Pac-12.
And all of those leagues would be in much better shape if they knew playoff access was a given.
Sure, the financial disparities between the SEC/Big Ten and the Big 12/ACC/Pac-12 is only going to grow.
But let’s be honest. The financial disparity between Texas and Arizona, between Alabama and North Carolina State, between Ohio State and Kansas State, always has been massive. Always has been a mighty gulf.
The resources are not the same. Never have been. And even schools in the same conference don’t play on a level field. OU and OSU. Southern Cal and Arizona. Georgia and Mississippi State.
College football is not fair. Doesn’t pretend to be.
But the playoff offers a reprieve. Get on the gridiron, particularly a neutral field, and anything can happen. And even if anything can't happen — Cincinnati was not going to beat Alabama — a team, a school, a fan base can dream.
Put the 12-team playoff proposal in place, and even a watered-down Pac-12 has hope. Even a lesser Big 12 has hope. Even the ACC, should Clemson ever stumble, has hope.
Coaches can recruit to playoff access. Marketers can sell to playoff access. Linebackers can find the will to work through summer heat on playoff access.
Heck, just using the 2021 final CFP committee rankings, a 12-team playoff would have included these first-round games — OSU at Ole Miss, Michigan State at Baylor, Utah at Ohio State and Pittsburgh at Notre Dame. With Alabama, Michigan, Georgia and Cincinnati receiving byes.
That’s a solid mix of heavyweights and upstarts, traditional powers and Cinderellas. Three SEC teams, three Big Ten teams, two Big 12 teams, Notre Dame and one team each from the ACC, Pac-12 and American.
But the dunces gave it away.
Maybe Warren and the Big Ten would have sabotaged the 12-team playoff even without help from the ACC and Pac-12. Maybe Warren knew USC and UCLA were headed his way and he saw no reason to throw lifelines to the lesser leagues.
Maybe Warren just saw a couple of dunces and let them take some of the heat for the diabolical decision. Well played, Commish. There is no honor among thieves.
And now the lesser leagues, the schools with good football programs but fewer resources, journey into a new world order, with unknown playoff access. It didn’t have to be.
'A surreal moment'What Santa Clara's Jalen Williams bring to OKC Thunder in NBA Draft
Meet Santa Clara Williams
The Thunder Summer League debut Tuesday night was all about the Chet Holmgren coming-out party, and it was beyond all aspirations. Holmgren was sensational, with 23 points, seven rebounds, four assists and six blocked shots. He missed only two shots, both 3-point launches, but he made four deep balls. In Holmgren’s 24 minutes on the court, the Thunder outscored Utah by 26 points. OKC routed the Jazz 98-77.
But Holmgren you knew about. Jalen Williams, not so much.
Williams, the overall No. 12 pick in the NBA Draft two weeks ago, is the 6-foot-6 guard from Santa Clara who has mostly drawn attention because the Thunder also drafted Arkansas center Jaylin Williams. Two players with the same name, with variations in the spelling. And it doesn’t help that they have similar hair styles.
At their introductory press conference on June 25, the Williamses tried to sort out the mess. Jalen Williams (Santa Clara) said he goes by J-Dub, which means Jaylin Williams (Arkansas) would be J-Will.
Of course, that’s difficult to remember and was a disaster during the ESPN broadcast Tuesday night. Veteran Holly Rowe tried to explain the nicknames, and Jazz announcer Thurl Bailey immediately responded that he still was confused.
I don’t blame him. And it wasn’t Rowe’s fault. J-Dub and J-Will aren’t going to work. At least not for me.
I’m calling them Santa Clara Williams and Arkansas Williams. That part you can remember. Santa Clara is the perimeter player. Arkansas is the big man.
And Santa Clara Williams looked good Tuesday night. Big, strong, physical around the basket. Williams had 17 points and five rebounds against Utah, making eight of 11 shots, including his only 3-pointer.
He’s got a thick body. Gets to the basket with authority. Reminds me some of OSU’s Isaac Likekele, only Williams apparently can shoot.
We’ll see about Williams’ defense. I couldn’t tell much Tuesday night. But he looked like a ballplayer.
Arkansas Williams had a pedestrian night: 16 minutes, two points on 1-of-6 shooting, six rebounds. He looked fairly active.
But it was Santa Clara Williams who stood out and would be the talk of Thunderland today had Holmgren not been so sensational.
And enough of this J-Dub and J-Will. I’ll be calling them Santa Clara Williams and Arkansas Williams. Basketball is too quick of a game to have to think that much.
Tramel's Colorado travelblogBig Meadows is one of America's most scenic & serene places
Colorado travelblog: Mountain trail rides
I like horses. They seem to be proud beasts of burden. Stately and regal. You never hear horses complain much.
I just don’t want to own any horses. They seem like money pits and time pits. I don’t have a ton of money, but I’ve got more money than I do time. Probably best if I spend both elsewhere.
And I’m not crazy about riding horses. With apologies to our ancestors from the 19th century and before, horses are not the most comfortable mode of transportation. When I was a kid, I rode horses from time to time, including without adult supervision, and it all seemed grand.
But I’m not a kid anymore.
Tinley is. She’s my 11-year-old granddaughter, and she loves horses. She’s attended horse camp and rides any chance she gets. Which is not often.
But Colorado offered the chance. So on our last day at Wolf Creek Ranch, we drove a couple of miles down the highway to Moon Valley, an RV park that has a horse stable and offers trail rides.
We signed up for an hour-long trip, and it was delightful. Our four-person crew was joined by Aaron, a long-time Colorado cowboy who runs the stables, and Darren, whose family has operated Moon Valley since 1969. Darren returned to Colorado a year ago after 30 years working in New York City marketing. I rode in the back with him and was enchanted by his stories of the difference between Manhattan and the mountains.
The trail ride took us almost immediately up the mountains, along narrow trails. The horses were the stars. They were carrying the freight and instinctively knew where to step and where not to step.
We went up several hundred feet and even ventured along the original Wolf Creek Pass, from 110 years ago. The views were spectacular. The scents and scenes, of course, are unlike anything we experience in Colorado.
I’ve been to New York many times and love it. Even dreamed of working there at times. But I can see where the magnificent Rockies could call a man home.
The temperature was around 70 and felt cooler when the clouds rolled by and we were higher up, amid the pines and aspens. I know the winters are cold and snowy, and if you live there, even the skiing can get old.
But man, what a place. Colorado can transport you to a different time.
Soon enough, we were back in the valley, out of the saddles and back into the Toyota Highlander. We drove into South Fork, had a good dinner at Mountain Pizza, returned to the cabin and loaded up. We decided to get a head start on our journey home. Drove deep into the night to Dalhart, Texas, where I assume they still ride their share of horses, but not into the glorious Rockies.
TramelBig 12 could put the Pac-12 out of its misery by expanding to 16 teams
The List: 2022’s top mid-majors
Last September, the Big 12 added Cincinnati, BYU, Central Florida and Houston, and those teams went out and had stellar football seasons.
Cincinnati made the College Football Playoff and finished fourth in the Associated Press poll. Houston was No. 17. BYU was No. 19. UCF had a 9-4 season that included a bowl victory over Florida.
In their final seasons as mid-majors, can the Big 12 pledges have another banner season? Here are the 10 best mid-major teams going into 2022, as ranked by ESPN’s Bill Connelly using his SP+ metrics. They are quite nerdy but are fun to use as speculative rankings:
1. Cincinnati: The Bearcats are No. 11 overall among the 131 major-college teams as they seek another American Conference championship.
2. BYU: The Cougars are No. 25 going into their final season as an independent.
3. Southern Methodist: SMU is No. 33 overall as the Mustangs begin a new era with coach Rhett Lashlee.
4. Fresno State: The Bulldogs are No. 37 and are mentioned prominently as a potential Pac-12 replacement for USC and UCLA.
5. Central Florida: The Knights are No. 39. The Big 12 needs UCF to get back to being the up-and-coming threat it was a few years ago, and that should happen under coach Gus Malzahn.
6. Boise State: The Broncos are No. 43. I’ve long been an advocate for Boise State in the Big 12, and the Pac-12 would do well to snag Boise State.
7. Houston: The Cougars are No. 44. Give UofH credit. It has become a perennially good football team.
8. Alabama-Birmingham: The Blazers are No. 53. The retirement of coach Bill Clark will test UAB’s recent success.
9. Appalachian State: The Mountaineers are No. 58. Schools back East don’t have the landing spots that mid-majors in the West do.
10. Memphis: The Tigers are No. 59. They could be poised to dominate the American when UCF, Cincy and Houston leave.
Tramel's ScissorTalesDillon Gabriel, Spencer Sanders take hit in ESPN quarterback rankings
Mailbag: Athletes as university employees
The ramifications of the name, image and likeness revolution are many, including the long-standing idea that athletes should be considered university employees.
Anne: I am curious about the idea I have recently read a great deal about — collegiate athletes becoming employees of their respective schools. Does that mean they will have a base salary of whatever the school’s tuition is? For instance, if you are a football-playing employee of Notre Dame, with a yearly tuition of around $70,000, is your base salary then $70,000 plus whatever else you can get out of the university? Taxes also apply, correct? These kids are quite suddenly tasked with finding accountants, tax planners, financial advisors. Daunting task in the best of circumstances. Is someone going to help these 18-year-old kids?”
Tramel: There is no set salary structure. I assume if we get to that point, universities could pay athletes whatever they want. If we reach that point, the idea of student-athlete is over. Requiring employees to attend class and be students in good academic standing would be another can of worms.
As for helping the kids, the same questions apply to NIL, regardless of whether they’re considered employees. And the universities already help these 18-year-olds plenty. Probably too much. Most have agents or managers or handlers. Which means the tax man is the least of their problems.
Berry Tramel: Berry can be reached at 405-760-8080 or at btramel@oklahoman.com. He can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including FM-98.1. Support his work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Pac-12's George Kliavkoff, ACC's Jim Phillips cripple college football
