The Rest of College Football

[Jeff Buchanan]

Is the BCS headed to the grave yard?

I think it is. Just a matter of time but this DOJ inquiry just shortened it.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=dw-wetzel_justice_letter_could_signal_big_trouble_bcs_050411&active_dimension=carousel_coke_primary&ysp_frm_woah=1

[WM Wolverine]

Good riddance.

[Hannibal]

I'm so glad that the federal government is going to determine what kind of post season college football has. Just look at what a great job they do with everything else.

[Jamie H]

The government getting rid of the BcS could be the best thing they've ever done. The BcS is the worst "playoff" system in all of US sports by an exponential margin, and may be the stupidest "playoff" system in US sports history. People only accept it because the method it replaced, the idiotic figure skating approach of "let's not even have a playoff, we'll just vote for the national title", was even stupider.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Hanni ..... relax. The DOJ is doing the right thing here. The question for them involves antitrust issues. To be sure, this is being used as a means for the Congress to bang its gong as if they're answering constituent complaints about the BCS. They know they have no business dictating a CFB play-off system but they do have a serious role in breaking up the cartel of the existing bowl system that is ripping everyone off.

[Mackenzie]

It's the infamous, "This is far more than football, though." argument. Yeah, more of the I'm from the government and I'm here to help you. Sorry, but I believe a lot of "what's wrong with college football" is the fault of individual institutions and conference who strike deals with the devil at the expense what individual integrity, ideals, and goals they may have for their students and athletes. Deals are made and contracts are signed, control is delegated elsewhere buried and is too often difficult to wrestle back from the hands of the evil empire be it the NCAA, BCS, etc. A Pac 10, 2.7 billion dollar TV contract..... tell me, whose calling the shots there? JT! Why does the B10 have to wait for anyone or anything to take a stand. If JT has been such a piece of shit for so long, why has he not been drummed out of the B10 years ago. Better yet, why was he allowed to be hired? Hey, the Fiesta Bowl is corrupt. Teams, Conferences should refuse to play there. Let the Fiesta sue the NCAA. I know contracts, commitments, and the beat goes on.

The song says it's not. But it is.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMxX-QOV9tI"]YouTube - Jessie J - Price Tag ft. B.o.B.[/ame]

[JRB]

I don't know that antitrust legislation is going to get anywhere by itself-- I don't know that the U.S. government is willing to take up this effort in court, and I don't know that the Utah case is going to prove much in the way in damages, since Utah participated in two BCS games. But it does add to the pressure building against an unpopular and failing system, and I don't think it will be too much longer before the powers that be give up the defense of the BCS and move on to constructing a playoff of some kind. The Fiesta Bowl fiasco has done more damage to the BCS than an antitrust complaint will, IMO. The Fiesta Bowl's excesses may have irrevocably discredited the bowl system in the eyes of many of the bowl system's staunchest defenders, and in an era in which the NCAA's authority and credibility are being challenged at nearly every turn, the NCAA badly needs to retake control of the sport from the conference commissioners, and it could use the PR victory and revenue boost that a well-designed playoff system could provide. I'm expecting a playoff within the next five or six years.

[Hannibal]

I don't know that antitrust legislation is going to get anywhere by itself-- I don't know that the U.S. government is willing to take up this effort in court, and I don't know that the Utah case is going to prove much in the way in damages, since Utah participated in two BCS games. But it does add to the pressure building against an unpopular and failing system, and I don't think it will be too much longer before the powers that be give up the defense of the BCS and move on to constructing a playoff of some kind. The Fiesta Bowl fiasco has done more damage to the BCS than an antitrust complaint will, IMO. The Fiesta Bowl's excesses may have irrevocably discredited the bowl system in the eyes of many of the bowl system's staunchest defenders, and in an era in which the NCAA's authority and credibility are being challenged at nearly every turn, the NCAA badly needs to retake control of the sport from the conference commissioners, and it could use the PR victory and revenue boost that a well-designed playoff system could provide. I'm expecting a playoff within the next five or six years.

How does the Fiesta Bowl discredit the entire bowl system? If the Fiesta Bowl had been frugal with its money, would the selection process for the BCS championship game suddenly be considered more fair? The Fiesta Bowl is a self-contained problem, and the constituents who should be angry about it are not the non-AQ programs like Ball State and Wyoming who believe that they are being treated "unfairly" by the process.

The government getting involved has nothing to do with improving college football, and everything to do with money grubbing by college football programs who don't actually generate any for the pool. College football's system will be destroyed in the name of redistributive "fairness", not to make the system any more satisfying for the fans. Want to see a great example of what happens when the federal government decides to mandate redistributive "fairness" for college athletics? Title IX.

[Jeff Buchanan]

OK, Hanni ..... who do you want to design, develop and implement a play-off system. The NCAA? A new entity outside the NCAA, the current BCS entity? This isn't a trick question and I'm not sure myself if there is a right answer here but I still think you are over-reacting to the implications of the DOJ letter.

The origin of this effort by justice is a complaint filed by Playoff PAC, a political action committee that wants the sport to adopt playoffs and scrap its system of using polls and computer rankings, with the IRS.

The group alleges in the complaint that the Fiesta, Orange and Sugar Bowls are violating their tax-exempt status by providing excessive compensation to executives, spending undisclosed amounts on lobbying and intervening in political campaigns. The group also said that bowls provided substantial private benefits to organizational insiders.

The purpose of the complaint? To leverage the NCAA. The role of the DOJ in this? To apply US Antitrust law.

So, I don't see how this is an unwarranted intrusion by government into CFB. It seems to me we have a PAC which has the mojo to make a playoff happen by leveraging the NCAA to adopt changes in how the CFB NC is chosen. The NCAA has already unofficially offered that it is up to the member colleges to decide what they want to do, not the NCAA. That does not change the implications of the original complaint so, that issue will likely take a separate course in the courts and will ultimately affect the tax status of the Bowls.

The central question to me remains ..... who is going to design and implement a CFB play-off?

[Hannibal]

OK, Hanni ..... who do you want to design, develop and implement a play-off system. The NCAA? A new entity outside the NCAA, the current BCS entity? This isn't a trick question and I'm not sure myself if there is a right answer here but I still think you are over-reacting to the implications of the DOJ letter.

It's not just the DOJ letter. It's Orrin Hatch, Barack Obama, and at least a dozen or so other politicians who have publicly inserted themselves into this matter.

Want a playoff? Would a playoff system designed by an army of lawyers to placate government regulators be better than what we have now? Keep in mind that an 8-team playoff designed with any level of common sense has no chance of doing this, since it won't include automatic bids for everyone. Do you hate the current system so much that you want any different system without knowing what it's going to be first? Be careful what you wish for, my friend.

[Jeff Buchanan]

It's not just the DOJ letter. It's Orrin Hatch, Barack Obama, and at least a dozen or so other politicians who have publicly inserted themselves into this matter.

I see your point. Taken.

For me, the central question remains: Who runs the show in designing and implementing a play-off? Because of the current lay of the land, I would think, its going to be the NCAA. The big elephant in the room however are the crooks running the BCS/bowls who are getting called out by Playoff-PAC with questions about their tax exempt status.

So far the NCAA's response, if I've got it correct, is pretty wimpy ..... "a CFB playoff not my problem its the college president's problem." Frankly, I'd like them to take a leadership roll but it does not appear they are going to. This leaves the people with money in charge ..... the BCS/Bowls and you are right with your sentiment .... watch out what you wish for.

For me, and as this story unfolds, the design of the play-off is less important than who is going to be designing it and implementing it and that is the first, and critically important, step toward a play-off.

[Jamie H]

College football's system will be destroyed

GOOD! The system sucks beyond all belief. The sooner it is destroyed, the better. I don't really care what the reasoning is--anyone trying to destroy the BCS is a friend of college football.

Want a playoff? Would a playoff system designed by an army of lawyers to placate government regulators be better than what we have now?

Absolutely. By a factor of about 100000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000. ANY playoff would be better than the bullshit we have now. 4 team, 8 team, 12 teams, 16 teams, they would ALL be infinitely better than the idiocy we currently have.

Even if the initial format wasn't perfect, it would be tweaked until it worked.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Jamie .... I don't think there is any question about a play-off being better than the current sytem. Who do you think should be incharge of designing and implementing it?

Although I never thought the bowl crowd that has morphed into the BCS was trustworthy, the Fiesta scandal has taken the lid off a pretty slick money making operation that has gone on for decades. So, I don't trust the BCS to come up with a playoff system; I will guarantee you, however, that this crowd is going to force themselves into the room to either take part or run it all and the risk is that the NCAA will let them.

[Jamie H]

[QUOTE=Jeff Buchanan;534874]Jamie .... I don't think there is any question about a play-off being better than the current sytem. Who do you think should be incharge of designing and implementing it?
[QUOTE]

I think that is obvious--the NCAA should do it. Just like they do it in every other sport they govern.

They already have playoffs in Div 1-AA football so it isn't like they don't have a frame of reference.

I'd say a 16 team format with autobids for the BCS conferences would get the job done and include the top teams from the lesser conferences. I'd prefer an 8-team format, but that would probably not be considered to be more inclusive for the non-power conferences.

[entropy]

Pulling an ent..... :/



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