NCAA credentialing

... yet.

 

If they let every media outlet staff only the games they want to staff, then there would be less coverage of the opening weekend and everybody would want to go to the Final Four. The rules are pretty rigid, but they are designed that way so the Final Four isn't over run with media that only want to staff the big event.

For those papers that struggle with limited staffing, again I would suggest talking to the media reps at the NCAA in advance of the tourney (not the SID of the host school). Let them know what your staffing priorities and limitations are and you'll be surprised at the response.

$350 a day for high speed for photogs. . . what a rip-off.

 

Fair enough. I don't have a problem with that at all.

In what way?

On another note, I know most of this thread seems to be about bitching about how the NCAA has screwed papers over, but I've got something positive to say about how I was treated at the Tournament venue I went to today.

When I looked and saw my seating assignment for the game (which was vastly different from where media normally sit at The Big Sponsor Arena), I was assigned to ... second row CENTER COURT. I look down and literally saw the center line. I don't think I could have gotten a better view of the action if I did some unmentionable acts for it.

I think the host school (which was the team I cover) obviously has some say in who gets what seating assignment. I got hooked up big time.

 

In my SE days, I saw both good and bad when trying to get regional credentials.

My paper had a different problem when a regional was being played an hour away. We covered seven different schools from major conferences located within a couple hours of the paper. If it was just one school, it would've easily fit within the 90 percent rule.

As it turns out, several of those teams were members of the power conference that was hosting those first two rounds. I went through the channels and got a letter rejecting us us for:

1. the 90 percent rule

2. the metro area rule.

I appealed via e-mail, explaining our coverage situation and inviting him to check with any of the seven SIDs to vouch for us. I also indicated that our coverage area went into the two northern-most counties of that city's metro area.

I got an e-mail back a couple hours later granting us a credential.

 

And I got fucking hosed this weekend at my regional. Both games I covered my team, I was straddling the baseline. They didn't even fucking re-seat after the first round. And of course, all the big plays in the second half happened on the opposite end of the fucking court.

 

That makes two of us. And the school I cover is hosting the damn thing, go figure.

On another note, I don't think they know how to enforce the blogging policy - at least at my site. I wasn't doing it at all, but I know of one guy who went on and on and on with the blogs during the game just to see what would happen. Nothing did.

 

Agreed. Hopefully none of the minions are reading this thread, but not enforcing it is a good choice. I'm not opening that argument back up again, but I just don't see the big deal with it.

 

OK, I guess I wasn't the only one. I feel slightly better

And yeah, I don't get that blogging thing, either. I didn't sign the agreement, but I only blogged two small items live from the event, neither of them off the actual game.

 

I posted a whole lot more than three times per half, just sayin'. And never heard a word.

I do know several guys who kept their blogs vague to the point of absurd, just to be safe.

 

Oh, and a postscript on the wireless issue... when I got home from Tampa Saturday afternoon, my computer wouldn't connect to my home wireless system because of something the NCAA techs did to make it connect at the arena.
I had to call my regular computer guy to come out and make a house call - $45 - to fix my computer. He told me that the arena people had essentially rigged my computer to respond to their server, but not others.
Screw you, NCAA.

 

NEVER let 'em touch your laptop

couldn't you call the IT people at your paper to get you connected?

hell, make sure you expense that -- and send an invoice to the NCAA