ncaa turns down $30 million offer to stage USC-LSU game

Associated Press

SAN DIEGO -- Unhappy with college football's split national championship, the head of a computer company thought he could entice Southern California and LSU to play each other later this month by offering $30 million in scholarship money.


The NCAA quickly hit the "delete" button, saying there was no way such a game could be played.


Ted Waitt, chairman and CEO of Gateway Inc., which is based in the San Diego suburb of Poway, offered each school $10 million in scholarships for disadvantaged students if they'd play each other the weekend of Jan. 24-25. The winner would have gotten an additional $10 million in scholarships and $1 million in Gateway products.


"Everybody wants to see it happen," Waitt said. "It'd be fun. But everybody is afraid of the NCAA. We just want to know one good reason why this can't happen."


Waitt made his proposal in letters faxed Thursday to LSU Chancellor Mark Emmert, USC President Steven Sample and NCAA President Myles Brand.


"It's just not as simple or easy as doing that," said Wally Renfro, the senior adviser to Brand. "Decisions about postseason football are made by the membership of the association. Those two institutions would not be able to make that decision in any event.


"Right now, by the bylaws, it couldn't happen."


And the NCAA wouldn't jump even with $30 million in scholarships up for grabs?


"No," Renfro said.


Besides numerous logistical problems, games aren't allowed after Jan. 4, which was the date of the Sugar Bowl.


USC was No. 1 in both the AP media poll and USA Today/ESPN coaches' poll at the end of the regular season, but slipped behind No. 2 LSU and No. 3 Oklahoma in the computers and the final BCS standings because of a weaker strength of schedule.


LSU won the BCS national championship by beating Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl while USC won The Associated Press title by beating Michigan in the Rose Bowl.

 

For half that, I bet the two teams would play a game in secret, overnight, in a remote location
of course, Gateway would also own the rights to said game, which would probably be the most watched program of that month. Naturally, ABC, NBC, Fox, History Channel, CourtTV, Oxygen, and The Golf Channel would clamor for the right to give Gateway twice what they're paying out, to televise.

 

Could the two teams just play in different uniforms and make up college names and play without the NCAA's blessing?

 

hmm.
something that came to mind when you posted about this, that should've come up in my mind before now.
Eligibility. The NCAA could revoke eligibility for the players in the programs easily, if they played in a money game even if it benefitted just the university.

 

Eligibility is the issue. But if the schools went ahead and did it the public outcry against the NCAA would be so vocal they wouldn't do anything to the players. There is no NCAA football champion so what could they do, strip them of the title? As it is now, when a team gets punished, it's only a local/regional story.

 

the ncaa is a volunteer organization anyway -- screw the ncaa.

 

Sure, but tell that to the 2/3rds of each team that's underclass, some of which are walkons. The guys who are starting, either they'll have NFL careers or not. They probably already know if they have a shot. The backups don't, and without eligibility, they'll go from having a two year shot at USC in a year, to being in the CFL for a year or two?

I totally agree, in everything y'all are saying. But the universities and the underclass have to watch out for themselves.
Plus, a share of a title's better than none, so despite the barking, each school's likely happy as hell.

 

i'm saying all the schools shold just pull out of the ncaa and tell them to shove it.

 

The state of CA is about to do that for them.

 

yep...this thing is about to start rolling.