NCAA press credentials and and "substantial" coverage

Received an email last week rejecting my organization for credentialling at the 2007 NCAA Women's Division I lacrosse championship, saying that the number of requests is more than the capacity of the pressbox (in this case, the University of Pennsylvania's Franklin Field) and that my website does not do "substantial coverage" of lacrosse.

Franklin Field not only has one, but TWO pressboxes (the other one being one of those that is bolted under the upper deck and accessible by a catwalk). And given the fact that the sport is a third of what I do, I find the letter almost laughable.

There are going to be several journalists there who haven't done a single college story all year, but are there to cover their one "hometown" athlete.

Have folks had trouble getting NCAA credentials since the crackdown started in basketball a couple of years ago?

 

One could only imagine how many people the NCAA had to hire to handle the slew of requests they got for the WOMEN'S DI tourney. God bless them and may they be in your prayers.

 

Dude, how small must your paper be to get denied Women's Lacrosse credentials? Or did you all just piss someone off at the NCAA?

 

He said he's from a web site, not a paper.

 

Most of the time I've applied for basketball NCAA tournament credentials, it's usually the host SID that's organizing the requests. Once, he went out of his way to make sure that my request got in and accepted. Perhaps an appeal to the UPenn SID wouldn't hurt.

 

Get Tucker McLaughlin to put in the request. That guy gets into EVERYTHING

 

UPenn SID has a great sense of humor, but he may not go for this one.

 

Or as he is known in Virginia media circles: Sen. McLaughlin, Jr. (D-Va.)

 

Thereby answering the question: What's worse than having to cover lacrosse?

 

Find an SID you're friendly with on this and get them to go to bat for you...cant hurt

 

Covering it twice?

 

I wanna know what Web site you work for ... then I'll decide to offer a reply.