Florida's coach, Billy Donovan, talks with his team during a time out during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against LSU in Gainesville, Fla., Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012. Florida defeated LSU 76-64. (AP Photo/Phil Sandlin)
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — When the Southeastern Conference signed a 15-year contract with ESPN, basketball coaches applauded the deal because it provided more coverage, more exposure and more money.
Nearly four years later, several of the league's most tenured coaches have found a problem.
Florida's Billy Donovan, Vanderbilt's Kevin Stallings and others are questioning the league's unbalanced schedule involving Thursday-Saturday games.
The league added the short turnarounds under the new contract, giving it another night to showcase its teams. Coaches figured those games would be divvied equally between everyone. Instead, it appears top-ranked Kentucky is getting a favorable draw.
The Wildcats don't have a Thursday-Saturday setup this season, but they play four Saturday games against teams coming off Thursday night tips.
"Whether it's a coincidence or not, there needs to a level of balance with what everybody else is doing," Donovan said. "Right now, if our league is trying to create an opportunity to get as many teams in the NCAA tournament as possible, don't put teams in a competitive disadvantage and not take care of your own."
Kentucky has played twice on one day's rest since the SEC's schedule tweaks began in January 2009. Florida and Mississippi, meanwhile, lead the league with seven such turnarounds. Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt have five apiece. Tennessee has four. Georgia, South Carolina and Arkansas have three.
No one is blaming the Wildcats, though.
The league caters to the television networks, and ESPN's "Super Tuesday" lineup typically draws better than Thursday. And since Kentucky is clearly the SEC's star attraction, it's obvious why ESPN would want to feature the Wildcats in the network's most coveted spot as often as possible.
"It's not Kentucky's fault," Stallings said. "They're going to do what we're doing; they're going to play their games when they're scheduled. So it's not a Kentucky issue. It's an issue with the league office, and I understand that television dictates certain things, and that's fine.
"The conference office is responsible to make sure that, beyond that, things are equitable, and I think they need to take a look and see whether the way things are falling whether things are equitable or not."
Coaches argue that the tight turnaround between Thursday and Saturday games can be a disadvantage. Four years ago, they had little issue with it, saying it puts teams in situations similar to those in the NCAA tournament.
"I heard the argument, 'Well, it's like that in the NCAA tournament. You've got to play Thursday-Saturday or Friday-Sunday,'" Donovan said. "Great, but so does the other team you're playing against, you know? That's where we've got to try to figure out a better way to make it work."
Although coaches probably exaggerate the impact of the short rest, results indicate it hasn't had a huge negative impact. Mississippi State is 5-0 in Saturday games that followed Thursday night affairs, although all of those were played at home. The Gators are 4-1. The rest of the league is a combined 13-18.
The Wildcats are 0-2, including a Sunday loss that followed a rare Friday night game.
"I learned a long time ago not to worry about anything you can't control," Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury said. "I just think it needs to be balanced for everybody. There's some advantages and disadvantages, now. You all research where Kentucky's at. What they got. Who they got. When and where they're playing those types of games. You just need to make it balanced for everyone. ... None of us like it. You ask me if I like it? No, it's tough.
"As long as it's balanced for everybody, you live with it."
SEC spokesman Craig Pinkerton said the league is aware of some of the inequities in its basketball schedule. He pointed to guidelines established to prevent competitive disadvantages: Teams play a maximum of four Thursday night games a season, and at least one of the two Thursday-Saturday games has to be at home.
"We make our best effort to balance out the Thursday-Saturday tandem among all of the teams," Pinkerton said, adding that the league moved a few Thursday night games to Tuesday to alleviate issues with quick turnarounds.
Kentucky is one of three teams without a Thursday-Saturday setup this season. Auburn and LSU also were left out. Mississippi, meanwhile, plays three of them in the next four weeks.
Random? Maybe, but several coaches feel the league office should have had more oversight.
Kentucky coach John Calipari made it clear he would welcome any schedule the league handed down.
"The option is don't go on TV and play when you want to play," Calipari said. "That's the option here. We signed a TV contract, and we've got to go with what they say. If they wanted us on Thursday, believe me, we'd play every Thursday, and I wouldn't say anything. It's just how it is. It's TV. ...
"Whatever our schedule is, we play. Everybody knows my history. We'll play any team, any place, anytime. We'll play on I-95, shut it down. We'll play on the Bluegrass Parkway, shut it down. That's the schedule. That's where they threw it at us, and that's what we're taking on."
Donovan believes the league will work to find amicable solutions in the future, possibly adding rules about teams not having to play Thursday night and early Saturday or limiting the number of times one team can play opponents coming off short turnarounds.
"We're all under the understanding that there's going to be some level of sacrifice that we all have to make inside of our schedule to do that, but I think it needs to be really, really leveled out across the board and fair for everyone," Donovan said. "There are probably some things that are going on right now inside of our league with this whole contract being somewhat new that I think our league will figure out as time goes on. I've got confidence they will."
___
AP Sports Writers David Brandt in Starkville, Miss., Colin Fly in Lexington, Ky., Charles Odum in Athens, Ga., and Teresa Walker in Nashville, Tenn., contributed to this report.
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Comments » 19
voloffaith writes:
Say it isn't so a schedule favoring the young kittens the lil darlings....SEC responds we found this to be a minor oversight on our part.....OOPSY
Volunteer-Varmint writes:
Figures
AtopTheHill06 writes:
I'm sure Cal doesn't have a prob with the scheduling.
VOLliven2it writes:
Keep on whining and keep on collecting your big paychecks, good grief(if there is such a thing as good grief)!
kyvol98 writes:
The Cats do have a Thursday game, followed by a...... SUNDAY game......
Witch_Doctors writes:
Witch Doctor say its like someone said last time "To the victors go the spam"(spoils...W_D hungry) Witch Doctor say to get the better times start beating the Cats regularly. Witch Doctor in no means rooting for the Cats but if the Vols have that kinda a season we want to see every game too. Witch Doctor say lets beat the "dores so Witch Doctor not feel guilty for letting air out of Travis's tires tonight while him and Franklin cuddling at game..
Bones never lie.
jimr07 writes:
Funny. Clay Travis.. pompous wind bag.. self-appointed-know-it-all..
agentorange writes:
TV and TV money are ruining,or already ruined, college sports.
Vol86 writes:
UF always has an easy schedule. Eddie Monster should shut up.
wigmeister writes:
I don't think Calipari is going to push for a change in his schedule for the other coaches. It was set up for him! Like or hate him, he has the strongest program in the SEC and that is who TV wants to put on the screen! All he does is recruit most players for one year so they can have a good record and move to the NBA. I wonder how many of his kids ever graduate with a degree. His program is a minor league pro team.
CrankE writes:
No sir.
The only "spoils" a team should earn based on their performance is tournament seeding.
Instead, it appears Kentucky is granted the boon of favorable regular season scheduling. Which might help them gain a favorable tournament seed. Which then might help them gain favorable scheduling next year. Which then might help them....you get the picture.
But I'm sure the league office didn't have this in mind when they wrote the schedule.
murrayvol writes:
Nobody ever said life was fair.
If you want the best cut of meat, be the big dog.
notorange writes:
You left out Auburn and LSU, they should be darlings also, guess that was a real mistake by the league huh?
VolunteerLifer writes:
What did those coaches expect? When it comes to basketball, this has always been Kentucky's league. And until someone knocks them off that pedestal, it always will be.
drone#208075 writes:
Say it ain't so........
voltrack89 writes:
does anybody else read Calipari's smug quotes and immediately want to go punch a kitten?
Theo writes:
No, but I did want to go take a shower with lysol and bleach. Yech.
alfrizzle097 writes:
The rule needs to be that both teams in the saturday game played on Thursday. You could set it up so you have teams A, B, C, and D. The SEC's roundrobin schedule would allow for team A to play at team D. B would play at C. B would host D and A would host C.
There isn't much of a way to ensure there aren't a few hours difference in when the Thursday games end, but at least then all four teams are playing one of the games at home and one on the road. They will be playing a team that only had Friday to prepare schemes.
It is ridiculous that you have situations where one team plays home on Tuesday, home on Saturday while the other team plays home thursday and road saturday.
You have situations where the home team has Wednesday, Thursday, Friday to practice and the road team had no chance to practice because the game finished late. Friday you have classes. When those are over you have to travel. Spend the night and then you practice schemes during shootaround.
I don't disagree with Kentucky playing Tuesday-Saturday. I just don't think they should have four times this season playing a team that had two less days to prepare. If Kentucky gets four days rest, so should their opponent.
Of course I'm not so quick to complain when UT gets the benefit of the schedule but the principle remains despite my lack of scruples.
I suppose all this is moot because the SEC only has one Thursday game each week?
Zalweed22 writes:
When you can put 5 guys in the first round for guaranteed millions, yes, it doesn't take long for everyone to love blue. And are they all dumb? Do they write sentences like this?
you guys are to stupid blind to realize your day is a come'in. And that is why most of his kids are dumb and rocks and leave early
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