NCAA predictably wimps out on logical request

Based on what I know about the NCAA's nonsensical system of determining (guessing) a national football champion, nothing that comes out of NCAA headquarters should surprise me.

But this did.

When more than 400 college presidents, athletic directors and coaches petitioned the NCAA to end all alcohol advertising (read: beer) during TV game broadcasts, it seemed like a no-brainer. Is there anyone out there who thinks it's a good idea to encourage college kids to drink more beer? But the NCAA rejected the proposal, which was bad enough, but then Michael Adams, chairman of the NCAA's executive committee, offered this doozy of an explanation:

"We want to be very conservative with this," he said. "Though we don't think this type of advertising is appropriate (for college sports), we have tried this once before in this country and it didn't work very well."

I have no idea what that means (and, by the way, so much for the old coach try). So I called Randy Hollis, an editor on the Deseret News sports desk, and asked if he could explain it, and after some hesitation, he said, "He couldn't mean Prohibition, could he?"

Nah. Next I called Dr. Chris Hill, the University of Utah athletic director and a certified smart guy. He had no clue. After he stammered around for a moment, I asked him if he thought Adams was referring to Prohibition. "That's what I was going to say, but I was embarrassed to say it," he said.

Next I called fellow columnist Lee Benson, another smart (aleck) guy, to explain the quote, and after a moment of silence, he said, "I guess he means Prohibition."

I tried to call the NCAA for an explanation, but couldn't get past the prerecorded voice.

If you're wondering what Prohibition has to do with banning beer advertisements or, for that matter, the price of tea in Beijing, I have no idea. Ever wonder how these people can't create a football playoff? Maybe Wayne and Garth had the best explanation for the NCAA: "We fear change."

In April, more than 100 university presidents wrote to NCAA president Myles Brand to say they believed the beer ads that appeared during the NCAA basketball tournament were "embarrassingly prominent."

Then nearly the same number of football and basketball coaches wrote letters urging the executive committee to gradually phase out beer advertising over the next three years. Two other letters, which were signed by more than 200 athletic directors, and 39 university presidents, took the same position.