Fran
07-26-2006, 02:31 PM
New pro football league to start up on college campuses
By Steve Wieberg, USA TODAY
Are you ready for a little more football?
A group of former college officials headed by former NCAA President Cedric Dempsey will unveil plans Wednesday in New York for a new spring minor league with a twist — the eight teams will use colleges as their bases, and feature players from those schools and their affiliated conferences and surrounding regions.
They'll play their games in the schools' stadiums or in bowl facilities. All 44-48 players per team must have graduated from college and exhausted their college eligibility.
"When you look at some of the minor leagues that failed, this is a different model," says Dempsey, chairman of the All American Football League's managing board. "I think it'll have a lot of interest from a fan standpoint."
The league will start play in 2007, with each team probably playing a 14-game schedule from the second week of April to the end of June. Beyond tying them to the Big Ten, Southeastern and Atlantic Coast conferences, Dempsey declined to specify which schools will be affiliated.
The AAFL will start stocking rosters after the NFL's April draft. Players, who'll be employed by the league, will earn about $100,000.
Dempsey and other league founders have talked to some coaches, primarily college and pro retirees, but don't have any commitments, he says. The group is exploring television options. A single businessman whom Dempsey also declined to name initially is bankrolling the league. It hopes ultimately to sell franchises for an initial $2-3 million investment and overall cost of $13-15 million per team.
Affiliated schools will receive $3 million in stadium rent and be permitted to keep revenue from parking and concessions, an arrangement Dempsey says should earn them up to $5 million at a time when their facilities typically are unused.
The college-degree requirement is seen as an incentive for current college players to graduate. Among others involved in putting the league together are former university presidents and chancellors Charles Young (UCLA and Florida), Martin Massengale (Nebraska), Charles Wethington (Kentucky) and former Tennessee athletics director Doug Dickey.
By Steve Wieberg, USA TODAY
Are you ready for a little more football?
A group of former college officials headed by former NCAA President Cedric Dempsey will unveil plans Wednesday in New York for a new spring minor league with a twist — the eight teams will use colleges as their bases, and feature players from those schools and their affiliated conferences and surrounding regions.
They'll play their games in the schools' stadiums or in bowl facilities. All 44-48 players per team must have graduated from college and exhausted their college eligibility.
"When you look at some of the minor leagues that failed, this is a different model," says Dempsey, chairman of the All American Football League's managing board. "I think it'll have a lot of interest from a fan standpoint."
The league will start play in 2007, with each team probably playing a 14-game schedule from the second week of April to the end of June. Beyond tying them to the Big Ten, Southeastern and Atlantic Coast conferences, Dempsey declined to specify which schools will be affiliated.
The AAFL will start stocking rosters after the NFL's April draft. Players, who'll be employed by the league, will earn about $100,000.
Dempsey and other league founders have talked to some coaches, primarily college and pro retirees, but don't have any commitments, he says. The group is exploring television options. A single businessman whom Dempsey also declined to name initially is bankrolling the league. It hopes ultimately to sell franchises for an initial $2-3 million investment and overall cost of $13-15 million per team.
Affiliated schools will receive $3 million in stadium rent and be permitted to keep revenue from parking and concessions, an arrangement Dempsey says should earn them up to $5 million at a time when their facilities typically are unused.
The college-degree requirement is seen as an incentive for current college players to graduate. Among others involved in putting the league together are former university presidents and chancellors Charles Young (UCLA and Florida), Martin Massengale (Nebraska), Charles Wethington (Kentucky) and former Tennessee athletics director Doug Dickey.