Fantasy College Football Didn’t Start with CBS
Long before this summer’s controversy over CBS Sports’ decision to begin including player names in its fantasy college football game, there was U-Sports.
The league manager site has been on campus for 13 years now and has managed to operate for that long under the same rules that widespread attention and criticism for its major-media competitor just this season.
With a new year of college football set to begin on Thursday, and then in full on Saturday, FSB took the opportunity to chat with Nathan Karp, director of U-Sports, which is a subsidiary of Perimeter Consulting.
U-Sports has been on the fantasy college scene for 13 years. How long have you been using player names?
We have been using player names from the beginning. We felt any other version would have been awkward for fantasy players to adopt.
How have you seen the college fantasy landscape change over the life of U-Sports?
The mid-’90s was the beginning of a new chapter for fantasy sports, as league management moved online and it became easier for casual fantasy players to participate. Back then, NFL and MLB fantasy games dominated the attention of fantasy players and every year since more and more deviations of the fantasy concept have been able to take hold. While the market for college fantasy football in the ’90s was very niche, it has consistently grown at a tremendous rate every year.
More recently, college fantasy sports has taken a major leap into the fantasy mainstream. There is now a competitive field of providers offering college fantasy content, analysis, blogs and podcasts. Athlon added a section to their college football preview magazines and website dedicated to college fantasy football this summer. And now obviously CBS getting in the game starts a new chapter as the awareness of college fantasy sports will reach most college football fans.
How do you respond to the issues raised by the Knight Commission and others over the use of player names in college fantasy sports?
Just like any other fantasy contest, the fantasy version of the sport increases interest and draws attention to more teams and athletes in the game. This is even more pronounced in college sports, where the top division includes 120 teams. College fantasy football provides fans with compelling reasons to watch the non-BCS contending teams on a regular basis.
What sort of action do you expect the NCAA to take on this issue, if any?
So far the comments from the NCAA have appeared to simultaneously approve and disapprove of college fantasy sports. I really couldn’t predict what, if any, action they will take on college fantasy sports. The MLB-CDM case and the Supreme Court’s rejection to hear an appeal would seem to be a significant obstacle for the NCAA to prevent the use of player’s names.
Has the attention given to CBS’ decision to name its players had any effect on your site?
It’s too early to tell if there has been any significant impact, but I believe it is a great opportunity for U-Sports. While we have enjoyed our run of being really the only game in town, we haven’t been able to reach out in a broad way to increase awareness of college fantasy sports the way CBS can. Most fantasy players assumed college fantasy sports were not an option because Yahoo and ESPN didn’t offer it.
While CBS, and next year surely other media-based sites, will offer a good fantasy experience for their users, U-Sports will continue to offer premium features and service and attract customers looking to have more options, much like what is offered by dozens of professional-based fantasy sites not owned by media companies. The fact that U-Sports has been successfully leading fantasy college sports for more than a decade is a great advantage to us in knowing and responding to the nuances of the college fantasy enthusiast.
Will college football continue to exist after Tim Tebow moves on to the NFL?
Tebow sure has been fun to watch and have on your fantasy team. Especially so if you happen to be a Florida alumnus. Every few years there is a college player who some leagues consider making new rules for to account for his unusual stats. Daunte Culpepper at [Central Florida] was the first one we encountered, with Mike Vick, Timmy Chang, and a few others along the way. But even with his Supermanesque fantasy numbers last year, he still is splitting top fantasy draft position in U-Sports leagues with Graham Harrell, who comes from the most fantasy-friendly offensive system at Texas Tech.
Tags: cbs sports, central florida, college football, daunte culpepper, fantasy college football, fantasy football, fantasy sports, fantasy sports business, fantasy sports industry, football, graham harrell, knight commission, mike vick, mlbam v. cdm, nathan karp, ncaa, nfl, perimeter consulting, texas tech, tim tebow, timmy chang, u-sports, university of florida
