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Fall is my favorite time of year. It's a combination of things; the cool crisp days, the beauty of Fall foliage, camping, and NCAA Football. For a sports fan, it's hard to match the excitement of college football. You won't find more rabid fans anywhere than you will at the college level. Tens of thousands of fans jam stadiums to watch their favorite team. And what traditions! You'll be hard pressed to find any tradition comparable to an Ohio State/Michigan State, Michigan/Ohio State, Army/Navy, Nebraska/Oklahoma and on and on. It's really something unique and a thrill to be a part of. There's only one problem...It's all too predictable! Before the season even begins, I can tell you with a degree of certainty at least half of the teams that will be in the top ten and the bowl games at the end of the year. Among that group will be some of the following; Miami, USC, Florida State,Ohio State, Michigan, Nebraska, Penn State, Notre Dame, and another few that show up every other year or two. There may be a surprise in the mix every year, but for the most part, you can count on the teams above to be in the championship hunt. Why is it that there is no level playing field in NCAA Football? First off, college football is a huge moneymaker for schools such as Miami, Notre Dame, and others with top football programs. They have huge incentive to field top teams and correspondingly pay their coach's seven figure contracts. For those teams that get to a major bowl game, the payoff if huge. Wannabe professional athletes coming out of high school know that to make it to the pro's their chances will be greatly enhanced by playing for a program such as Miami as compared to a school like Kent State. For this reason, schools like Miami attract the best players from around the country. Of course, it's not the only reason, athletes also want to play where they can compete against the best, but knowing that their chances for reaching the pro's will be greatly enhanced by playing for a team like U.S.C. for four years is a huge factor. The other side of the coin is that schools and coaches are under great pressure to recruit the top high school players and have been known to offer inducements to get them. There's been more than a few schools that have been sanctioned for this, but more than likely it will continue to be a problem because the competition for the top players is so intense. What can be done to level the playing field? Unlike the pro's, in college sports there is no draft to level the playing field by offering the worst teams from the previous year the top picks, and best athletes. There's really not a lot to regulate the actions of schools and coaches other than the NCAA itself. With the money to be had, and the pressure to win, it's difficult to see much in the way of change. College football is really a mix of pro and amateur athletics. While not pure, it still offers a certain air of athletes playing purely for the fun and love of it, because for most of them, that's what it is. The majority of college players never reach the pro's, and that's what I keep in mind when I watch an NCAA football game. And if you really want to enjoy the spirit of the game, watch a contest between two schools like Slippery Rock and Hoboken. You may not see any future superstars but you'll see a bunch of people actually playing a game for the joy of it. What a novel concept! Bill Thomas lives in Seattle, Wa. He is actively involved with E-Commerce and Internet Marketing. His current website is Building Lifetime Income from Home on $10 a Month
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