Instant Replay in the Big Ten/MAC

[rollalong94]

The Big Ten will be using instant replay, and the MAC has agreed to partner with them in all Big Ten-MAC matchups:

http://www.cleveland.com/collegesports/ ... 870722.xml

With our increasing TV exposure, I wonder if the MAC will use in in the near future.

[Tricky_Falcon]

I don't think the MAC will be able to afford it. I saw on espn a few years back that it literally costed with all the cameras and equipment around $1 million a game. That's right a million. I guess the Big 10 has money to burn.

[Tricky_Falcon]

It looks like things have changed since ESPN talked about how much it would cost to have instant replay in college sports.




Play it again, Big Ten
The conference will give instant replay a try after several football controversies
By Teddy Greenstein
Tribune staff reporter

August 4, 2004, 9:03 PM CDT

It wasn't one play.

And it wasn't one coach.

The Big Ten talked about adopting instant replay as far back as the early 1980s, when Lee Corso paced the sidelines at Indiana.

"But there had never been a critical mass among our coaches," Associate Commissioner Mark Rudner said.

That critical mass resulted in the Big Ten's decision to push the NCAA for a one-year experiment in instant replay. The NCAA approved, and the Big Ten was willing to spend $100,000 for a system that could one day serve as the model in college football.

The league's overriding philosophy is simple.

"Nobody remembers the ones you get right," said Dave Parry, the Big Ten's supervisor of football officials. "If you work 100 games and make 250 correct calls and miss one big one, that's the one you'll think about five years down the road."

How it works

The key is the technical adviser, who watches the game from a private, secure booth in the press box. If he sees a questionable call, he'll examine it using the standard replays provided by television partners ABC and ESPN.

If the TA suspects a blown call, he will hit a button that pages four officials on the field plus the timer. All five will wave their arms to signal a timeout. The head official will walk to the sideline, pick up a phone and take his cue from the adviser.

The TA then will look for "indisputable video evidence" in determining whether to overrule a call.

"It must be clear and obvious," Parry said. "If there's any question, any doubt, the call will stand. It has to be the type of play where if 100 guys were looking at it, 100 of them would say: 'Hey, that's not a touchdown. That guy stepped out of bounds.'"

Using TiVo's slow-mo technology, the TA will break down the replays. The process will take less than a minute. Or so Big Ten officials hope.

Blind eye

The TA is looking for plays involving the sideline, goal line, end zone and end line. He can overrule completions, interceptions, forward passes and fumbles. He'll watch for 12 men on the field, forward progress and a runner not ruled down by defensive contact. He will also keep tabs on the game clock and play clock.

What won't he look for? Judgment calls, such as holding, pass interference, personal fouls, illegal blocks and false starts. Even if he sees one player tear off the facemask of another, he's powerless to do anything.

Technically speaking

The six technical advisers have a collective 55 years of experience in Big Ten officiating and more than 100 years of experience on the field. They will be paid $725 plus expenses and a $170 per diem. (That's $100 less than a game official makes.)

The Big Ten hasn't decided whether their names will be disclosed to the public.

If a TA chooses to overrule a call, his word is final. "He's the god up there in the sky," Parry said.

Which games?

All 44 Big Ten games will have instant replay. If a game is not televised, the conference will spend about $20,000 to produce it. Non-Big Ten visiting teams have the option of green-lighting the system.

The Mid-American Conference reportedly has signed off on using replay, so Big Ten openers on Sept. 4, such as Central Florida vs. Wisconsin and Miami of Ohio vs. Michigan, will feature it.

What's your take, coach?

Ron Turner, Illinois: "If people lying on the couch can see it, let's get it right."

Jim Tressel, Ohio State: "I have a little reservation. [Replay] will only correct some of the human error—not holding, clipping or late hits. I don't know if that's realistic (to review every type of infraction). We don't want six-hour games."

Joe Paterno, Penn State: "I think all of us want the game to be determined by the kids. If it can correct a mistake before it becomes fatal, that's fine."
Copyright © 2004, The Chicago Tribune

[Redwingtom]

All reports from Chicago say that Instant Replay in the Big Ten will only cost $100,000. I don't know however, if that is per game or per school for the season or for the whole year for all schools.

What I hear is that they will be using something like TIVO and just using the original camera angle from the game...not like the NFL which has several camera angles.

[jacojdm]

[quote="Tricky_Falcon"]It looks like things have changed since ESPN talked about how much it would cost to have instant replay in college sports.

Joe Paterno, Penn State: "I think all of us want the game to be determined by the kids. If it can correct a mistake before it becomes fatal, that's fine."


i couldn't agree more. this is college football, a game. it's not a life or death matter. human error by the officials is a part of every athlietic contest, like it or not. officials do nto go out of their way to make incorrect or questionable calls (except, maybe, in baseball..but that's the fun of the game).

in any case, i see no place for instant replay in college football. let the players play and decide the games' outcome on the field.

[Falcon30]

This is a big benefit to the MAC. Who gets hosed all the time in Big 10 MAC matchups? Ask NIU about Wisconsin...We always had to play against the odds with Big ten teams - at their place, with IMO biased officials.

[Schadenfreude]

I'm not against instant replay per se, but I'm not sure I want it in the college game.

Unlike the NFL, every college game is *not* televised. It just seems weird to have replay only for some games.

It seems to me it expands the difference between haves and have nots.

I dunno. It isn't a big deal. But I'd rather not have it.

[CapitalFalcon]

I agree with Schad. Not sure that this is really good for college football, espcially when you consider it is not universal. But, whatever...NCAA football will do what ever it wants to do.

[rc_ziggy84]

This is a big benefit to the MAC. Who gets hosed all the time in Big 10 MAC matchups? Ask NIU about Wisconsin...We always had to play against the odds with Big ten teams - at their place, with IMO biased officials.

Those would be our officials... In non-conference games, the officials come from the conf. of the visiting team.