Aug. 15, 2011
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By Marc Daniels
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Egg meet face. In the span of 48 hours the sports media covering, or those who wanted to pretend like they were, the story of Texas A&M and its possible move to SEC showed what is really wrong in the world of today's media.
Today's media no longer uses old fashion things like real sources. You know the ones where the source really exists and the reporter actually had a conversation with that person. And that same reporter gets a second source to actually confirm what the first source said and then the reporter gets approval from a superior to go with a story using sources.
Not in today's world. Today's sports media consists of reporters who don't care about the source, but instead are consumed with getting the story first. It doesn't matter if it's accurate because you can always go back and explain why you were still right even if the story proved you wrong.
This past weekend it had to be confirmed that the SEC has 2,147 highly placed sources who had views on the rumors about Texas A&M and the potential move to the SEC. Reporters used those highly placed sources along with message board postings and tweets by others who had no idea to present a story, not based on fact, but based on guessing.
And when the SEC sent out an official statement on Sunday that the league was committed to its current membership of 12 and not expanding, everyone who was wrong on the story tried to tell you and I that we need to read Florida President Bernie Machen's statement closely because he was telling us the door is not closed it's just not opened now for Texas A&M or anyone else. Those same reporters are telling you and I the statement from the SEC is just a legal position because they don't want a lawsuit from Big 12 about raiding their league.
How does UCF play into all of this? Well, the Knights were among the schools listed by some of these reporters in regards to conference realignment. And while UCF remains open to listening to any real conversations about a possible move to a bigger league, it also has learned that the media have become masters of throwing stuff against the wall and hoping something sticks. And if doesn't stick, throw it again until it does.
UCF remains a solid candidate for any league that might want it as a member. Nothing has changed in regards to all the positives the Knights bring and if a real offer comes along the UCF administration will be ready to analyze any potential move and make the right decision for the school.
Despite the weekend of rumors, I will admit that the Texas A&M story may have been successful in advancing the next great college sports realignment sooner than later. But I am still a believer that the next wave will not be a move by a few schools but the complete makeover of what we currently know to be Division One athletics. I do think in the next 3-5 years there will be 4-6 super conferences and a form of a college football playoff and a newly configured college basketball tournament.
Do I think UCF will be part of one of those super conferences? Yes. Which conference? I have no idea. But the Knights offer too much to be left out.
In fact, I think one reason SEC Presidents did meet this past weekend was to get everyone on the same page and understand that if the most powerful league in college sports is to expand that it would likely be its final expansion for the next 30-50 years and the league is not focusing on a school in College Station, Texas, that would like entry, but on a business plan that is worth billions and a plan that needs to make the right decision for its current members.
One other point that I think comes out of the weekend of rumors is that other conferences are now forced to think ahead at a quicker pace. They need to decide who to target and what their value is.
Perhaps Big East Commissioner John Marinatto is much smarter than people think. Maybe Marinatto sensed the tension in the Big 12 last year when the same members who are now complaining about the competitive advantage Texas has with its own network, voted to accept the new terms and conditions to keep the Big 12 alive. Maybe Marinatto knew this day was coming and that's why he chose to not cut a new television deal this past summer but hold off another year. Maybe he senses his list of potential expansion candidates might include UCF, Army, Navy, East Carolina, Houston and Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State and Missouri.
So all UCF can do is go about its business and be the best program it can be. It can only control just so much. But another successful football season and continued growth in basketball only strengthens the Knights' resume so when the big wave comes, UCF is a player and not standing on the sideline. In the meantime, there will be plenty of reporters to keep the rumor mills flowing every day.
Knights notes and more: One more example of how the media worked this past weekend in the world of rumors was the story many went with that the Big 10 and the Pac-12 agreed to support the idea of a "plus-one" model for the BCS. After Big 10 Commissioner Jim Delaney denied such a story, many media members said Delaney only denied it because he didn't want news of such support to come out. Or maybe he was telling the truth...A highly placed source in the SEC just told me UCF is on the short list to join the NFC East and the American League Central Division...After his performance at the recent scrimmage, it is not so crazy to think the running back with the best chance to run for 1,000 yards is Brynn Harvey...What do A.J. Bouye, Kemal Ishmael, Troy Davis and Quincy McDuffie have in common? All were rated two-star players by Rivals coming out of high school. Ishmael is one of the country's best safeties and the other three should be impact players this season...Congrats to Darnell Sweeney and Ronnie Richardson. The UCF baseball duo were teammates on the Cape Cod League Championship squad...Final thought: How come the battery in my fire alarm begins to die and make the alarm chirp in the middle of the night between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m.? How come this never happens at 2 p.m. in the afternoon?
Marc Daniels' From the Press Box runs several times per month on UCFAthletics.com. Listen to Marc during UCF football, men's basketball and baseball radio broadcasts on the UCF Sports Network. Each weekday, Marc hosts The Beat of Sports on ESPN Radio 1080 in Orlando.