Conference Call 7-12-22

 Welcome Back!

I've debated whether to stop writing my previews and address the big news of USC and UCLA joining the Big Ten. It's already been parsed ad nauseum by all of the sports shows and websites, and I've struggled to put my thoughts into a coherent enough format to make sense. But I'm going to try.

If you have read my blogs for any length of time, you know that I've been an advocate for expanding the CFB Playoff to include more teams. I won't go into the reasons here, but suffice it to say I feel it would be more fair and allow more teams access to make the championship game. I know many disagree, and that's ok, because that's always been one of the best parts of college football- the arguments! You also know that I'm in favor of student athletes receiving their NIL rights (though not necessarily getting paid directly from schools or boosters). If a school sells a jersey with Spencer Rattler's name and number, he should get a cut, and he should also be able to make an album or write a book, or do whatever else he wants to do to make money while he's in college, assuming he can find the time.

I've mostly tolerated realignment, lamenting the loss of some conferences (SWC, WAC, Big East, for example), but liking the excitement of conference championship games. 

Up until this latest expansion, with USC and UCLA joining the Big Ten, conferences have mostly stayed regional. Now, I know there are some of you saying "What about West Virginia? Syracuse? Rutgers and Maryland?" And I get that, but hear me out. While the ACC stretches from South Florida to New York, it is still confined to the East Coast, and is truly an Atlantic Coast Conference, as all teams are in states that border the Atlantic Ocean. West Virginia being in the Big 12 was always a weird fit, as they are a time zone removed, but other conferences stretch across more than one time zone (the SEC for example).

By adding USC and UCLA, the Big Ten becomes the 1st conference to stretch from the East Coast to the West Coast. Other conferences may soon follow suit, as the Big 12 may raid the PAC 12, unless the PAC 12 can stay together by raiding the MWC first. That's assuming the Big Ten and/or the SEC don't raid more conferences!

What all this is leading to, I'm afraid, is not conference expansion, but conference consolidation. I believe we will have 2 "super" conferences, the SEC and the Big Ten, who will break away from the NCAA structure (football only- remember, the NCAA does not control the top level of football!) and set up their own division of play. They may then break these super conferences into smaller conferences, or divisions, like the NFL, and they will then have an NFL-like structure in their scheduling, playoffs, and funding. In other words, I believe we are headed into a mini-NFL with the highest level of teams, maybe 48-60 teams, and the remaining 71+ FBS teams will be left behind to perhaps fall back under the NCAA structure with their own set of playoffs, like the FCS and lower divisions do. 

This will probably be the death of the bowl system as we have known it, and will be the death of the regional college football system that so many of us have grown to know and love.

I truly hope and pray that I am completely wrong on this. While I have advocated for increasing the size of the playoff, I was hoping for more inclusion, not less. My original plan was for a 16 team playoff that included the 10 conference winners plus 6 at-large, thereby giving EVERY team a chance to make it. I was impressed with the 12-team playoff idea that was proposed, and supported that. But I cannot support where we are headed (assuming I'm right).

I'm usually a positive guy, and I know I come off pretty negative here. While I love the playoff, I do lament the days where teams and fans didn't have this "Championship or bust" attitude. Believe it or not, there was a time when fans were happy with their team going 7-4, 8-3, or 9-2, as long as they made a bowl game and beat their rival(s). They knew that winning the National Championship was pretty much a crapshoot, as the National Champion was crowned by the AP and/or UPI polls (or one of the others). It was a lot of fun arguing which 11-0 team was better than the other(s), as sometimes we had multiple undefeated teams in a season. 

Those days are long gone...

Until next time, may you and your loved ones be blessed!