A laudable goal, to be sure, given the fact that, on a recent road trip to Los Angeles, fuel surcharges Ohio State an extra $24,200.
Travel and March Madness
The NCAA reimburses teams for their travel to and from championship games. For March Madness, that's a significant expense, considering there are 65 teams -- along with their equipment, coaching staffs, etc. -- that need to get to regional sites around the country. The first change, already implemented, is a new minimum distance before air travel is provided. In the past, it was 350 miles -- this fall, that's been changed to 400.But switching from planes to buses only helps so much. The next option being considered will be a bit trickier to implement.
A Lot Happens Between Sunday and Thursday
The other option the NCAA is reportedly exploring: allowing more time between Selection Sunday and the opening games of the NCAA Tournament, which would theoretically allow teams to find more economical options for travel.This one sounds a lot simpler than it is.
The first problem: there's remarkably little "slack" in the schedule between the various conference tournaments and the selection show itself. The last conference tournament games typically end mere hours before the official selection show hits the air. Now, for the most part, both teams playing in, say, the ACC Tournament finals are headed to the Big Dance regardless of who wins... but if Selection Sunday became, say, Selection Friday, the outcomes would be a lot less certain.
That also leaves even less time to deal with the unexpected. Case in point: last March the roof of the Georgia Dome was damaged by high winds during the SEC Tournament -- which eventually forced the Georgia Bulldogs to play two games in one day on the way to their unlikely conference championship. After that experience, you'd think officials would be looking to build more time into Championship Week schedules, not less.
Moving the tournament start back isn't an option either, for the same reason that it would be difficult to expand the NCAA Tournament to include more teams. Simply put, CBS is the broadcast partner for the NCAA Tournament -- and the week after the Final Four, CBS broadcasts The Masters. And The Masters moves for no one.
Championship Week
It seems the likeliest solution would be to move the selection up by a few days, with a similar scheduling change for all the conference tournaments. But like everything else, that's much easier said than done.Take, for example the Big East Tournament, held each year at Madison Square Garden. To move the tournament up a week, you'd have to disrupt the schedules of the NBA's Knicks and NHL's Rangers... which could have a ripple effect on dozens of other pro teams.
Possible... but not for this year.
Other Options
How else could the NCAA save on travel -- and, by extension -- create a "greener" March Madness?- Expand the "pod" system that places tournament teams in venues close to home to minimize travel, at least for the first round.
- Make sure to play early round games in "geographically advantageous" cities that offer a wide range of transportation options. For example... a place like Chicago, which is served by multiple airports and airlines... over a place like Syracuse.
- Uh... power all the team buses with leftover oil from the french fry and popcorn machines used during Championship Week.
