Message Board Mania: Miami Hurricanes Spring Game Debate ... Should It Be Changed To A Closed Scrimmage?

The message boards have spoken. And there WILL be a Miami Hurricanes Spring Game open to the public this year.

Or not.

It simply depends on which poster’s opinion you go with.

As for this longtime reporter’s take? Well, as I posted in the thread titled, “should UM cancel their spring game” … “you get 15 practices and one is a spring game where you don’t work on anything useful and risk injuries … doesn’t make sense, agree with making it closed scrimmage.“

CaneSport publisher Gary Ferman also concurred, posting with his usual eloquence “Closed scrimmage much more useful.“

But, of course, the spring game is a chance for fans to get excited about the season, to see their favorite players, take their kids to a more informal event and just have a good time with other likeminded folk.

As insearchof6 posted in the thread, in contrast with the idea of canceling it, “Utterly ridiculous. Let’s have a football team and then, I don’t know, not play games. … Just get rid of college football all together. Bunch of ****** attitudes. Opting out of games. Abandoning your teammates. Cancelling the games. Weak. The sport has gradually gone …  Just cancel all the games so nobody can ever see your scrubs and poach them. Bowls are worthless. Now spring games. Talk of cancelling conference championship games. That is absolutely the wrong direction to be heading.”

For some perspective, in past years Miami held its spring game at the stadium, or in Ft. Lauderdale. That had a big benefit in drawing folks from Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, perhaps creating new fans, with the opportunity to also sell folks on buying season tickets. But recently the game’s been held on campus at Cobb Stadium, a small venue, and that’s where this year’s will be held assuming it goes on as planned April 12 at 4 p.m.

The issue with the spring game is that it’s always been vanilla offense, vanilla defense, not much accomplished compared to if it was a closed scrimmage. You can still invite recruits to a closed scrimmage, by the way, much as they are on hand for spring practices – it’s a quiet period, which allows for that.

A reason that’s being cited for programs like Nebraska, Ohio State, USC and Texas not holding spring games is NIL poaching, so go ahead and add that to the equation, too. Spring games are open to the public and televised, so what if a young player really flashes in that game? Then the portal window opens and that player may get a big offer/chance for more playing time elsewhere. Poof, he’s in the portal four days after Miami’s spring game, for instance (the second portal window is April 16-25).

“The word ‘tampering’ doesn’t exist anymore,” Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said in talking about canceling his program’s spring game. “It’s just an absolute free open common market. I don’t necessarily want to open up to the outside world and have people watch our guys and say, ‘He looks like a pretty good player. Let’s go get him.'”

And Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said on the Up & Adams Show, “We’re not going to have a spring game. … We’ve got a lot of young players on our roster. We have 21 midyear high school kids who just showed up. The development that is needed to get these guys ready for the fall is a little bit different than it used to be.

“I just don’t know rolling the ball out, playing the game, when we only get 15 practices, is the best for us to maximize the opportunities that we get.”

So there are multiple reasons NOT to hold an open spring game.

And the reason for it is really one reason: For the fans.

But, if you’re a real fan, and it’s better for your program to make that a closed scrimmage, then shouldn’t you be fine with that?

Something to think about.

We’ll give the final thought on the matter to Dolcane.

“The philosophy (of not having an open spring game) has some merit,” Dol wrote. “With NIL the way it is, why give other teams a look at your up and coming young players who could be raided by other teams.”