July 14, 2004

The End Of Football Media Guides As We Know Them?

FROM THE NEVER-ENDING CHALLENGE TO CAPTURE THE ATTENTION OF SOLID HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALLS RECRUITS comes a new initiative to halter the size, elaborateness, cost and glitz that football media guides have become.

How big is big?

• Notre Dame: 484 pages

• Texas: 480 pages

• Florida State: 364 pages

• Florida: 348 pages

• Miami: 320 pages

And it’s not just the number of pages, it’s the glossy color, the fold-outs and the slick covers. The University of Texas spends upwards of $150,000 on media guides.

Meanwhile, programs at the other end of the Division I-A spectrum spend far less on media guides. South Florida spends less than $30,000, Central Florida spends $24,000 and Florida Atlantic spends $11,000.

Guess which schools look better to 17 year old recruits?

In an attempt to equalize the recruiting playing field for programs big and small. the NCAA's Academics-Eligibility-Compliance Cabinet has sent a bill to the management council, proposing that all media guides be reduced to 200 pages and 81/2 x 11 in size.

(this 171 word excerpt—with attendant commentary—was distilled from a 1254 word article from FloridaToday.com of 7-13-04)