Golfweek

By RON BALICKI
Senior writer

A great divide has risen among NCAA Division I golf coaches. On one side are coaches from the Southeastern Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference and some other southern schools. On the other side are the Big 10, Big East, Mid-American and at least half of the Pac-10.

The dispute centers around new legislation by the NCAA allowing Division I coaches the option to break from the current 24 competition days and instead select to play in nine three-day tournaments (maximum 54 holes). If a school selects the three-day option, it is not permitted to play in any two-day events.

Sponsored by the SEC and ACC, Proposal 2006-87 was approved by the NCAA Division I Championships/ Competition Cabinet in April. The rule, which takes effect Aug. 1, allows golf programs to choose either the current format of 24 playing dates or opt for the three-day option, which in effect would give a team 27 playing dates.

The proposal was a hot topic during the Golf Coaches Association of America’s annual convention in January and it was defeated 67-28 in a straw vote.

Now that the proposal has been approved by the NCAA, there is a movement to override it. To do so, opponents have until June 25 – 60 days after the proposal was approved – to acquire at least 30 votes from schools officially registering opposition, said Shane Lyons, associate commissioner of the ACC and a former NCAA official. Though the rule would still be in effect for the upcoming season, that would send the legislation back to the NCAA for another vote at next January’s NCAA Convention. If 100 votes are acquired by the June 25 deadline, Lyons said, the rule would be suspended immediately and would not go into effect for 2007-08.

If it stands, coaches will have to submit their schedules, indicating which format they want to play for the season, to their school compliance officer, who would be responsible for enforcing the rule. The new rule also affects women’s teams.

Spearheading the override attempt is Purdue men’s and women’s coach Devon Brouse.

“I’m very passionate about this because I feel it’s wrong,” said Brouse, whose men’s team played in 10 regular-season events in 2006-07. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the current system. If you like the three-day events, you can play in eight of those. But most of us, myself included, need two-day or one-day competitions (to lower missed class time).

“The issue here is not golf. It’s the welfare of the student-athlete. No one likes to play all day long, but it happens. Besides, golf has traditionally used 36-hole days to test the mettle of players. And as far as academics, how can anyone make the argument that you miss less class days by playing 27 days?”

Northwestern coach Pat Goss also opposes the new rule. He and Brouse  have been lobbying other schools to override it.

“To me, it’s amazing it even got approved because there are a lot more schools against it than for it,” said Goss, whose team also played in 10 events. “For me, the academic impact would be the biggest thing. I know I would have a hard time scheduling (nine three-day events) because of missed class time.”

Proponents of the rule say 36-hole days are not in the players’ best interest.

“I’m all for it,” said Georgia coach Chris Haack, whose Bulldogs finished last season No. 1 in the Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings. “I know every one of my guys would prefer to play 18-18-18. I don’t think it’s in the best interest of the student-athlete to be out there 12-13 hours (on 36-hole days). It’s just a grind. We played nine tournaments last season, and I know other teams played more. We would play nine under this new legislation so I don’t understand why some people think it’s such a huge advantage.”

Haack said he would go with the new format this fall.

“The whole idea behind the proposal is the welfare of the student-athlete,” said Georgia Tech coach Bruce Heppler, who also plans to use the nine-tournament format. “It was not intended to be a recruiting advantage or for someone to make an elite schedule. The idea was to be able to play in nine tournaments and not have to play 36-hole days. To me, the logic makes sense.”

Florida coach Buddy Alexander said he’ll stick with the current format this year because of previous commitments but would try the new format the next season.

“I like having the option. I don’t see who this hurts in any shape or form,” Alexander said. “If you want to stay under the current rule you can, and you could technically play in 12 tournaments. What’s wrong with having another option out there?

“Ask any of the players, and I would say overwhelmingly they hate the 36-hole days.”

More and more tournaments are going to the 18-18-18 format. Among those making the switch last season was Arizona State’s Thunderbird event, and this season East Tennessee State’s Bank of Tennessee, the Linger Longer, and UCLA’s Corde Valle will make the switch.

Some coaches feel the new rule is no big deal either way.

“I’m going to play in nine tournaments again next year and three of them will be 36-18,” said Oklahoma State coach Mike McGraw. “I like our schedule and the ability to have a mix of events so it’s really not going to affect our program.”

Bob Bass, coach at Louisiana-Lafayette, played in 10 two-day events and one three-day tournament last season and hosts the 36-18 Louisiana Classics each spring.

“But I absolutely hate those 36-hole days,” he said. “Maybe the NCAA should just say we can play in nine (regular-season) tournaments, maximum of 54 holes, whether it’s two days or three days. Then everyone is playing in the same number of events and you have a choice of how you want to play those nine.”

Texas A&M coach J.T. Higgins was among those who favored the new format during the GCAA convention, but after some thought, has had a change of heart.

“Originally I was for this rule change,” Higgins wrote in reply to a Golfweek e-mail survey. “I like the idea of more dates of competition, and only playing one round a day is very appealing. “In my opinion, everyone should be playing under the same rules. We either need to limit all teams to a set number of events or a set number of dates of competition. To allow some teams to play 27 days while others only get 24 is unfair.”

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Ron Balicki is a Golfweek senior writer. You can reach him by e-mail at rbalicki@golfweek.com.


Posted: 6/12/2007

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