Strange things are happening in the world of college athletics. As I type, there are important people making important decisions. Colorado has already moved to the Pac-10. Nebraska has apparently accepted an invitation to the Big 10 and Boise State joined the Mountain West Conference. This is not all however; rumors and inside reports are swirling that five more teams from the Big 12 will do as Colorado and join the Pac-10. Those five teams are Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and Texas A&M, although A&M is also rumored to be considering joining the SEC. This would give the Pac-10 fifteen or sixteen teams and create what some are calling a “super conference,” and would start a domino effect of teams jumping conferences left and right with the potential to end up with four of these so-called “super conferences.” I have to say, that I don’t think there is anything “super” about a sixteen team conference. I just don’t see how this can turn out to be a good thing. Many have speculated that these over-sized conferences would eventually lead to a college football playoff. This may be true, but it’s still not going to make it any easier to find a true national champion. Let me explain.
This current conference realignment is only rearranging the current haves in college football and still leaving out the have-nots. One of the biggest problems in the current college football postseason is that it only allows about half of the bowl subdivision teams to even half the chance to play for the national championship. It is already very apparent that the so-called “mid-majors” can be just as talented as the traditional college football elite manifested by bowl wins by Boise State over Oklahoma and Utah over Alabama not to mention the other regular season wins by these and other programs. This whole mess is just a power grab. Those that have the power are bent on keeping it, all the while telling fans that it is better and that they are getting what they want…a playoff. This isn’t going to make anything better or even any clearer when it comes time to pick teams for a playoff. With sixteen teams in each conference it is very likely that more than one team or even possible that more than two teams can go undefeated in a conference. And then what? There will be more disputing who is qualified enough to be in this playoff, not to mention the Utahs, Boise States, TCUs and BYUs of the college football world who will continue to win and will continue to beat the traditional powerhouses.
I know it is wishful thinking to expect anything fair, equitable and competitive. All college football is to these universities is a fundraiser. The only difference between now and 20 years ago is that the university presidents aren’t trying to hide it anymore. None of this is done for the “student athletes.” None of this is being done because of the rich tradition and heritage of college football. It’s all about dollars, but this is nothing new. We knew this already. If it’s all about the money, why don’t we just accept radical change and give the fans what they want? And what we want is competitive football and a chance to see who the best team is. We demand football and advertising dollars follow us wherever we go. Now, let’s make college football the way we want it.
Check back for part 2 and you can read my proposal on how to fix college football.
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