Faltering Markets Cause NCAA To Alter Travel Policy

The effects of freefalling markets and a stagnant economy have been felt from Wall St. and Main St. to Chapel Drive and, now, it might have moved to Cameron Indoor Stadium. On Thursday, when the Dow dropped 678 points, the NCAA changed some of its travel policies. Specific schools pay for travel for every game but national tournament contests—and for those games, schools will be forced to be more frugal. Under the new stipulations, Division-I programs will be mandated to:

• Drive, not fly, to NCAA competitions within 400 miles, rather than 350 miles
• Travel to airports 150 miles away, rather than 120 miles, to find cheaper airfares

The changes shouldn't be earth-shaking, but it still is notable to see how the seemingly sheltered world of college athletics have been affected like anything else. We'll have more about how the global financial chaos will impact Duke Athletics next week, after we cease production for two days for Fall Break.

—by Ben Cohen