When Football Goes Green

We've all seen it, we've definitely all heard it.

The latest trend these days is to "go green." It's a campaign that is simply inescapable. We're all supposed to live green, breathe green, drive green, eat green ... you get the picture.

However, to "go green" in college football is to go for the dollar signs. One idea, playing neutral site games to get a large payout, aren't entirely a bad idea. For example, Alabama/Virginia Tech in Atlanta is a great way to kick off the football year. But what happens when a school chooses to lose a game, a conference game, for money?

Delaware State has done just that, agreeing to actually forfeit their MEAC matchup with North Carolina A&T for a trip to the Big House to play Michigan on Oct. 17th.

This is when "going green" goes horribly wrong.

We've entered a dangerous stage in collegiate athletics. The goal (or what used to be the goal, anyways) for collegiate athletes was to compete for championships. It wasn't about the money, it was about the trophies at the end of the season. Money was left out of the picture.

With Delaware State's move, the new goal has been set. It's all about getting as much money as possible. Forget title banners and trophies; just send the Hornets up to Ann Arbor as a rent-a-win (let's face it, App. State isn't the norm), get the check, and if the team doesn't make the FCS playoffs, oh well!

How sad is this?

I understand why Delaware State wants to go to Ann Arbor. Located in Dover, DSU is a small school with an enrollment of just over 3,000. The Hornets drew 6,000 fans just twice last season, and in a 27-26 lost to Winston-Salem State, drew just 891 fans. Playing in front of over 100,000 in maize and blue would be quite the experience for DSU.

But forfeit a conference game? That's where things just get messy.

I'd drop non-conference games, given that, if you do, you help find an opponent for the dropped school. But putting an automatic "L" on your schedule before you even take the field is just wrong. Be it Michigan or Michigan Tech, it's unfair to the players who suit up. They're starting at the bottom for nothing they did on the field.

Is that the new spirit of college sports? I seriously hope not.

This is something the NCAA really needs to look into. Delaware State has led college athletics to a serious crossroads. Should the mission of the NCAA go back to the spirit of amateur competition, or should it announce itself as a free-for-all for athletic departments nationwide?

Seriously, what's more troubling for the collegiate game? Lane Kiffin caught on film interviewing recruits, or forfeiting conference games for non-conference cash?

You'd think the NCAA would take a hard look at this. You'd think that maybe the NCAA would step up, fight for the integrity of amateur athletics, and institute rules to end this matter. Then again, you remember it's Myles Brand who's in charge, and we all know how well his "zero tolerance" policy worked with Bobby Knight.

It's time to face the facts: "going green" just doesn't work in college football.