So before the start of the 2017-2018 college basketball season, something crazy happened. I’m not talking about the FBI investigations that blew up all over the place. I’m talking about something that was actually good. Division I college basketball teams were permitted by the NCAA to schedule a third exhibition game, and this game could be against another div1 team so long as all the proceeds from that game went to charity.
And, it was GREAT!!
The benefits to this were obvious. The teams got another game to help them get ready for the season, they got to actually play against another div1 team, and fans got to see match-ups as early as October that were far more compelling than any previous exhibition game. In fact, in some cases the games were actually more compelling than a lot of OOC regular season games (Kansas v Missouri and Texas v Texas A&M come to mind).
Oh yeah, and tens of millions of dollars were raised for charities.
The NCAA and its members had collectively done something that seemed to have literally benefited EVERYONE and had no downside whatsoever.
So, naturally, this was discontinued the year after that. The rule is now that schools can play a div1 charity exhibition, but the limit is back to just two.
Why??
Seriously, WHY??
So, this is my plea. I want the charity exhibition games back. This isn’t some cartoonish rant like the stuff that I normally post. This isn’t some ploy to draw attention to this particular website. In fact if any national writer wants to copy this word for word and use it, they can. But, I am really hoping we can get some momentum going for something that I think is good for everyone. It is a chance for colleges and universities, not just the basketball teams but the entire institution, to actively do something that raises awareness of a certain charity or cause, and/or provides aid to their own communities or to people around the country and around the world who need it. There are absolutely NO REASONS why this should not be put into place. It falls directly in line with what the NCAA claims to be about, and it would fall within the mission statements of most (if not all) NCAA member institutions. If they wanted to implement this, they could do it by the end of the week.
Much of the world could use the help. The Bahamas is a place that comes to mind. The NCAA and its member institutions are in a unique position to offer up that help, and in doing so also get something out of it that’s good for them, and their fans, and their players, and their coaches.
So, PLEASE! Let’s work to make this happen! I admit that I don’t normally like it when people petition the internet and/or social media, but that is exactly what I am doing with this. This can work! It worked just two short years ago! Most of the exhibition charities from two years ago weren’t scheduled until October, so there is definitely still time! #ExhibitionForCharity
