Leadership Vacuum

A leadership vacuum occurs when no one is willing to take a risk and make a decision to move an organization toward its vision and achieve its strategy. Now that we are beginning the Bowl season for NCAA Division I football, it is clear there is a leadership vacuum as it relates to crowning a champion. This may be an old argument, but let's look at the facts. To my knowledge, this is the only sport (division) that doesn't have a championship playoff. In fact, all other football divisions have playoffs and come up with a winner. The Division II and III champions have been crowned. The Division 1-A will championship will take place in January during major bowl week.

I honestly don't know or care to know the argument against a playoff. It can't be the student athletes or the difficulty in scheduling. I'm sure money is some how involved, but am not smart enough to follow that trail. Now, people like me will rant and rave and we'll have another year of dull games and over matched teams playing on New Year's Day. Nothing against Connecticut, but I can't see them having a chance against Oklahoma. I'm looking forward to settling in tonight to watch the Beef O' Brady's Bowl between Louisville and Southern Mississippi. It should be a barn burner. By the way, what is a Beef O' Brady? The NCAA created the BCS (Bowl Championship Series) that manages this mess. They got lucky with Auburn and Oregon. We'll see what kind of game it is on January 10th.

The NCAA suffers from a failure in leadership that many organizations have. Here's what happens-nothing! Typically, the accountants or those creating rules and regulations take over when a vacuum occurs. The rules become so complicated and the purpose skewed. At the end of the day, the rules are followed, but they don't make sense. In essence, you get Connecticut vs. Oklahoma on a daily basis. Take a look at the BCS qualification process-it reads like an FDA handbook.

Being a leader is not easy. It takes work and commitment. In place of leadership is chaos. Welcome to the NCAA Division I football. Take a stand and make a mark. If you're playing to win, then let them play.