Devils Advocates

College football has arguably never been more popular nor more maligned than it is today. The power conferences all have TV deals worth north of a billion dollars, top teams routinely sell out their 80,000-plus-seat stadia, and the ratings for the college football playoffs will likely be far greater than...

By Ed Kummerer

October 30, 2014

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College football has arguably never been more popular nor more maligned than it is today. The power conferences all have TV deals worth north of a billion dollars, top teams routinely sell out their 80,000-plus-seat stadia, and the ratings for the college football playoffs will likely be far greater than those of the World Series. At the same time, the NCAA is being sued (successfully) by former players, several top players are mired in criminal scandals, and the playoff system may remove whatever small chance the Boise States of the world had of competing for a title.

With all of the controversy swirling around college football, it’s easy to forget that it is, at its core, a game built on pageantry school traditions -- not contracts and revenue streams. The Arizona State Sun Devils will have their pageantry on full display Saturday, November 1, when they host their annual homecoming parade. The parade will run down University Drive and will serve as the lead in to ASU football’s game against the hapless Utah State Aggies. Kickoff is at 8 p.m. at Sun Devil Stadium, 500 East Veterans Way in Tempe. Tickets are $25 and up. Visit www.thesundevils.com.

Sat., Nov. 1, 8 p.m., 2014

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