on second thought

smazza · April 21, 2004

Sportswriters will have one less thing to complain about this fall.

Just days before the NCAA was to vote on whether to ban all printed media guides, the Atlantic Coast Conference withdrew its support for the proposal, No. 03-88. It was an unusual development considering the ACC had sponsored the initiative, arguing that schools could cut costs by moving their massive books to a digital format.

ACC spokesman Brian Morrison said league officials determined that reporters and sports information directors were not ready to eschew the printed word for CD-ROMs and Web sites.

By withdrawing the proposal, Morrison said it was "highly unlikely" that the NCAA Management Council would still vote on it. Morrison said the ACC also was concerned that banning printed guides would hurt non-revenue sports.

Proposal No. 03-32, though, is still alive. That measure, which would prohibit distributing guides to recruits, is aimed at putting an end to the so-called arms race that has resulted in some football guides doubling in size over the last six years.

Purdue's football guide has ballooned from 188 pages in 1997 to 396 last year. Michigan's has multiplied to 424 pages while Texas' remains the king of the jungle, checking in at 592 pages.

Northwestern's 2003 book contained about 50 pages of so-called fluff, with segments highlighting the school's academic services and conditioning program, laudatory quotes about the coaching staff and entertainment options in Evanston and Chicago.

"Years ago, you could put these books in your pocket," said Mike Korcek, the sports information director at Northern Illinois. "Now you have to be Arnold Schwarzenegger to carry them around."

Korcek, who was critical of the NCAA for contemplating banning what he considers an essential tool, called the ACC's decision "a victory. ... I think we made them think twice about it."