Adams: Looking for playmates

Division I-AA Western Kentucky was signed as a stand-in for Southern Mississippi, which backed out of its Sept. 24 game at Auburn. Sound familiar?

Last year, Bowling Green pulled out of a game at Auburn, which had to fill in with Division I-AA The Citadel. A Division I-AA opponent combined with an already light non-conference schedule was a factor in unbeaten Auburn finishing third behind Southern California and Oklahoma in the Bowl Championship Series standings.

A couple of months later, Auburn is stuck again.

If you're laughing derisively, you aren't a college athletic director. Athletic directors know the increased hazards of scheduling in today's market place.

And scheduling is only going to get more risky.

Next April, the NCAA might approve a 12-game regular-season football schedule, which could be in place as early as 2006. By then, every athletic director could be scrambling for a non-conference opponent.

University of Tennessee athletic director Mike Hamilton already has a short list of possible opponents. Division I-AA opponents need not apply.

"There are some (SEC) schools -- LSU, Florida, and Kentucky -- who have scheduled I-AA opponents," Hamilton said. "I have tried to avoid it.

"When we scheduled Louisiana Tech last year (in place of Memphis), Western Kentucky was really trying to get us to schedule them. But we want to continue scheduling I-A opponents."

It's not always as easy as it sounds.

UT prefers to schedule a home-and-away series with one major non-conference opponent, then fill the rest of its non-conference schedule with home games against "mid-major" opponents, who receive a guaranteed payoff between $500,000 and $750,000.

But some Division I-A schools are as concerned about attendance as money. In order to maintain their Division I-A status, schools must average at least 15,000 per game in home attendance, Hamilton pointed out. A home game against a big-time football school could do wonders for that average.

"I saw where Maryland just signed a three-game deal with MTSU," Hamilton said. "They'll go to Murfreesboro (for one of those games)."

You wouldn't have that concern with a Division I-AA opponent, whose sole motivation would be a big payday.

Travel expenses also can come into play in scheduling. Hamilton said an administrator with a future non-conference opponent told him it might be feasible to break its contract with UT because of another offer from a Division I-A school closer to home. Rather than fly to Knoxville, it could opt for the nearby opponent and go by bus, according to the administrator, who is a friend of Hamilton's.

"Why are you worried about that?' Hamilton told him. "By then, you'll have a job at a bigger school."

Maintaining rapport with mid-major schools is another factor in scheduling. UT's 11-game regular-season schedule is set through 2011, but a set schedule isn't what it used to be.

"For the longest time, if you had a contract, most people stuck to it," Hamilton said.

That's not the case now, as Auburn found out last year with Bowling Green and this year with Southern Mississippi. But opponents might be less likely to back out of a deal with UT, whose 104,000-seat stadium is an attraction in itself.

"Coaches and players want to have an opportunity to play at Neyland Stadium," Hamilton said. "That may sound self-confident, but there's truth to it."

If the NCAA approves a 12th game as expected, UT would have at least seven home games every season. While Hamilton wouldn't schedule another major opponent for the 12th game, he won't worry about how good the "mid-major" opponent might be. There's too much else to consider in scheduling.

Hamilton said UT football coach Phillip Fulmer has little input in scheduling.

"Phillip will weigh in occasionally if one particular school is taking more non-qualifiers (academically)," Hamilton said. "He is more concerned with our home-and-away (non-conference opponents)."

Next fall, the Vols will play at Notre Dame. In 2006, a home game with the University of California will be the featured non-conference attraction.

The Vols will play at Cal in 2007, then make another West Coast trip in 2008 (to UCLA). Those aren't just non-conference games, they're goodwill trips for a program that relies heavily on national recruiting.

"I think that will be the first time ever we go to (California in back-to-back years)," Hamilton said. "The opportunity to play intersectional opponents like that has served us well."

In return, UT offers its opponents national exposure. Last year, UT moved its season opener with UNLV from Saturday to Sunday night for a national telecast on ESPN.

ESPN made the same offer for UT's 2005 season opener against UAB, but Hamilton declined. He wants a Sunday night game to be a special event, not routine.

"I thought it went great last year," Hamilton said. "We had the third-largest crowd in the history of Tennessee football and were on national television, with no other game going against us. It's something we might come back to."

Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knews.com.