BY STEVEN M. SIPPLE / Lincoln Journal Star analysis
Monday, May 28, 2007 - 12:45:10 am CDT
Husker athletic director Steve Pederson
Steve Pederson recalls a simpler time in football scheduling.
It was the early 1980s. Pederson was Nebraska’s recruiting coordinator and administrative assistant. Bob Devaney, athletic director at the time, maintained a notebook that listed most, if not all, of the Huskers’ nonconference games for the next 10 years.
“We always tried to stay 10 years out,” says Pederson, who took over as Husker athletic director in 2002. “The problem now is getting teams to commit to a game 10 years down the line. I still believe in using that philosophy as much as I can. For instance, we try to do that with a lot of the more high-profile games we might be playing.
“But now in trying to fill out games around them, teams just aren’t willing to do it as much anymore.“
Some other factors have created significant challenges for college football schedule-makers in big-time programs. For instance, the addition of a 12th regular-season game last year in Division I-A set off a wild scramble to fill open slots in schedules. Meanwhile, guaranteed payouts to visiting nonconference opponents escalated dramatically — from as little as $250,000 a few years ago to as much as $750,000 now.
What’s more, Pederson — who recently endured a rash of fan criticism after announcing somewhat soft nonconference schedules for NU in 2008 and 2009 — says it has become increasingly difficult to get teams to come to Lincoln.
Steve Snapp, an associate athletic director in charge of scheduling at Ohio State, experiences the same problem getting teams to play in Columbus, Ohio.
“More and more of the midlevel teams are interested in doing a 2-for-1 deal — two games at our place and one game at their place,” Snapp says. “We just don’t want to do that. It just doesn’t make any sense for us. We’re talking about smaller venues, so from a capacity standpoint you’re not going to be able to accommodate the size of crowds we like to play in front of.“
Pederson shares Snapp’s sentiments, saying, “Teams you typically could pay for a one-time appearance in your stadium are not as willing to do that as they used to be. They want a 2-for-1. Yet at the same time, we’ve tried to avoid going to smaller venues to play games.“
The increased demand for 2-for-1 deals represents “probably the greatest change (in scheduling) that I’ve seen,” Pederson says.
Nebraska played at Southern Mississippi on ESPN in 2003 as part of a 2-for-1 deal. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg, Miss., seats 33,000, while Memorial Stadium in Lincoln seats 85,000.
“If we’re going to play a home-and-home series, ideally we’d go to stadiums that are more typical of ours,” Pederson says.
Which helps explain Nebraska’s future home-and-home series with Virginia Tech (2008-09), Washington (2010-11), UCLA (2012-13) and Tennessee (2016-17).
Pederson expects to soon announce a deal with yet another high-profile program, presumably for the 2014-15 seasons.
Such marquee games essentially make it unfair to be overly critical of Pederson for Nebraska’s 2008 and 2009 nonconference schedules. Next year, in addition to playing traditional power Virginia Tech in Lincoln, the Huskers stay home for games against San Jose State, New Mexico State and Western Michigan.
In 2009, in addition to playing at Virginia Tech, Nebraska will play home games against three Sun Belt Conference teams — Florida Atlantic, Louisiana-Lafayette and Arkansas State.
Nebraska has tried to schedule more home-and-home series with BCS schools, Pederson says.
“We just haven’t had a lot of luck,” he says. “A lot of teams say their conference schedule is tough enough. That’s what it comes down to most of the time.“
Pederson handles Nebraska scheduling with a big assist from Tim Cassidy, associate athletic director for football operations. Both men consult with head coach Bill Callahan.
“Bill is great because he is willing to play anybody,” Pederson says. “We talk about the teams that are available and the concept of how we want to do our scheduling, and he’s been in full accord with it.
“Quite frankly, his willingness probably made it easier to get some deals done.“
Big 12 conference teams, almost across the board, have shown admirable aggressiveness when it comes to nonconference scheduling. Oklahoma, for instance, this season begins a home-and-home series with Miami (Fla.) and has future series with Florida State (2010-11), Notre Dame (2013 and 2015) and Tennessee (2014-15).
Texas has future home-and-home series with Arkansas (2008-09) and UCLA (2010-11), Texas A&M with Miami (2007-08) and Oklahoma State with Georgia (2007 and 2009).
Colorado, as usual, has rugged nonconference schedules, and even Kansas State is getting in on the act, with road games this season at Auburn and Fresno State. The Wildcats, in fact, have performed an about-face in strength of schedule, with challenging future series with UCLA (2009-10), Oregon (2011-12), Miami (2011-12) and Virginia Tech (2014 and 2016).
Regarding trips to Auburn and Fresno State, K-State second-year head coach Ron Prince said, “From a recruiting standpoint and from a fan standpoint, it’s really getting the message out about Kansas State. And having our logo behind those talking heads on television, really that’s what this is all about.
“Our goal every year is to win the Big 12 North, and that’s what we feel we can accomplish with this schedule. It’ll help us get ready.“
Of course, Nebraska can say the same about its formidable 2007 nonconference schedule.
Big Red fans can thank their local athletic director.