With November right around the corner, the college basketball world waits in the wings as the new men’s season reaches its dawn.
The 2015–16 regular season will officially come under way on Nov. 13 in Ypsilanti, Michigan for a mid-major clash between the Vermont Catamounts and the Eastern Michigan Eagles. The game marks the beginning of a college basketball season that will stretch almost six months before ending in Houston, Texas April 4.
However, and no disrespect to the alumni and fans of either institutions, the attention of the nation will not be directed toward southeastern Michigan for an 11 a.m. tip-off between the Catamounts and Eagles. Moreover, the entire slate of November and December college games will go largely unnoticed by the national media.
Despite a handful of matchups that will draw some national intrigue for college basketball, college football and the NFL will reign supreme over the sports landscape in the months of November and December. With the NBA and NHL seasons also in full swing during the latter months of the year, many have come to question the start of college basketball in the month of November. Sports analyst Clay Travis of Fox Sports is one such opponent clamoring for the season’s start to be pushed back to January.
“College basketball shouldn’t start until Jan. 2,” Travis said. “No one watches in November and December, even good games.”
Upon examination of past primetime matchups in November and December, it would appear that Travis is correct. Statistics have shown that primetime games, such as No. 3 Kentucky versus No. 6 Duke airing on ESPN on Nov. 16, will probably draw only minor television audiences.
As a comparison, last year’s early season primetime matchup between No. 1 Kentucky and No. 5 Kansas Nov. 18 drew a TV rating of 1.7. In football, the meager New Orleans Bowl Dec. 20 featuring the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns versus the Nevada Wolfpack nearly eclipsed the Kentucky-Kansas game with a TV rating of 1.6.
In recent years, the season’s start has come under heavier scrutiny as critics fail to see the value in starting the season in November amidst some of the highest grossing stretches of the NFL and college football seasons. One such criticism came from Commissioner Jim Delany of the Big Ten Conference in a February interview with USA Today.
“The fact of it is, it’s hard to say there hasn’t been dilution [in college basketball’s regular season] — the energy is when the conference season starts,” Delany said. “There are some nice trips, nice games. But for the most part, it’s after the college football [bowl games] are over. Those have just become huge attractions.”
In addition to media exposure concerns, the overall well being of the college basketball athlete has been questioned. Unlike other sports that take on the brunt of academic pressures during one semester, basketball athletes must shoulder the brunt of their athletic rigors in both the fall and spring semesters.
In any case, the overwhelming opinion of college coaches is that the college basketball season must remain under its traditional format. With teams competing in a maximum of 31 regular season games, the current design allows coaches to schedule games farther apart and supposedly diminish the risk of injuries for players.
The critics remain as the 2015–16 season rapidly approaches. Currently, it appears as if the six-month season format isn’t going anywhere.
