Doug Gottlieb is already trying to change the entire landscape of college basketball. He has been the head coach at Green Bay for less than two months.
To be fair, his proposal actually makes a lot of sense and further proves the ineptitude of the NCAA!
Gottlieb, who previously (and currently) serves as an on-air contributor for Fox Sports Radio, wants his team to compete in The Basketball Tournament. TBT is an open-invitation, single-elimination tournament played each summer in the United States. The winner gets a $2 million cash prize.
Most of the teams that participate are made up of former college players and overseas pros. Active college players are not allowed to play in The Basketball Tournament because of three NCAA bylaws.
- College coaching staffs cannot participate in a clinic or camp with its team at a distance greater than 100 miles from the university.
- College programs can only participate in NCAA-sanctioned events in the summer.
- Even in NCAA-sanctioned events, no team can have more than two players from the same university on the same team.
Gottlieb has an idea on how the Phoenix can play in TBT without violating those rules. He and Green Bay are willing to forgo a true foreign tour. The Basketball Tournament would count as a foreign tour instead.
A foreign tour is exactly how it sounds.
College basketball programs often go overseas to Italy, Spain or France, or up into Canada to play international competition. Whether that be a national team, a local college, or a semipro team.
A foreign tour does not violate the three NCAA bylaws. Every team is allowed one foreign tour each offseason. The Phoenix could play five games in Morocco, Slovakia, Mongolia, or Honduras without issue. They would be in violation of the rules if they played in Dayton, Ohio.
Doug Gottlieb proposed a new way of looking at the international tour. What if Green Bay played in The Basketball Tournament instead? It essentially serves the same purpose.
The NCAA is unlikely to approve Gottlieb’s request. It would open a pandora’s box for other programs that want to do the same. Especially when there is $2 million involved.
Regardless of the final verdict, to see a first-year head coach with no prior head coaching experience try to shake up the sport in this manner is pretty fun. Why not try and push the limits of what can be done?