Unbearable commutes

On time zones, Crew Resource Management, and emerging signals that college athletic conference expansion might have gone too far

Big Ten football teams -- of which there are now considerably more than ten -- are having a rough time with the sheer expanse of the conference. They are now 3-10 when traveling across at least two time zones away for games.

■ In aviation, it's called crew resource management (CRM): The study of how human factors affect conditions within and among the team flying the airplane. CRM was originally just an innovation within the cockpit, opening up a pathway for junior officers to question their superiors. It has since evolved to include the full crew, which means flight attendants have a say in safety as well.

■ Human factors surely apply outside of aviation, too. It's not just about permitting subordinates to challenge the senior members of a team, it's also about recognizing that not everything can be boiled down to equipment or practice. Sometimes, it's simply a matter of whether the people involved are physically, emotionally, and psychologically up to a task.

■ On paper, a conference stretching from sea to shining sea may look impressive. It certainly has a monster of a reach on TV. But if the student-athletes are so wiped out by marathon travel schedules that away games start to look like give-away games, then maybe it will be time to take a cue from the teams flying the planes.