NCAA's Championships Coming To Golf Channel!

Let's face it, college golf has been largely irrelevant because its championships aren't on television. Sad, but true.

That's finally changing, as the television-friendly team-match play format (mens) will finally be coming to Golf Channel in 2014, and the women will start in 2015. Too late to have seen Riviera and University of Texas' thrilling win, but Prairie Dunes will be hosting in 2014.

For Immediate Release...

NCAA DIVISION I GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS COMING TO GOLF CHANNEL
 
Men’s Golf Championships Coverage Begins in 2014, Followed by Women’s and Men’s Golf Championships in 2015
 
Golf Channel to Complement Tournament Action with Ancillary Programming and Comprehensive News Coverage On-air and Online
 
ORLANDO, Fla. (Dec. 17, 2012) – Golf Channel and the NCAA jointly announced today the return of the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Golf Championships to television beginning in 2014 with the Division I Men’s Golf Championship at Prairie Dunes Country Club, in Hutchinson, Kan. The announcement was made today by Mark Lewis, NCAA Executive Vice President of Championships and Alliances and Mike McCarley, President of Golf Channel. As the fastest growing network in television in the U.S. with distribution to 140 million homes across 83 countries and territories around the world, Golf Channel will present these marquee NCAA golf championships to a worldwide audience via all its media platforms.
 
“This is the culmination of a collaborative effort between a lot of individuals over a long period of time, including the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Golf Committees,” said Mark Lewis, NCAA Executive Vice President of Championships and Alliances. “We are excited for our men’s and women’s golf student-athletes to gain additional exposure and for the fans of the sport to be able to see up close what makes these championships so special. Partnering with the Golf Channel made perfect sense for us and we appreciate their commitment in helping to grow the audience for the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Golf Championships.”
 
“We are committed to covering all facets of the game of golf and this new partnership with the NCAA will be the centerpiece of our broader commitment to covering the collegiate game,” said Golf Channel President Mike McCarley. “We look forward to introducing our viewers to the future stars of the game and tapping into the tremendous passion collegiate fans have for their schools.”
 
Golf Channel is scheduled to air three days of action from the 2014 men’s championship. Hosted by Wichita State University, the 2014 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship will feature the top collegiate golfers in America and the game’s future stars. Beginning with 30 teams and six student-athletes competing over 54 holes, an individual champion will be crowned before the top eight teams advance to the final three rounds of match play competition for the team championship.
 
Through a multi-year partnership with the NCAA, Golf Channel will air tournament action from both the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Golf Championships beginning in 2015. The 2015 championships are scheduled to be contested at The Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Fla., and hosted by the University of South Florida. The 2015 championships will mark the first time since 1997 the NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship will air live on television.

Who won that year? Oh right, Pepperdine!

Now Presenting The Non-Minority Collegiate Minority Golf Champs!

The Daily's John Walters takes a look at the winners of the PGA Minority Collegiate Golf Championship and finds a lot of fine golfers resembling non-minorities.

How does Bethune-Cookman, a school that is 94.3 percent African-American and 1.5 percent white, draw such talented female golfers from Austria, Denmark and Great Britain? Coach Loritz “Scooter” Clark declined comment for this story, but the Daytona Beach-based school’s home course is the LPGA International Legends Course, which is located within driving distance, as it were, from the LPGA headquarters.

Renee Powell was the second black female to play on the LPGA Tour. Powell, 66, recalled twisting the arm of a sponsor in order to send golf equipment to three HBCUs. When she arrived at a tournament in which they were playing, Powell had a startling discovery.

“All of your golfers are white,” Powell told the coach.

“My school president wants to win,” the coach replied.

“If I had known that I would have given the equipment to another college where minority kids were struggling,” Powell said.

College Golfers Need To Keep Pretending They Are Not Talking To Agents

Ryan Herrington analyzes the new USGA/R&A rule allowing amateur golfers to enter into agreements while retaining their amateur status and explains that it came about because of an R&A desire, with the USGA capitulating in the name of maintaining civilized cocktail receptions and next year's San Francisco Golf Club four-balls.

The reality of the situation, however, was that many elite golfers were already having discussions with agents, outside the view of the public and sans the signed contract. The new RAS rule at least tries to keep such practices from becoming too shady by keeping them in the open to help attempt to control them.

According to officials I've spoken to, the RAS rule change was something proposed and pursued by the R&A in an attempt to offer young amateurs golfers outside the United States (and thus less likely to enroll in American colleges and use the college golf to developing their games while remaining amateurs) some incentive to keep from turning professional too soon in their careers and without the right guidance that could help them make the transition more successfully. It might not have been what USGA officials desired, but to be a good partner they went along with it.

And now, college coaches must deal with the consequences.