Armchair Quarterback: Replay will prove costly for NCAA
Instant replay may be getting a second look by the NCAA this season, as the Big Ten conference has announced plans for limited tests of the measure this season.
The idea met with overwhelming support from Big Ten coaches who want replay, similar to that used by the NFL, used by officials in collegiate football. Their approval, provided the NCAA signs off on the experimental program, will mean replay will be tested in a handful of games this season in games involving Big Ten teams.
Most people will tell you instant replay in the professional ranks has been a success since it was brought back following its disastrous beginnings. Charging teams time-outs for failed challenges, limiting a team to two challenges per half, limiting the time an official can review a play and having the pressbox auto-call replays within the last two minutes of the game have all helped with the success of the program.
Last year, there were 294 challenges around the NFL will 94 calls reversed, meaning replay did have its impact on the league. This could be doubly true in the collegiate ranks where there are more incorrect calls on the field. The Big Ten has estimated there were about four blown calls per game last year in the average game.
Of course, there are two sides to every story and some opponents of replay are cautioning against rushing into implementation of replay in NCAA football.
First off, the costs would be exceptionally high to start replay in all of major college football. The NFL spent about $10 million to implement the idea. However, it should be noted there are many more teams and many more stadiums in college, meaning, to do it right, the costs will be quite high.
Also, professional football uses network feeds for the views on its replay. The amount of views on any given play is directly proportional to the importance of the game that week. For instance, when the Titans hosted Pittsburgh in the playoffs last year, there were 11 different views of a play available to review officials because the game was THE game at the time. However, on other weeks, such as the Titans earlier regular season game against the Browns, which was like rated fifth out of six games going on at that hour, there were like five or six views.
So, if college ball uses the same idea, which financially it would have to do since equipping each stadium with numerous cameras would be cost prohibitive, then it will be at the mercy of outside cameras. Now Ohio State and Michigan would have enough review angles, but what about New Mexico State versus Rice? You’re lucky to get a couple or reporters with still cameras and a parent with a camcorder at that game. What do you do for replays then? There will be a uniformity issue if college precisely follow the NFL lead.
Then you could have a scenario where some of the more elite conferences are able to implement replay while other less prestigious conferences are left out in the cold. This would further enhance the growing divide between the powerhouses and the also-rans.
Seems to me, if the Big Ten test is a success and the NCAA moves toward permitting instant replay, there will have to be a uniformity to it across all of college football. However, given the sheer number of games on any given Saturday, I’ve got real doubts it can be done with any fairness. Sure, replay will reverse some wrong calls, like it would have reversed the Florida non-catch that beat Tennessee a few years ago, but at the same time it will cause more controversy between conferences which is starting to hit fever pitch now with incidents such as the Miami-Big East split.
As I said a few weeks ago, for competition sake, we must be careful that, in college football, the rich don’t continue getting richer while the poor continue getting poorer.