The entire sport of college football needs to take some Ex-Lax and allow itself some gentle overnight relief...

[YourPittDanceTeam]

This is going to be a long one to read, but I really enjoy college football. Watching it self-destruct right before my very eyes us hard to watch. The NIL nonsense, the involvement of TV networks like ESPN, the new transfer rules, do not help the sport at all. The reality of it is, even a small school like Jackson State can pull in ANY player that they want if they get the right people to donate big money.
This is one man's opinion on how to save the sport...
It is actually hard to believe that these "so-called" institutions of higher learning are led by a bunch of fools. They are so greedy that they don't seem to realize that they are ruining the very sport that they are trying to promote. These same people when it comes to college basketball are geniuses. They have figured out a way to play nice with each other and have made the quest into determining a national champion a month long event (March Madness), that generates tens of millions of dollars to all involved.
When it comes to the sport of college football, a sport that they all would agree generates the majority of each school's athletic budget, they can't seem to see past the end of their nose. The greed and arrogance of the "Power 5 schools" is laughable. Conference's of 15, 20, 25 teams will never work. Do you think that a power hungry, arrogant jagoff's like Nick Saban, Kirby Smart and Briann Kelly will want to play a schedule that involves schools like Florida, LSU, Texas, Oklahoma, Georgia and Texas A&M each year??? Do you think they will be happy with a 8-4 record each year? I can't see that happening. Can you imagine the two teams in a National Championship game having 4+ loses?? It is certainly possible if the "Power 5 schools" continue down the path they are currently on.
What can be done?? One example is this...
The entire sport needs to come together and focus it's attention on what is good for the sport. Create a true playoff format that determines the sports National Champion on the field. A playoff format that involves 16 teams would work well. The first thing that needs to happen is the formation of these huge conferences needs to stop.
Right now, according to ESPN, there are 130 NCAA D-I football programs. These schools, ALL of them, need to be realigned into 13 conferences of 10 teams. The winner of each of these conferences, receives a spot in the playoffs. A committee would determine the other 3 "Wild Card" spots. That same committee determines the seedings for the playoffs, just like they do now in college basketball. I know that some may say that a school from a smaller conference would have no chance against a Power 5 school and history has shown us that is wrong. Remember Appalachian State taking down Michigan a couple of years ago???
For those who say that is to many games for these "kids" to play, I say no way. Right now the 2 teams in the National Championship game will have played 15 games by the end of the game. College football teams can eliminate 1 game form their current schedules. leaving each school with 11 regular season games. Every Power 5 school has a game against a lower level program on their schedule, just cut that game off of each teams schedule.
A 16 team playoff, would mean an additional 4 games for each team that would play in the final game. That would equal the same amount of game that they play now. For those "college football purists", open up the bidding to the bowl game committees and the 15 highest bids get to hold the "Playoff Games" at their locations. The bowl with the highest bid gets to host the National Championship game. Don't you think that this would generate HUGE amounts of money for the sport each year??? All of the money that is generated by a "Winter Wonderland" of college football would be dispersed in a manner similar to the way that the money generated by March Madness is done now.
The aforementioned conferences would each play 9 regular season conferences games and have the ability to schedule 2 games against teams from outside their conference. The formation of these conferences should be done in a commonsense manner involving a teams geographic location. There will no longer be "independent programs" like Notre Dame. They will have to join a league just like everyone else. Who determines which teams join which conference? That is something that an NCAA committee can do.
I know that this is something that will never happen, but can you just imagine the excitement and money that college football would generate each year with something like this? It would be bring in hundreds of millions of dollars each year and that money would be dispersed to each of the 130 D-I schools.
Something like this could save the sport.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

This is going to be a long one to read, but I really enjoy college football. Watching it self-destruct right before my very eyes us hard to watch. The NIL nonsense, the involvement of TV networks like ESPN, the new transfer rules, do not help the sport at all. The reality of it is, even a small school like Jackson State can pull in ANY player that they want if they get the right people to donate big money.
This is one man's opinion on how to save the sport...
It is actually hard to believe that these "so-called" institutions of higher learning are led by a bunch of fools. They are so greedy that they don't seem to realize that they are ruining the very sport that they are trying to promote. These same people when it comes to college basketball are geniuses. They have figured out a way to play nice with each other and have made the quest into determining a national champion a month long event (March Madness), that generates tens of millions of dollars to all involved.
When it comes to the sport of college football, a sport that they all would agree generates the majority of each school's athletic budget, they can't seem to see past the end of their nose. The greed and arrogance of the "Power 5 schools" is laughable. Conference's of 15, 20, 25 teams will never work. Do you think that a power hungry, arrogant jagoff's like Nick Saban, Kirby Smart and Briann Kelly will want to play a schedule that involves schools like Florida, LSU, Texas, Oklahoma, Georgia and Texas A&M each year??? Do you think they will be happy with a 8-4 record each year? I can't see that happening. Can you imagine the two teams in a National Championship game having 4+ loses?? It is certainly possible if the "Power 5 schools" continue down the path they are currently on.
What can be done?? One example is this...
The entire sport needs to come together and focus it's attention on what is good for the sport. Create a true playoff format that determines the sports National Champion on the field. A playoff format that involves 16 teams would work well. The first thing that needs to happen is the formation of these huge conferences needs to stop.
Right now, according to ESPN, there are 130 NCAA D-I football programs. These schools, ALL of them, need to be realigned into 13 conferences of 10 teams. The winner of each of these conferences, receives a spot in the playoffs. A committee would determine the other 3 "Wild Card" spots. That same committee determines the seedings for the playoffs, just like they do now in college basketball. I know that some may say that a school from a smaller conference would have no chance against a Power 5 school and history has shown us that is wrong. Remember Appalachian State taking down Michigan a couple of years ago???
For those who say that is to many games for these "kids" to play, I say no way. Right now the 2 teams in the National Championship game will have played 15 games by the end of the game. College football teams can eliminate 1 game form their current schedules. leaving each school with 11 regular season games. Every Power 5 school has a game against a lower level program on their schedule, just cut that game off of each teams schedule.
A 16 team playoff, would mean an additional 4 games for each team that would play in the final game. That would equal the same amount of game that they play now. For those "college football purists", open up the bidding to the bowl game committees and the 15 highest bids get to hold the "Playoff Games" at their locations. The bowl with the highest bid gets to host the National Championship game. Don't you think that this would generate HUGE amounts of money for the sport each year??? All of the money that is generated by a "Winter Wonderland" of college football would be dispersed in a manner similar to the way that the money generated by March Madness is done now.
The aforementioned conferences would each play 9 regular season conferences games and have the ability to schedule 2 games against teams from outside their conference. The formation of these conferences should be done in a commonsense manner involving a teams geographic location. There will no longer be "independent programs" like Notre Dame. They will have to join a league just like everyone else. Who determines which teams join which conference? That is something that an NCAA committee can do.
I know that this is something that will never happen, but can you just imagine the excitement and money that college football would generate each year with something like this? It would be bring in hundreds of millions of dollars each year and that money would be dispersed to each of the 130 D-I schools.
Something like this could save the sport.

Yes. I think Georgia, Bama, OSU, etc will be happy going 8-4 and then winning the 16 team playoff. Its a new sport. Its a professional league now. You have a Northern Division (Big Ten) and a Southern Division (SEC). Its basically the AFC and NFC model. NFL fans are quite happy winning a Super Bowl after multiple losses. Fans will adjust.

I don't blame the P2 for doing this. I just hope they go all the way and pay the players as employees. If they go with this pro model and continue to call them amateurs as boosters pay thee salaries, that's sleezy as hell

 

[YourPittDanceTeam]

Yes. I think Georgia, Bama, OSU, etc will be happy going 8-4 and then winning the 16 team playoff. Its a new sport. Its a professional league now. You have a Northern Division (Big Ten) and a Southern Division (SEC). Its basically the AFC and NFC model. NFL fans are quite happy winning a Super Bowl after multiple losses. Fans will adjust.

I don't blame the P2 for doing this. I just hope they go all the way and pay the players as employees. If they go with this pro model and continue to call them amateurs as boosters pay thee salaries, that's sleezy as hell

If they don't change this system very soon, the NFL is going to get involved. I mean, why would a top collegiate athlete be in a hurry to go to the NFL. They can get millions of dollars through the NIL nonsense, receive FREE room and board as they get a FREE college education and to top it off, a ton of recognition from those attending that school and they have access to all of the young women at their school.
Why turn professional any earlier then you have to???

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

If they don't change this system very soon, the NFL is going to get involved. I mean, why would a top collegiate athlete be in a hurry to go to the NFL. They can get millions of dollars through the NIL nonsense, receive FREE room and board as they get a FREE college education and to top it off, a ton of recognition from those attending that school and they have access to all of the young women at their school.
Why turn professional any earlier then you have to???

I would guess that the only players who will leave early are the guaranteed 1st Rounders and maybe not even them. And the NFL would be ecstatic. The players will always be there for them. More tape to evaluate.

 

[WVUinColumbus]

This is going to be a long one to read, but I really enjoy college football. Watching it self-destruct right before my very eyes us hard to watch. The NIL nonsense, the involvement of TV networks like ESPN, the new transfer rules, do not help the sport at all. The reality of it is, even a small school like Jackson State can pull in ANY player that they want if they get the right people to donate big money.
This is one man's opinion on how to save the sport...
It is actually hard to believe that these "so-called" institutions of higher learning are led by a bunch of fools. They are so greedy that they don't seem to realize that they are ruining the very sport that they are trying to promote. These same people when it comes to college basketball are geniuses. They have figured out a way to play nice with each other and have made the quest into determining a national champion a month long event (March Madness), that generates tens of millions of dollars to all involved.
When it comes to the sport of college football, a sport that they all would agree generates the majority of each school's athletic budget, they can't seem to see past the end of their nose. The greed and arrogance of the "Power 5 schools" is laughable. Conference's of 15, 20, 25 teams will never work. Do you think that a power hungry, arrogant jagoff's like Nick Saban, Kirby Smart and Briann Kelly will want to play a schedule that involves schools like Florida, LSU, Texas, Oklahoma, Georgia and Texas A&M each year??? Do you think they will be happy with a 8-4 record each year? I can't see that happening. Can you imagine the two teams in a National Championship game having 4+ loses?? It is certainly possible if the "Power 5 schools" continue down the path they are currently on.
What can be done?? One example is this...
The entire sport needs to come together and focus it's attention on what is good for the sport. Create a true playoff format that determines the sports National Champion on the field. A playoff format that involves 16 teams would work well. The first thing that needs to happen is the formation of these huge conferences needs to stop.
Right now, according to ESPN, there are 130 NCAA D-I football programs. These schools, ALL of them, need to be realigned into 13 conferences of 10 teams. The winner of each of these conferences, receives a spot in the playoffs. A committee would determine the other 3 "Wild Card" spots. That same committee determines the seedings for the playoffs, just like they do now in college basketball. I know that some may say that a school from a smaller conference would have no chance against a Power 5 school and history has shown us that is wrong. Remember Appalachian State taking down Michigan a couple of years ago???
For those who say that is to many games for these "kids" to play, I say no way. Right now the 2 teams in the National Championship game will have played 15 games by the end of the game. College football teams can eliminate 1 game form their current schedules. leaving each school with 11 regular season games. Every Power 5 school has a game against a lower level program on their schedule, just cut that game off of each teams schedule.
A 16 team playoff, would mean an additional 4 games for each team that would play in the final game. That would equal the same amount of game that they play now. For those "college football purists", open up the bidding to the bowl game committees and the 15 highest bids get to hold the "Playoff Games" at their locations. The bowl with the highest bid gets to host the National Championship game. Don't you think that this would generate HUGE amounts of money for the sport each year??? All of the money that is generated by a "Winter Wonderland" of college football would be dispersed in a manner similar to the way that the money generated by March Madness is done now.
The aforementioned conferences would each play 9 regular season conferences games and have the ability to schedule 2 games against teams from outside their conference. The formation of these conferences should be done in a commonsense manner involving a teams geographic location. There will no longer be "independent programs" like Notre Dame. They will have to join a league just like everyone else. Who determines which teams join which conference? That is something that an NCAA committee can do.
I know that this is something that will never happen, but can you just imagine the excitement and money that college football would generate each year with something like this? It would be bring in hundreds of millions of dollars each year and that money would be dispersed to each of the 130 D-I schools.
Something like this could save the sport.

Is that you, Jim Phillips?

 

[The Ole Six-Fiver]

I believe the schools themselves don’t care about W-L record of the winners but their NIL-paying boosters do. Bubba isn’t going to be happy to start up and operate a phony company to pay millions to Alabama’s starting 22, just to watch nail biter 28-24 games every week that (gasp)may include some losses. These guys want to win EVERY game and win dominantly. There’s a reason Alabama pauses to play Slippery Rock level opponents in Novembers…I think it is to pander to these boosters who need to see 77-0 games semi regularly. Maybe they’ll adjust to what NFL fans are used to for their champions but we will see. I personally think this kind of thinking is what will ‘save’ programs like Pitt. The impression is that schools like ours will provide continued fodder that won’t be there when the mega conferences can’t have the month of September to play FCS teams as tune up.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

We've gotta quash this notion that fans will care if their teams have a few more losses while playing significantly harder competition. Do people really not give the fans enough credit to know the difference between playing Auburn and Albany? Or to look at the standings and see that everyone else has losses, too.

I'm of the opinion that these FCS/G5 games are a waste of everyone's time. If I only get to watch my team play 12 meaningful games per year, I don't want three of those weeks to be wasted on UMass, New Hampshire, and Western Michigan (hold your comments). Duke, GT, and Syracuse are bad enough. No need to play the Little Sisters of the Poor on top of that.

 

[USN_Panther]

If they don't change this system very soon, the NFL is going to get involved. I mean, why would a top collegiate athlete be in a hurry to go to the NFL. They can get millions of dollars through the NIL nonsense, receive FREE room and board as they get a FREE college education and to top it off, a ton of recognition from those attending that school and they have access to all of the young women at their school.
Why turn professional any earlier then you have to???

The NFL could crash all of this by just deciding to play on Saturdays in addition to Sundays.

 

[anon_d97v9o3a8b6xr]

The NFL could crash all of this by just deciding to play on Saturdays in addition to Sundays.

Take the Thursday Saturday Sunday Monday slots. Nothing says college football like a rivalry on Tuesday afternoon.

 

[USN_Panther]

Take the Thursday Saturday Sunday Monday slots. Nothing says college football like a rivalry on Tuesday afternoon.

Notre Dame vs Michigan on the Pigeon channel or whatever the NBC sub-network I will never watch is called.

 

[The Ole Six-Fiver]

The NFL will have nothing to do with this, pro or con. They should care more than they will, though. The current system (while actually still pretty restrictive) allows for more teams in the overall mix, which means some true diamonds emerge at lower P5 and the G5 programs. If it becomes little more than 40 programs in two mega conferences, a lot of the G5 and even some current lower P5 programs are apt to drop the sport eventually (without the current largess that Pitt gets from playing in the ACC, football becomes a financial albatross for us). Guys who might have been exposed as great players at places like Wake, Pitt, Memphis etc will instead sit deep in the depth chart on a B1G or SEC school, never known to NFL scouts at all.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

We've gotta quash this notion that fans will care if their teams have a few more losses while playing significantly harder competition. Do people really not give the fans enough credit to know the difference between playing Auburn and Albany? Or to look at the standings and see that everyone else has losses, too.

I'm of the opinion that these FCS/G5 games are a waste of everyone's time. If I only get to watch my team play 12 meaningful games per year, I don't want three of those weeks to be wasted on UMass, New Hampshire, and Western Michigan (hold your comments). Duke, GT, and Syracuse are bad enough. No need to play the Little Sisters of the Poor on top of that.

Yep, the notion fans will turn away because their team loses a couple extra games but still is in line for a playoff bid is insane. I think it makes the fans more interested since they may play 12 real games as opposed to 9. They show up, but I doubt Bama fans are pumped to play Troy

 

[Chem95]

Yep, the notion fans will turn away because their team loses a couple extra games but still is in line for a playoff bid is insane. I think it makes the fans more interested since they may play 12 real games as opposed to 9. They show up, but I doubt Bama fans are pumped to play Troy

I really don't understand the rationale behind this idea. No, Bama fans won't turn away. But will the other 90% on the country tune in to watch a game involving a couple of 8-4 teams play a game in which they have no rooting interest? If that game kicks off after 9PM on a weeknight in January? I dunno...but I'm certainly on the skeptical side...

 

[pittdan77]

We've gotta quash this notion that fans will care if their teams have a few more losses while playing significantly harder competition. Do people really not give the fans enough credit to know the difference between playing Auburn and Albany? Or to look at the standings and see that everyone else has losses, too.

Tell that to the people who like to crap all over the 7-7 Pitt team that won the Coastal, got a crappy bowl, and still get counted as a bad season by people in this fan base who love averages. Syracuse played nobody and got ranked that year. People already have a league full of parody they can flip on and watch. College football fans just aren't wired that way.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

Yep, the notion fans will turn away because their team loses a couple extra games but still is in line for a playoff bid is insane. I think it makes the fans more interested since they may play 12 real games as opposed to 9. They show up, but I doubt Bama fans are pumped to play Troy

Didn't Saban complain about the fans leaving early in one of those squash matches a few years back? Even they don't want to see that.

Nothing feels more like obligatory duty than showing up to watch Pitt play an FCS school. If it's the first game of the year, it's at least kind of cool in a Spring Game 2.0 way, just because you can see some new faces getting playing time, etc. But Rhode Island this year, after we've already played 2.5 real games? That's going to absolutely suck.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

I really don't understand the rationale behind this idea. No, Bama fans won't turn away. But will the other 90% on the country tune in to watch a game involving a couple of 8-4 teams play a game in which they have no rooting interest? If that game kicks off after 9PM on a weeknight in January? I dunno...but I'm certainly on the skeptical side...

No. But only the south and midwest watch Bama play UGa or Clemson on a Monday in January now so it'll be the same way.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

Tell that to the people who like to crap all over the 7-7 Pitt team that won the Coastal, got a crappy bowl, and still get counted as a bad season by people in this fan base who love averages. Syracuse played nobody and got ranked that year. People already have a league full of parody they can flip on and watch. College football fans just aren't wired that way.

Bud, why don't you sit this one out? You are incapable of looking at this through a new lens. It will be like the NFL: You know, the most popular league on Earth. But you keep looking at it through the scope of how current college football is structured. It's like a blind spot you can just can't circumvent or something.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

I really don't understand the rationale behind this idea. No, Bama fans won't turn away. But will the other 90% on the country tune in to watch a game involving a couple of 8-4 teams play a game in which they have no rooting interest? If that game kicks off after 9PM on a weeknight in January? I dunno...but I'm certainly on the skeptical side...

An 8-4 team in contention for a playoff spot to win a national championship is infinitely more appealing than a 10-2 team that has been out of that discussion since week 3. It's not even a question. It's literally how the most popular league on Earth operates, as well as every other pro sport ion this country. Only college football has made these records into a beauty pageant.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Didn't Saban complain about the fans leaving early in one of those squash matches a few years back? Even they don't want to see that.

Nothing feels more like obligatory duty than showing up to watch Pitt play an FCS school. If it's the first game of the year, it's at least kind of cool in a Spring Game 2.0 way, just because you can see some new faces getting playing time, etc. But Rhode Island this year, after we've already played 2.5 real games? That's going to absolutely suck.

I've said the same thing about scheduling FCS games "in-season." I get they had no choice this year but when you have a scrimmage like that in-season as opposed to Game 1, the crowd and excitement level are nill. The crowd, especially the student crowd for the Labor Day weekend FCS scrimmage is usually very good despite it always being 90 degrees for some reason. I'm legitimately excited about it too. Its Game 1, a chance to see the new team. But put that as Game 4 and I'll still go but its basically just because I feel obligated to

 

[Chem95]

The NFL will have nothing to do with this, pro or con. They should care more than they will, though. The current system (while actually still pretty restrictive) allows for more teams in the overall mix, which means some true diamonds emerge at lower P5 and the G5 programs. If it becomes little more than 40 programs in two mega conferences, a lot of the G5 and even some current lower P5 programs are apt to drop the sport eventually (without the current largess that Pitt gets from playing in the ACC, football becomes a financial albatross for us). Guys who might have been exposed as great players at places like Wake, Pitt, Memphis etc will instead sit deep in the depth chart on a B1G or SEC school, never known to NFL scouts at all.

While agree that the NFL will have nothing to do with this, IMO, they might have to deal with some of the unintended consequences of it. The Big 10 is going to top a billion dollars in media rights? Average Joe QB Sean Clifford says his group really isn't a union? Yeah, well, not yet it ain't. How long before the Big 10 players want a piece of that billion dollar pie. Is Kevin Warren going to crack heads? And while many laugh at Cali governor Newsome saying that UCLA didn't tell him about the Big move, everybody forgets how NIL really came along. The Cali legislature (arguably the most liberal state in the union) passed the law that the rest of the country/states followed. How long until they recognize the rights of 'student/athletes' the right to organize and tap into the Big10s billion dollars? Then the NFL's minor league goes to hell in a handbasket.

 

[pittdan77]

Bud, why don't you sit this one out? You are incapable of looking at this through a new lens. It will be like the NFL: You know, the most popular league on Earth. But you keep looking at it through the scope of how current college football is structured. It's like a blind spot you can just can't circumvent or something.

Everything that is happening in college football betrays the fundamental premise that its fans are going to suddenly be cool with losing four or five games every year but sure, I'm the one that needs to sit down and shut up.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

While agree that the NFL will have nothing to do with this, IMO, they might have to deal with some of the unintended consequences of it. The Big 10 is going to top a billion dollars in media rights? Average Joe QB Sean Clifford says his group really isn't a union? Yeah, well, not yet it ain't. How long before the Big 10 players want a piece of that billion dollar pie. Is Kevin Warren going to crack heads? And while many laugh at Cali governor Newsome saying that UCLA didn't tell him about the Big move, everybody forgets how NIL really came along. The Cali legislature (arguably the most liberal state in the union) passed the law that the rest of the country/states followed. How long until they recognize the rights of 'student/athletes' the right to organize and tap into the Big10s billion dollars? Then the NFL's minor league goes to hell in a handbasket.

Eventually there will be real contacts and unions and the pro college league will still make money. They will cut back on coaching salaries, which are higher than the NFL.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

Everything that is happening in college football betrays the fundamental premise that its fans are going to suddenly be cool with losing four or five games every year but sure, I'm the one that needs to sit down and shut up.

Yeah, giving more teams access to the playoffs and creating more appealing weekly matchups for everyone is going to kill the sport. We want Georgia vs New Mexico State! We demand prettier records and only 5 teams with a realistic shot at the playoff by week 10!

 

[Chem95]

An 8-4 team in contention for a playoff spot to win a national championship is infinitely more appealing than a 10-2 team that has been out of that discussion since week 3. It's not even a question. It's literally how the most popular league on Earth operates, as well as every other pro sport ion this country. Only college football has made these records into a beauty pageant.

Yes, I know that's the how the NFL operates. The thing is..look at the ratings jump from the regular season to the post-season NFL last year. People from the northeast US tuned in to watch the Tampa-Rams game.

Look at the ratings of the SEC title game and compare them to the same game played for the national title. About 5-8 million more. I see that trend continuing.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

Yes, I know that's the how the NFL operates. The thing is..look at the ratings jump from the regular season to the post-season NFL last year. People from the northeast US tuned in to watch the Tampa-Rams game.

Look at the ratings of the SEC title game and compare them to the same game played for the national title. About 5-8 million more. I see that trend continuing.

So the postseason will be even larger in this case, and the ratings will be high for even more games. I'm not seeing the issue.

There were so many weeks this past season where they didn't even have a good game to air in the prime time slot. Freaking Indiana played in it multiple times. Once they break away and have these power conferences only playing each other, ratings will soar as they do in the NFL.

I saw something that basically said these networks are still only paying about 1/10th for the college product as what they pay for NFL games. There is a ton of room for growth, and these new business-minded commissioners know that.

 

[9nationalchampionships]

There clearly is no major strategy and schools are making decisions with only their school in mind and the immediate gratification. This further separates colleges from college sports even more and must infuriate the administration and alumni who are in pursuit of higher education.

 

[The Ole Six-Fiver]

There clearly is no major strategy and schools are making decisions with only their school in mind and the immediate gratification. This further separates colleges from college sports even more and must infuriate the administration and alumni who are in pursuit of higher education.

Many school admins in the lower P5 are likely similar to Pitt, that have philosophical disdain for football and basketball but hold their nose and deal with them because the revenue plays for the money pit Olympic and women’s sports. I don’t know if these schools like ours truly comprehend how this trend to contract major college football threatens those sports. I’m not sure what a lot of them can do. I think schools in states where all or most stand to be frozen out (which currently includes Virginia, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina and Arizona, as well as many schools in Texas and California) need to be in front of this in a political sense and get on the case of their senators and reps on this issue. For many of them, MeToo is about to become MeScrewed.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Yes, I know that's the how the NFL operates. The thing is..look at the ratings jump from the regular season to the post-season NFL last year. People from the northeast US tuned in to watch the Tampa-Rams game.

Look at the ratings of the SEC title game and compare them to the same game played for the national title. About 5-8 million more. I see that trend continuing.

Only 4.7 million more people watched the UGa/Bama rematch. This is despite Monday night being the best night for TV (most people home at 8PM). Mid-day Saturday is one of the worst TV slots (for the casual viewer) especially during Christmas season. The fact the rematch only got 4.7 million viewers is pretty bad. Basically only the southeast and a few other people watched it.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

Many school admins in the lower P5 are likely similar to Pitt, that have philosophical disdain for football and basketball but hold their nose and deal with them because the revenue plays for the money pit Olympic and women’s sports. I don’t know if these schools like ours truly comprehend how this trend to contract major college football threatens those sports. I’m not sure what a lot of them can do. I think schools in states where all or most stand to be frozen out (which currently includes Virginia, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina and Arizona, as well as many schools in Texas and California) need to be in front of this in a political sense and get on the case of their senators and reps on this issue. For many of them, MeToo is about to become MeScrewed.

If it was up to Pitt admin, our "i" would be dotted with a volleyball and our football team would be a trailblazing group of League-of-Their-Own ladies who overcame the odds to take down the patriarch by playing flag football at Highmark Stadium in front of 82 ebullient blue-haired fans who make a stink on social media about the $3 cover fee to get in.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

You know, I agree with all of this. But I am tired of talking about it. It is like watching our current congress and just know they are imploding our country and it is obvious that they don't care. That is what this just like.

College Presidents might as well be politicians. And there is nothing more blinding to them than having money to spend. Think about it, Oklahoma had whether it is a 4 team, 8 team or 12 team, pretty much a shot, to (with expanded playoffs) almost an 8 out of 10 year guarantee to participate in the playoffs. Now? They will be lucky to play in the SEC Champ game 1 out of every 4-5 years.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

Last year week 17 NFL regular season game between the Steelers/Ravens drew as many viewers as the Rose Bowl and Alabama/Cincy playoff game.

The NYD six bowls averaged 12.7 million viewers. The lowest rated NFL playoff game drew 23 million viewers.

The College Football Playoffs averaged 16.9 million viewers. There wasn't an NFL Divisional round playoff game under 30 million. The Conference Championships drew 50 and 48 million, respectively.

If college football continues to concentrate its footprint, it will alienate larger swaths of fans. If they start paying guys money that will stop them from going to the NFL, I can see the NFL getting rid of its gentleman's agreement and start playing some games on Saturdays during the season. They already have usurped Thursday night which used to be like College football's Monday Night.

 

[The Ole Six-Fiver]

You know, I agree with all of this. But I am tired of talking about it. It is like watching our current congress and just know they are imploding our country and it is obvious that they don't care. That is what this just like.

College Presidents might as well be politicians. And there is nothing more blinding to them than having money to spend. Think about it, Oklahoma had whether it is a 4 team, 8 team or 12 team, pretty much a shot, to (with expanded playoffs) almost an 8 out of 10 year guarantee to participate in the playoffs. Now? They will be lucky to play in the SEC Champ game 1 out of every 4-5 years.

Yeah, a lot of these schools (or their boosters more accurately) hoping and campaigning for all this should be wary of how things went for Texas A&M or Nebraska. Faces in the crowd for the most part.

 

[Burgh15]

I've seen projections for conferences that include all 130 teams. Most of them stink, particularly the one Pitt would be in. There just aren't 130 teams in college football that can compete at the same level. A P5/G5 split with different playoffs for each would make more sense in terms of competitive balance, particularly with a 16-team playoff. If you have 16 of 65 teams making a playoff, that's a 25% chance of making the postseason each year. There is still an importance of earning a top seed in the regular season for the top teams and all of a sudden you have an additional 20 teams or so each year with the excitement of battling for a playoff spot.

I agree eventually players will get paid with some sort of contracts. What I don't want to see is unlimited transfers. College basketball is a mess with the transfer rule and while it isn't as bad in football, I think you will see a lot of farm teams if it becomes a free-for-all. Then again, once the contracts start happening transfers will be limited because of a CBA.

 

[YourPittDanceTeam]

Yeah, giving more teams access to the playoffs and creating more appealing weekly matchups for everyone is going to kill the sport. We want Georgia vs New Mexico State! We demand prettier records and only 5 teams with a realistic shot at the playoff by week 10!

If Georgia and New Mexico State were to win their conferences and were to meet in a playoff game, more people WOULD watch then what you think. Upsets happen all the time in sports, that is part of the beauty of a playoff format like the one I suggested in my original post. Just look at what "March Madness" has done for a school like Gonzaga University. It went from being a nobody (like the New Mexico State team you spoke of in your example) to a national powerhouse that every Power 5 basketball program would hesitate to have on their schedule.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

If Georgia and New Mexico State were to win their conferences and were to meet in a playoff game, more people WOULD watch then what you think. Upsets happen all the time in sports, that is part of the beauty of a playoff format like the one I suggested in my original post. Just look at what "March Madness" has done for a school like Gonzaga University. It went from being a nobody (like the New Mexico State team you spoke of in your example) to a national powerhouse that every Power 5 basketball program would hesitate to have on their schedule.

Football is such a different animal. Especially in a December playoff game (i.e. no breaking in a new quarterback, playing in an emotionless trap game. etc.).

 

[pittdan77]

Yeah, giving more teams access to the playoffs and creating more appealing weekly matchups for everyone is going to kill the sport. We want Georgia vs New Mexico State! We demand prettier records and only 5 teams with a realistic shot at the playoff by week 10!

Those two sentences don't make sense together. Most people panic and talk in circles much further down the thread.

 

[Burgh15]

If Georgia and New Mexico State were to win their conferences and were to meet in a playoff game, more people WOULD watch then what you think. Upsets happen all the time in sports, that is part of the beauty of a playoff format like the one I suggested in my original post. Just look at what "March Madness" has done for a school like Gonzaga University. It went from being a nobody (like the New Mexico State team you spoke of in your example) to a national powerhouse that every Power 5 basketball program would hesitate to have on their schedule.

People would watch because it's the playoffs, but it'd be one of the lowest rated games on the schedule and no one is going out of their way to watch it. There is a reason mid and low level college programs in the P5 schedule teams like New Mexico State for Homecoming.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

Those two sentences don't make sense together. Most people panic and talk in circles much further down the thread.

Here it is for you on a tee with no sarcasm:

1) More people will watch good matchups between quality (both currently and historically) programs than the amount of people that will watch teams trounce some jobber FCS school.

2) More fans will be interested in a league that, in addition to providing better weekly matchups, gives more teams a path to qualifying for a national championship playoff. Currently, a team that starts even 4-2 is cooked. Under a different format - with automatic qualifying parameters, as opposed to it being a beauty contest - those teams would remain very much in contention.

3) Because of reasons 1 and 2, fans won't care if the records are more muddied up. They will be watching better weekly football, and more teams will still matter much deeper into the season.

The fact that you can't see this is somewhat astounding, actually. Your example of a 7-7 Pitt team couldn't be any less relevant to any of this. If anything, it counter-proves your stance, because you stated that fans thought it was a bad season because they played in a bad bowl game. But that 7-5 team may have qualified for a playoff if the circumstances were right and auto bids were available, in which case even more fans would have labeled the season as a success, as many will adopt the mantra, "Just get in." Winning your division will mean a hell of a lot more when it gives you a chance to play for a national championship, as opposed to playing a meaningless game in El Paso, TX.

 

[YourPittDanceTeam]

I've seen projections for conferences that include all 130 teams. Most of them stink, particularly the one Pitt would be in. There just aren't 130 teams in college football that can compete at the same level. A P5/G5 split with different playoffs for each would make more sense in terms of competitive balance, particularly with a 16-team playoff. If you have 16 of 65 teams making a playoff, that's a 25% chance of making the postseason each year. There is still an importance of earning a top seed in the regular season for the top teams and all of a sudden you have an additional 20 teams or so each year with the excitement of battling for a playoff spot.

I agree eventually players will get paid with some sort of contracts. What I don't want to see is unlimited transfers. College basketball is a mess with the transfer rule and while it isn't as bad in football, I think you will see a lot of farm teams if it becomes a free-for-all. Then again, once the contracts start happening transfers will be limited because of a CBA.

Burgh15...Based upon the system that is currently being used in college football, most of them would stink initially. Just like anything else, the more we would be exposed to something new, the more appealing it will become. Using smaller conferences based upon geographic locations will create rivalries that and generate more money and ultimately that is what college sports is all about.
The sport must change to survive. Realistically, most schools (and I do include Pitt when I say this) have little chance each year to claim a spot in the current national playoff set-up. Obviously schools like Alabama, Ohio State, Georgia, etc..., have no interest in changing anything. They are the perennial powers in the sport and are basically given 3 of those 4 spots every year, that is unfair to the other 126 D-I schools. Without change, fan interest will drop, TV will decrease and s lot of schools will drop their football programs.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

You guys want to know my whole biggest bitch in this whole new arena aside from just blowing up and pissing on everything college football was supposed to be about (traditional regional rivalries?)

It is the passengers who may get a golden ticket. Ole Miss. Mississippi State. I mean if this all plays out, you really think college football would want not just 1, but 2 teams from Mississippi? Indiana, Purdue. 2 from Indiana? Northwestern? They'll never compete anymore at this level. Vandy, see Northwestern. Rutgers? Rutgers is a 3 time loser. Sucked as an Independent, sucked in the Big East and sucks in the Big 10. They deserve a seat at the table over say 30 other schools? Really?

That is the real BS.