NCAA mandates reduction of media guides
Universities scramble to downsize sports media guides
The proposal also affects recruiting because the guides often are sent to prospective student athletes.
“From a recruiting standpoint, it’s more impressive to drop a 20-pound book on the coffee table than a 6-ounce book,” said Mike Nemeth, a Mississippi State associate athletic director. “This will put everybody in the same ballpark.”
The Bulldogs produced a 296-page football media guide last year, at least in part to prevent being dwarfed by larger volumes published by Florida, Tennessee and other rivals. Many schools devote space in their media guides to alumni in the pros and draft pick histories, although it’s not clear how much weight — if any — the books have with recruits.
“It’s probably way down the list,” Nemeth said.
Mississippi State expects to save a few thousand dollars on printing costs with the smaller guides, money the department will gladly spend on other projects, Nemeth said.
This is silly. Who really cares how big these things get? How much will this save athletic departments? 5-10 grand, maybe? Condersidering the revenue gap between MSU and the rest of league, this is insignificant.
