Indianapolis ? The NCAA will allow football teams to play 12 games per year, but it won’t enter the postseason-playoff fray.
The board of directors approved proposals Thursday that would add a 12th game to Division I-A schedules and allow schools to count one victory over Division I-AA schools each year toward bowl eligibility.
“But I seriously suggest you take up the tournament situation with the BCS,” NCAA president Myles Brand said.
The Bowl Championship Series has tried to pit the two best teams in a national-championship game since the system was created in 1998. The NCAA has tried to avoid the playoff debate.
One argument against a football tournament is that lengthening the season could force student-athletes to miss more classes.
Brand has supported academic reform since taking over as president in January 2003 and said Thursday that an additional football game each season wouldn’t create a problem.
Board chair Robert Hemenway, chancellor at Kansas University, said schools could make more money with an extra game but he insisted that wasn’t the only reason the proposal passed.
“There was also a feeling that if you had another game, that it does give you some flexibility in your scheduling,” he said.
Brand said the extra money could help fund athletic departments.
The board also asked the NCAA executive committee to propose a comprehensive policy on alcohol advertising during college telecasts. Hemenway said the committee took that action after a lengthy discussion to include Division II and III events.
Wednesday, the American Medical Assn. asked the NCAA to ban all alcohol advertising. The current policy allows one minute per hour of alcohol ads and prohibits the sale or advertising of alcohol at championship events.
Kansas giddy about rulings