Should we petition the NCAA to move the BCS college football championship game from Arizona in 2011?

[cascadiance]

Every four years the BCS championship is rotated amongst the four major BCS bowl games (Rose Bowl, Orange Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, and the Sugar Bowl). Just recently they updated this so that the year the championship game is in one of these four bowls, they actually play TWO bowl games in that location, their traditional matchup, and then later the national championship game.

This year the rotation goes to the Fiesta Bowl in Arizona. So, the question might be should we petition the NCAA to move at least one of those bowl games to another venue as a sign of protest for this law? That would be a big costly prize for them to lose as a price for passing this law.

A web site is already trying to campaign to do just this...

http://kevin-blackistone.fanhouse.com/2010/04/26/dont-play-ball-with-state-of-arizona/4

Don't Play Ball With State of Arizona

4/26/2010 7:49 PM ET By Kevin Blackistone



About 10 years ago, the NCAA made one of its most bold and upright decisions: it refused to allow any more of its postseason tournaments, like March Madness, to be held in South Carolina until the state stopped flying the banner of the long defeated racist Confederacy in the face of 21st century societal progress.

NCAA spokesman Bob Williams explained at the time that the organization wanted to "ensure that our championships are free from any type of symbolism that might make someone uncomfortable based on their race."

As such, it is time for the governors of college athletics -- and the officials who control the BCS -- to expand their postseason ban. Arizona should be next, immediately.

The University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., should lose the BCS National Championship Game scheduled to be played there next January unless Arizona legislators rescind soon and for good an anti-immigration law they just passed that gives police the right to stop and search for documents anyone police suspect of being in the country illegally.

...

There's a poll on this page that needs some help too.

I think this is one sporting event, that since it is owned by a public organization (The NCAA), arguably it is more answerable to us the people than the almighty dollar that other sporting leagues would be, and this one is coming up as soon as any of the major events in this state, and would be more timely to provide immediate feedback that this law is WRONG and needs to be overturned.

[Maru Kitteh]

1. sure. n/t

[SargeUNN]

2. YES

this and the MLB All Star Game. This city is big into it's pro sports and such would hit them in the groin. I also talked to a woman who is giving me a list of companies to boycott here in Arizona that support this horrible law. I will get the list tomorrow but on my show tonight I read some. The podcast will be up tomorrow http://smcws.podbean.com if you want to hear some of them, and I will add regretfully since they did at one time support our progressive radio station by sponsoring my show, U-Haul. I will publish the list she gives me as soon as I get it but until such time you will have to get it from my show podcast. You might find the show interesting since I did focus on F.A.I.R. and what happened in Prince William County Va. that is covered in the movie 9500 Liberty. It was researched over many hours and I talked to the movie's co-director who was here this weekend. I think it is very informative and helpful or at least hope so.

[EFerrari]

6. Have you tried to talk to U-Haul?

[SargeUNN]

8. No I haven't since

I lost my contact with them when I quit doing my show on KPHX and thanks to the mess created by Shelton and Anita Drobny's splitting up our communities of who believed Jeff Farias was fired and who believed he quit, my producer of the show at the time, involved himself into the situation and with all that it hurt any further possiblity of getting UHaul to be involved in sponsoring anything on the station again. Since our network is listener supported, and believe me being listener supported by progressives means don't count on too many stepping up, we really couldn't offer UHaul enough to tempt them to do so on our network.

[depakid]

3. No question about it- along with the 2011 All Star game

[cascadiance]

4. Moving it to the Sugar or Orange Bowl might help the gulf economy too when it will be screwed...

... otherwise this coming year with the heavy oil spills. Though hopefully it won't cause a downturn in attendance if the beaches are all messed up then too.

I'd say the Rose Bowl, but it was there just last year too, so I'd think they might prefer to "skip" the Fiesta this year, or some alternative location instead.

[depakid]

5. Good point

And a win/win for everyone involved- other than the state sanctioning the bigotry.

[itsrobert]

16. Rose Bowl would be nice

Remember workers are hurt during boycotts. So taking it next door to California makes sense since the greater immigrant worker population in the area than in the gulf. The Gulf States are probably for the law anyhow.

[Johonny]

7. probably not

NCAA is frankly not very answerable to anyone. The public has wanted a championship series since forever and it still hasn't happen because the NCAA answers to no one. You have more luck and sympathy with MLB than NCAA. As it is NCAA football is pretty close to indentured servitude as it gets. The people that run it would not give a * about this Arizona law.

[SargeUNN]

9. depending on how the NCAA has changed

the refusal of most of the top teams at the time to play in the Fiesta Bowl after the MLK Day was struck down by Meachem, as well as the loss of the Super Bowl, brought about the reinstatement of the day. If the NCAA, MLB, and NFL would make a stand it would be powerful and would likely overturn it.

[SargeUNN]

10. If you want to contact the NFL on this here is the number

212-450-2000 which will get you to the switchboard. I have used it before since I do a sports show once a week to try and help offset the cost of our network due to barely meeting the expenses with the summer months coming on and electricity here during these months jump so high. We are just trying to get enough to keep airing our programs since we really want to get progressive ideas and such out, and with this new law we feel we can help you see what is going on. Certainly we would love to be on air and report of the doing away with this law and will do all we can to be.

[Scuba]

11. Yes

[Enthusiast]

12. We absolutely should.

We must.

[fishwax]

13. kick

:kick:

[political_Dem]

14. Yes. But, on the whole, they should do away with the BCS all together. eom

[Change Happens]

15. Si!