Chris Collins takes over a Northwestern team based in Evanston, IL. It’s just a 45 minute drive from the United Center, home of the Chicago Bulls. A week from tonight, it’s also home to the third annual Champions Classic, a college basketball event that makes the college hoops pre-conference much more exciting. It features Duke, the former team of Chris Collins, along with Kansas, Kentucky and Michigan State each season.
However, per NCAA rule, Chris Collins can’t go see his former team, the Duke Blue Devils play live in person. Even though, it’s super-convenient. Well, technically he can see them as Duke is facing Kansas. But if they were facing MSU, NCAA by-laws would prevent him from attending.
So if Chris Collins wants to go see Coach K. and all his old friends from Durham, take on the Jayhawks, he better not be a second early!
His eyes may catch a minute or two of the Spartans game!
Avert your gaze!
“I don’t know if I’ll be able to go, I’ll see how it goes,” Chris Collins responded when I asked him at Big Ten Media Day if he planned to see Duke in the CC. Then he told me about this specific NCAA rule, which I didn’t know about. Neither did any of the other journalists at Big Ten Media Day when I discussed it with them.
“I wouldn’t be able to go to the Michigan State game because we’re not allowed to watch them live,” he said.
Yes, that’s right, if you’re a NCAA basketball coach, you can’t go attend a game that your future opponent is playing in. You are prohibited from seeing that team in your conference play in person.
Quoting Mike Singletary “Can not play with them. Can not coach with them. Can not win with them. CAN’T DO IT!”
Interesting by-law they have in place.
I wonder if the NCAA can also put a parental lock on your DVR too? In order to keep you from recording the televised games of your opponent. Does this rule MAKE ANY SENSE AT ALL? What happens at holiday tournaments in the preconference season?
This is just the NCAA doing NCAA things:
-No, you can’t get even a dime from someone else selling a replica of your jersey for $75
-Don’t you dare put Twitter hashtags on your football field.
-Don’t even think about having a birthday party that has a cover charge
Well, the incompetency, hypocrisy and outdatedness of the NCAA rule book make it not long for this world. And Chris Collins will get his chance to see his Blue Devils friends soon enough. But probably not at the Champions Classic.
“I’d love to catch up with my guys at Duke, but we’re going to be in the first week of our season too, we’re going to be getting ready to go out to Stanford. So if not, I’ll certainly be watching on tv and rooting hard for the Blue Devils,” Chris Collins said.
Better wait until 8:30 p.m. to turn that tv on though. Don’t want to risk catching a glimpse of MSU-Kentucky.
Listen to me every Tuesday at 10:30 AM Central talking Illini and Northwestern on KOZN 1620 The Zone Omaha
Paul M. Banks is the owner of The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. He’s also an analyst for multiple news talk radio stations across the world; with regular weekly segments on NBC and Fox Sports Radio. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks) and RSS