In college, money talks

My alma mater rarely leaves me hanging when it comes to sports matters.

I am a proud graduate of New Mexico State University, class of 1998 (dear God, has it been that long?). I was and am to this day a loud-and-proud Aggie booster and yes, I have it in for the Lobos. I prefer Los Lobos to the University of New Mexico athletic teams.

As a news outlet, I am on the Aggies' media email list and I get everything they send out. I've never bothered to count them all, but I get more press releases than I have time to read (that is, because I also want to sleep or eat; barring that, I could squeeze them in).

There was this one that caught my eye from Thursday, entitled "New Mexico State Needs You." It reads (begin part that nobody will read here):

The New Mexico State football team plays its final home game on Saturday at 1:30PM against bowl-bound Utah State.  The Aggies look to finish with their highest win total since the 2004 season.

This game plays an important role towards the 2012 campaign, as New Mexico State is on the cusp of making the required 15,000 in average attendance for the year.  NCAA rules stipulate that New Mexico State must average 15,000 fans this year or the Aggies would not be eligible for a bowl game next year.  To date, the Aggies are short of this important requirement by about 1,000 tickets.

A combination of 1,000 students and individual game tickets must be attained on Saturday, or the Aggies will not be eligible for a bowl game next year.  Further, the Aggies would then have to average 15,000 fans in each of the next 10 years or they would be relegated to FCS status.

Since I know you didn't read that, I'll summarize: NMSU won't be allowed to participate in Bowl games if it doesn't make an average attendance of 15,000 fans and the press release is begging anyone and everyone to come to its game Saturday against Utah State. It also says the Aggies could be relegated to FCS (Football Championship Status, i.e., not good) if they don't average 15K in attendance each year for the next 10 years.

This says something to me.

It says what everyone knew but couldn't prove about college football: the NCAA, despite what it always claims, doesn't give a fig about legitimacy, it's only concerned with (all together now) money.

Essentially what this means is that a bowl-eligible team that doesn't draw well enough doesn't get to go to a bowl.

I understand having to move the merchandise and whatnot, but this is another case of one not having anything to do with the other. If the NCAA made all of its decisions based on whether or not anybody cared, pretty much all college sports championships except football and men's basketball would cease to exist. In fact, I would guess half of its Bowl games would cease to exist as well (I'm looking right at you, New Mexico Bowl).

Yes, you UNM graduates who took Professor Mickey Mouse's Mastering the Obvious 101, I realize that I'm getting way ahead of myself here. The number of bowls NMSU has been to in its history could literally be counted on one hand (and one hand that doesn't have all of its fingers) and it is certainly not going to a bowl this season. A highly successful season for the Aggies means they're less than three games under .500.

The point is, the NCAA, for all its talk about stressing building a better person and character and all that other crap truly only cares about its bottom line. Frito Lay won't be happy if it has to sponsor a game between Montana State and East Carolina, regardless of whether those teams deserve to be there.

Then just come out and say it, NCAA. Or here, I'll do it for you: "If you ain't gonna make us enough money, you ain't goin' to no Bowl game."

Simple, right?

So simple a Lobo fan could understand it.

And yes, we beat your pants off in football this year.