NCAA suspends coaches' in-game computer/tablet use

Submitted by Ishgoblue on

Did SEC coaches need time to learn how to use an iPad?

From ESPN, so I'm going to copy/paste so that you don't have to give them clicks:

"The NCAA football rules committee has postponed the use of electronic devices such as laptop computers and tablets by coaches during games until 2017.

The committee in March proposed allowing coaches' use of electronic devices in press boxes and in locker rooms, but not on the sidelines, this season.

The proposal was approved by playing rules oversight panel.

On Tuesday, the oversight panel approved a request from the committee to delay implementation.

In a release, the NCAA said after receiving feedback from coaches in Divisions I, II and III, "it was decided more time was needed to develop guidelines that would allow for consistent application of the rule, help manage the costs and to provide time to see if any unintended consequences develop."

http://sports-ak.espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/15192306/ncaa-suspends-coaches-game-computer-use

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stephenrjking

April 13th, 2016 at 11:32 AM ^

Bad headline. They postponed, did not suspend. In fact, this appears to be a case where they are being cautious and making sure they get the details right, with time to anticipate unforeseen consequences, before a widespread change of procedure. The opposite of how they made the Sat camp decision.

Joined: 03/15/2012

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stephenrjking

April 13th, 2016 at 12:00 PM ^

Once again we see common misperceptions of what the NCAA is and how it relates to this sort of issue. In neither this case nor the camp issue have administrators employed by "The NCAA" made any decisions. The camp rule was voted on by representatives of conferences. This decision was was made by the football rules committee. The committee is made up of coaches and administrators from stakeholder schools, not faceless bureaucrats. This is how individual sports are typically managed. There's a reason I only indirectly referenced the NCAA in the "burn it down" diary about hockey I posted the other day: the people making the decisions come from within the sport itself. So it is here. Here's a page listing committee members: http://web1.ncaa.org/committees/committees_roster.jsp?CommitteeName=FBR…

Joined: 03/15/2012

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Alton

April 13th, 2016 at 11:45 AM ^

This postponement seems to have come from the D-2 and D-3 level, and shows that amidst all of the b.s., there are still a handful of things that the organization is pretty good at.

Technology is easy to obtain for schools like Michigan and even Eastern Michigan, but I can well imagine that schools like Adrian and Albion don't want to have to invest in technology and software that they can't really afford, and don't want to get into a technology arms race with the rest of their MIAA competitors.

If the rule had applied to Division I only, or to FBS only, that would have been fine.  But it didn't, because the sports rules committees correctly try to stay away from having different rules for different divisions.

There are 2 things that the NCAA does pretty well:  the playing rules process and most of the Division I tournament process (on the other hand, don't get me started on hockey).  If the NCAA went away, both of those things would get worse, even if everything else would get better.  This is an example of the playing rules process working, and working well.

Joined: 07/05/2008

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Njia

April 13th, 2016 at 11:33 AM ^

They'd probably heard a rumor that Harbaugh had used Big Data and the Internet of Things. The SEC didn't know what those words meant.

Joined: 09/15/2009

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UMAmaizinBlue

April 13th, 2016 at 11:33 AM ^

Does the NCAA suck in so many (un)imaginable ways? Yes. Does this fall into a category as reason to hate them? Well, yes, because they're the NCAA.

But honestly, on the scale of things to get upset about, this doesn't even register.

Joined: 09/23/2009

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Hab

April 13th, 2016 at 11:34 AM ^

"it was decided more time was needed to develop guidelines that would allow for consistent application of the rule, help manage the costs and to provide time to see if any unintended consequences develop."

Tell me this is a joke.

Joined: 01/02/2015

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DJMich23

April 13th, 2016 at 11:36 AM ^

“After receiving feedback from the coaches in Divisions I, II, and III" 

What the NCAA MEANT to say was “After receiving feedback from SEC coaches in tiers I, II, III..."

Joined: 11/07/2012

MGoPoints: 1818

umchicago

April 13th, 2016 at 11:35 AM ^

another example of their incompetence.  why couldn't they contact some Div I, II and III coaches, some techies, etc and have a meeting to discuss the pros and potential pitfalls.  then, come up with remedies to address the pitfalls.  then, come up with a decision on how to use the available technology fairly.

it shouldn't take more than a few weeks.  they need a year and a half.  what a joke of mgt/administration.

i am glad they are not my doctor.

Joined: 02/05/2009

MGoPoints: 33667

lilpenny1316

April 13th, 2016 at 11:41 AM ^

Why don't they call their big brothers in the NFL and ask them their opinion?  I'm starting to think that all outgoing calls from NCAA headquarters are routed to Birmingham, then Tuscaloosa. 

 

Joined: 11/19/2009

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DreisbachToHayes

April 13th, 2016 at 11:42 AM ^

After the bowl game, Florida accused Harbaugh and Michigan of using cheat codes on their tablets, unlocking the ability of running backs to be more hole-findier, and wideouts to be more touchdownier.

I would link to the article that confirms this info, but I don't feel like it right now.

Joined: 12/04/2012

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borninAnnArbor

April 13th, 2016 at 11:45 AM ^

1. We dont want to screw this up as badly as we did the satellite camp fiasco. 2. We need to get a meeting of tech savvy people to guess how Jim Harbaugh will do this better than anyone else and make sure he is not able to do that, even it it is bad for all coaches.

Joined: 10/10/2012

MGoPoints: 3554

EGD

April 13th, 2016 at 12:01 PM ^

This rule just seems arbitrary to me. You can use a chalkboard, or a play-sheet, or a wristband, or a dry erase board--but you can't use a tablet? Whatever.

Joined: 09/16/2009

MGoPoints: 35199

BornInA2

April 13th, 2016 at 12:08 PM ^

Yeah, gotta give those poor SEC coaches plenty of time to learn new things...switching from in-game abacus to some crazy-ass, irrelevant, new-fangled technology like a gosh-dern tablet just ain't easy, and is likely to cut in on someone's "months" of vacation time.

 

Joined: 02/15/2014

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name redacted

April 13th, 2016 at 12:41 PM ^

What they needed was more time to negotiate the advertising deal with either Microsoft / Apple.  NCAA saw the dough Microsoft dumped on the NFL to make the Surface the official tablet and they want a similar deal.  How can we serve these unpaid Student Athletes with a mere billion dollars in revenue?

We needz moar monies

Joined: 07/13/2009

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