You may have missed this last week, but on Friday the NCAA finally alerted the public that they are going to begin taking part in the NFL's version of the "Rooney Rule." That means that every NCAA I-A school will have to interview at least one minority candidate before they make a head coaching hire.

A written policy stipulating that any Division I-A football program with a head coaching vacancy will interview at least one minority candidate was sent just more than three weeks ago to athletic directors at the 120 schools. The two-page document details what it calls "acceptable standards" regarding diversity in interviewing and hiring practices, and was distributed by the Division I-A Athletic Directors' Association.

What's strange to me is that it's taken until 2008 to actually do this. It would seem like this should have been done decades ago. Currently there are only 8 minority candidates in total that are head coaches in Division I-A.

Now this sounds good, but in reality, it doesn't do much at all. The policy does not include a mechanism for punishing a school that does not comply with the requirement.

Uh, so how is this going to change anything?

While the NFL is notorious for continuously rehiring retreads, college football is famous for its good 'ol boy networking. And if you're not going to threaten that, it doesn't seem likely that many of these schools will change their hiring methods. The key idea behind the Rooney Rule is to bring in minority candidates that will have the ability to prove they can do the job. And even if they aren't hired, word of their interviews can make them attractive candidates for other jobs.

Since the NFL is comprised of only 32 teams, they're more able to closely monitor the hiring process of each team. But with 120 teams, and no punishments for not following what is basically a suggestion, I can't see there being much change in college football.

I'm still of the belief that Notre Dame should have been flamed to high heaven for their decision to fire Ty Willingham. Willingham became the first first-year coach in the school's history to win 10 games. He was rewarded with nothing. Charlie Weis, meanwhile, went 9-3 his first season. And half-way through it, he was given a 10-year deal in the vicinity of $30 to $40 million.

Of course, Weis had a terrible 2007, and people were up in arms about Notre Dame's horrific record, but there's never been any doubt that Weis would stay.

I can only imagine what would have happened had that 2007 season happened under Willingham's tenure. He would have been run out of town.

Probably even more discouraging is that once Willingham left Notre Dame, he had to take a job with a horrible Washington Huskies team.

Now the obvious question here is pretty straightforward: Is this the result of racism? I'm not sure it's necessarily racism so much as it is the inability of minority candidates to make themselves known to a wider audience that might really like them to be their coach. After all, if you never interview the best man for the job, then you'll never get the best man for the job.

But while some people might applaud this move by the NCAA, I won't. It's just a suggestion that I guarantee you most schools will totally ignore. In today's day and age, minority candidates deserve better from the NCAA.