I am going to take the part of college football that I know the least about (the NCAA rules), and throw it in to one really stupid question. I hope that some of you are experts in the NCAA rule book because that would help with a definitive answer.
I read today on twitter a comment that said something to the effect of "apparently UT is going to be fielding two teams next year." It was a joking reaction to this massive class that we have coming in, and it made me laugh. Then, it made me think.
Here is my understanding. The current NCAA rules limit the number of scholarships to 85 and the SEC rules limit the number of kids you can sign in any class to 25 (plus or minus some depending upon other factors).
I know that Title IX generally requires one female sport for every male sport, and that would factor in here as well.
The question then is, are there any rules that say a school can only have one football team?
Here is why that question is interesting to me. If there is a loophole that would allow a school to field 2 football teams, You could essentially recruit 2x as many players, relegate the slower progress players to team 2 (like a JV squad), you could even schedule one game a year against your other team and avoid the expense of an OOC game. The next question is, does the NCAA require that if you have a team that they actually have to play X numbers of games? What happens if you create another team to get extra scholarships and then just have them do nothing? Or, if you have that extra team just play random games showing no conference affiliation? Who cares who they play, right? You aren't looking for this team to get bowl eligible, you just want a place to recruit as many players as possible, develop them all, and cull the good ones to put on your main team.
This is just a case of thinking totally outside of the box. I know that if it hasn't been done, there probably is a reason. But then I tell myself that it wasn't long ago that the NCAA created a rule to keep Majors from signing like 80 kids in one class (if memory serves). In other words, there is a tiny chance, minuscule, that this has never been thought of, so let's figure it out. If this isn't specifically banned, think about the benefit to a school like UT. Think about how quickly you could fill up two rosters with very good talent, even if the NCAA caught on in year 1.
This should be a fun conversation and I am completely bracing for the inevitable beating I will take for being so ignorant of the exact wording of the NCAA rules.
I read today on twitter a comment that said something to the effect of "apparently UT is going to be fielding two teams next year." It was a joking reaction to this massive class that we have coming in, and it made me laugh. Then, it made me think.
Here is my understanding. The current NCAA rules limit the number of scholarships to 85 and the SEC rules limit the number of kids you can sign in any class to 25 (plus or minus some depending upon other factors).
I know that Title IX generally requires one female sport for every male sport, and that would factor in here as well.
The question then is, are there any rules that say a school can only have one football team?
Here is why that question is interesting to me. If there is a loophole that would allow a school to field 2 football teams, You could essentially recruit 2x as many players, relegate the slower progress players to team 2 (like a JV squad), you could even schedule one game a year against your other team and avoid the expense of an OOC game. The next question is, does the NCAA require that if you have a team that they actually have to play X numbers of games? What happens if you create another team to get extra scholarships and then just have them do nothing? Or, if you have that extra team just play random games showing no conference affiliation? Who cares who they play, right? You aren't looking for this team to get bowl eligible, you just want a place to recruit as many players as possible, develop them all, and cull the good ones to put on your main team.
This is just a case of thinking totally outside of the box. I know that if it hasn't been done, there probably is a reason. But then I tell myself that it wasn't long ago that the NCAA created a rule to keep Majors from signing like 80 kids in one class (if memory serves). In other words, there is a tiny chance, minuscule, that this has never been thought of, so let's figure it out. If this isn't specifically banned, think about the benefit to a school like UT. Think about how quickly you could fill up two rosters with very good talent, even if the NCAA caught on in year 1.
This should be a fun conversation and I am completely bracing for the inevitable beating I will take for being so ignorant of the exact wording of the NCAA rules.
