This NCAA rule makes no sense

Ron Dayne ran for 7,125 yards in his days as a bruiser in Wisconsin's back field. But the NCAA counts only 6,397 of them. That's because the NCAA did not count yardage from bowl games in its total when Dayne played, meaning the Badgers runner loses out on the 738 yards in four games. Dayne rushed for more than 200 yards four times. (Still, Dayne's total is the most ever by a Division I-A back.)

A few years ago, the NCAA changed its rules to include bowl yardage. But the yardage is not included retroactively. So Dayne's yards do not count for the overall record. This makes no sense. The NCAA does a terrific job organizing, marketing and assisting thousands of college athletes across the country. Few organizations do more for athletics in this country. But rules like this flabbergast fans and journalists alike. Andy Baggot, a sports reporter for the Wisconsin State Journal, says his temples are pinging over this rule. He revealed the ridiculous nature of this rule in a story published a few days ago.

You also might want to re-evaluate football records at your school, seeing if some records might be broken now that the rule is in effect. Either way, keep checking the NCAA web site for new (and occasionally bizarre) rule changes.

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