Mountain bike and get a scholarship

With the recent troubles in the financial and credit markets, everyone has felt the impact. Whether its a union worker hoping to keep their job or a small business owner looking for a credit card to upgrade existing equipment. In fact the reach of the credit crisis has gone so far as to hit higher education.

Several institutions have restricted or ended their programs that were in place to provide new and returning college student with loans. This has increased the burden on these young adults at a time where few alternatives seem to be readily available. And even turning to mom and dad, the ultimate source of most college funding, is not an option in this environment.

But there are some options that still exist. One of those options has just been created by Milligan College in Tennessee. For the new students entering the college in the fall 2009 semester, a scholarship will be available that never existed before. The scholarship is based in athletics, but unlike traditional sports this new scholarship is based in an extreme sport that the youth of the nation can more readily connect with.

Mountain Biking.

Yes, this is the first scholarship I am aware of that is solely based on mountain biking. It is part of an effort at Milligan College to compete in the Southeastern Collegiate Cycling Conference. There are 4 events that involve mountain biking directly:

cross country
short track cross country
dual slalom
downhill

Obviously Milligan wants to have their college make a name in this growing sport. And for the graduates of the class of 2009 there is the opportunity to ensure they have an entry into higher academics. Overall this is a win-win for all involved.

When you consider the cost of a college tuition, which at Milligan is $25,650 up 13% from just 2006, every dollar is important. With financials unable or unwilling to meet their obligations, and new loans becoming scarcer I think what Milligan is doing is a big deal. And the fact that this is a scholarship based on a healthy sport is a big bonus.

So if you are in high school, a scholarship might make the difference for you. and you are good at competitive mountain biking, now you know. Good luck.

College football: Tennessee vs. UCLA

For those that watched the UCLA – Tennessee college football game, I imagine the question in your mind right now is

“What was the Tennessee coach thinking?”

For those that were not watching the game here is a quick recap.

With about 3 minutes left in the game, in the 4th quarter, Tennessee had the ball. They were around the 20 yard line. And in the next roughly minute and a half they rolled down the field to score a touchdown bringing the game to a 21 – 17 lead. The game looked in the bag.

But UCLA was far from done. In roughly 40 seconds UCLA had a huge set of passes, the most critical being a 20 yard pass (as I recall) that was taken out of bounds and stopped the clock. In the next 2 plays UCLA muscled over to the get an expected winning touchdown with a score of 24 – 21.

But Tennessee was not done. With all of 34 seconds on the clock they came back up field to the UCLA 37 yard line. Now at this point they had 1 timeout and 5 seconds on the clock. The choices in front of them were simply a Hail Mary pass – which rarely works - or a field goal attempt. The kicker has a record of having 48 yards as his longest attempt. So there is a risk no matter which you choose.

There was no wind on the field. The Tennessee kicker looked like he wanted to pass out from the pressure. And nailed the kick, from about the center of the field, with enough height to presumably make the kick from at least another 5 yards back.

Tied game 24 - 24 and here comes overtime.

UCLA starts off and just romps on the Tennessee defense. They barnstorm across the field with little trouble, till the 20 yard line. They decide to go for a field goal and take the lead. From about 35 yards, and somewhat to the right, they nail it. Score now 27 – 24.

Tennessee takes the field. From the kickoff it’s apparent that they are being busted up. There was hardly any movement once they got up to the mid-field. So with 2 yards to go on 4th down and a timeout available the decision was made without a hesitation.

This is where I disagree with the coach. I think everyone would disagree with him if they ever watch football. I can’t imagine a single team in the NFL that would go this route. Football is about winning, making the tough plays – and the coach decides to go for… the tie.

In comes the same kicker that just made a huge kick to put the game into overtime. In my opinion he had performed well enough to up his value to any NFL scouts. Without question he had just pumped up his adrenaline to overdrive, and focused intensely to get his team into an opportunity to win. Without question he was at the bench catching his breathe and trying to cool down. And now he had to go back out and do it again.

So in one fell swoop the coach had stated he had no confidence in his offense that had been winning the game for about half the game. An offense that in the 4th quarter played hard to try to win the game. And no confidence in an offense where just the play before the quarterback had just had enough time to sit in the pocket and then decided to run, gaining 5 yards.

But the coach decided that a tie was the best plan. Because football is about ties. Because the offense doesn’t want to win. Because quarterbacks can’t throw and running backs are slow. Hell let’s be honest, 2 yards is just too far and a timeout is useless.

So from the far-right, at 34 yards, after having sweated his balls off on getting his team into overtime the Tennessee kicker came back onto the field.

As you might imagine from my tone I’m not pleased with the decision.

And the result bore me out. The kick missed and UCLA won the game.

I don’t blame the kicker I blame the coach. You go for the win. But if you disagree I’d love to hear your thoughts.