There are lessons to be learned from the collaborative spirit shown by Air Force Academy head football coach Troy Calhoun and the University of Colorado’s Deion Sanders last week.
The National Football League allows joint practices and scrimmages between two of its teams during summer camp—despite the scuffles that mark almost every such meeting.
At the collegiate level, paying players is fine, and so is jumping from school to school year after year. Petitions for extra years of eligibility seem to be favorably received more often than not.
But, in its infinite wisdom, the NCAA forbids college teams from practicing with each other, scrimmaging or—heaven forbid—playing a spring game in-state.
Here’s what happened last week while CU was holding the start of fall practice away from Boulder, at Fountain Fort Carson High School.
First, Calhoun made AFA’s indoor practice facility available to CU in the event afternoon thunderstorms rendered outdoor workouts impractical or unsafe, as often happens around Colorado Springs in August.
Second, the two teams’ practices overlapped enough that each head coach addressed both teams.
Third, the players were able to break into position groups to actually talk football and learn from each other.
“I’m seeing certain things in terms of studying receivers and quarterbacks,” said one Air Force defender. “They taught me a lot.”
For CU’s players, meanwhile, they learned about life at a military academy.
“They talked about the intricate details of attending Air Force and what they must go through to get in,” said Coach Prime “Our kids talked about our disciplines, and they talked about their disciplines. We ain’t like them. They’re unbelievable.”
Said a Buffs senior: “Hanging with those guys was super cool. Just seeing the different things they have to go through, just their basic training and their survival camp. That’s a real grind.”
An Air Force player expressed the differences players from both programs saw first-hand.
“It’s completely different sides of the spectrum,” he said of the two programs. “We may only be an hour and a half away from each other, but this is an academy.
“We don’t get the NIL (money). We don’t get maybe the apartments and stuff that they get or the private chefs and the cars and all that.
“It was weird, because you’d expect when that stuff comes up for you to be very different than them, but we really weren’t.”
There doesn’t seem to be a clear reason for the NCAA rule that keeps FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision/Division I) teams from interacting during spring or fall practice.
The obvious answer is, “The NCAA doesn’t allow it.”
The most common explanation is “to avoid injury in meaningless play.” (As if no one ever gets hurt in a team’s own practices.)
Another answer to “why?” puts the blame on coaches who don’t want any opponent to get even a sniff of playbooks, personnel and the like. (As if scouting and film study don’t reveal such things.)
Both Sanders and Calhoun favor a rule change that would allow combined practices, scrimmages and even in-state spring games.
“You hope there does come a point in time when you’re able to work against another university,” said Calhoun. “You hope that maybe there can be a breakthrough in that regard down the road.”
Perhaps there are principles from the Air Force-CU “cultural exchange” that can be built into an NCAA rule change.
Why not require position group joint sessions like the ones the Falcons and Buffs participated in?
Why not have presentations on what each program expects of its student-athletes?
Why not specify that teams may not participate in joint practices, scrimmages or spring games within three years of playing each other in a regular-season game?
And why not a goodwill gift exchange of some sort to encourage collegiality?
During CU’s visit last week, Coach Prime received a customized USAF pilot’s helmet featuring AFA branding. It was authentic military equipment complete with a protective shell and drop-down tinted visor.
Maybe Air Force and Colorado can build on their shared experiences this summer and convince the NCAA to relax its prohibition on preseason collaboration.
Maybe Calhoun can be given a memento of his own next August.
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Denny Dressman writes a weekly sports column for The Villager. You can write to Denny at dennydressman@comcast.net.