I think that the top 32 or so teams think they will be king of the hill. Not sure I agree. One thing they forget is that they are viewed as the best teams because they beat up on other "weaker schools". What happens when they start playing each other all the time? Eventually there will be a certain number of schools that will fall behind and consistently be the lap dogs of the conference and it may not be who you might expect. A change in coaches, administrations, etc., all make staying at the top of the heap more risky especially if you have no gimme games in your conference. Just to pick a few...how about FSU and Miami from our conference or Tennessee from the SEC or USC from the Pac12...all schools that won the national championship not that long ago. Its bad enough now...do you think their fans are going to keep supporting a team that winds up going 0-12 or 1-11 each year?. And it might not be those schools. It wasn't that long ago that Alabama and Georgia and LSU and Clemson weren't' what they are today...look at Nebraska or even Michigan. The only thing constant is change!
The other point I want to make is that I think these super conferences will be the downfall of the sport. Why? Because with the money differences that are inevitable between the top 32 and the rest of us I suspect that 9 or 10 of the 12 playoff teams will come from either the SEC or the BIG 10....maybe more. Once it sinks in that teams like PItt will not ever have a chance to play for the national championship support will dwindle even if there is a second tier conference championship to play for. Look what happened to the NIT when the NCAA tournament became the big dog. At one time the NIT was the Preeminent tourney...does it even still exist? Does anyone care? At least now we can fool ourselves into delusional thinking that maybe, just maybe...we will relive 1976.
As far as athletes are concerned, if you want to watch the best, tune in on Sundays to the NFL. For probably at least 50% or more of college football fans support it because of the name on the front of the jerseys...its their team. Most of us would not pay to see the individual player other than they represent our school. If you think I'm kidding, take the existing Pitt team....take the PItt off their jerseys and make them the minor league Pittsburgh Maulers who play on Saturdays. How many fans would even care who Kenny Pickett is if he was the face of the Maulers?
Expansion phase one was a mess...Expansion phase two might be the death of the sport for many people and I believe eventually revenues will go down as many, many people who are not somehow linked to one of the 32 will find other things to do on Saturdays.
The other point I want to make is that I think these super conferences will be the downfall of the sport. Why? Because with the money differences that are inevitable between the top 32 and the rest of us I suspect that 9 or 10 of the 12 playoff teams will come from either the SEC or the BIG 10....maybe more. Once it sinks in that teams like PItt will not ever have a chance to play for the national championship support will dwindle even if there is a second tier conference championship to play for. Look what happened to the NIT when the NCAA tournament became the big dog. At one time the NIT was the Preeminent tourney...does it even still exist? Does anyone care? At least now we can fool ourselves into delusional thinking that maybe, just maybe...we will relive 1976.
As far as athletes are concerned, if you want to watch the best, tune in on Sundays to the NFL. For probably at least 50% or more of college football fans support it because of the name on the front of the jerseys...its their team. Most of us would not pay to see the individual player other than they represent our school. If you think I'm kidding, take the existing Pitt team....take the PItt off their jerseys and make them the minor league Pittsburgh Maulers who play on Saturdays. How many fans would even care who Kenny Pickett is if he was the face of the Maulers?
Expansion phase one was a mess...Expansion phase two might be the death of the sport for many people and I believe eventually revenues will go down as many, many people who are not somehow linked to one of the 32 will find other things to do on Saturdays.
