College football’s biggest threat is the continued regionalization of success and interest in the sport

[Tom McKrackin]

I’m not going to get too into weeds into why this is happening or what can be done. That’s an equally long post and one I’m not the best person to write it. But what I do think is important to think about is that for many years, a lot of us tried to ignore this as a short-term trend. The BCS was too small. Nick Saban is too good. ESPN has an SEC bias. Nebraska, Michigan, USC, and Notre Dame are just one hire away from being right back there.

Sure. There are portions of truth to all of those things. But how much of that is scapegoating the reality of a very real trend of regionalization of college football? How long does a perceived short-term new normal become the permanent new reality? When only a portion of the country enjoys the highs of a sport, it shrinks the audience elsewhere because it reaffirms the idea of a lower level of realistic achievement for your rooting interest. As elite coaches and top-tier recruits migrate towards the South the regional imbalance grows as does the level of interest in the sport.

LINK:https://awfulannouncing.com/ncaa/college-footballs-biggest-threat-is-the-continued-regionalization-of-success-and-interest-in-the-sport.html

[edcollopy]

The tough part of the Southeast being number 1 in football is that they are mostly very small media centers. The tv sets in the midwest, NE, and west coast are tuning out in large numbers. The lack of balance in college football is going to continue to drive viewers away. The portal and NIL are turning alot of people off of the sport just like the 1 and done turned people away from college basketball.  All of these things were designed to help the student athlete financially, but it's hurt many academically and viewership will continue to decline for football and basketball.

[southsideguy]

I love college sports but had no interest in watching the championship game.

[UNTLifer]

I watched it and loved it, but I don't like the current set-up nor what the NIL is going to do to the game.

[Wag Tag]

Isn’t this true with all sports? To many other options. Best they can do is expand the format.

[untjim1995]

Both college football and college basketball have been ruined, for different reasons, but they both can still be enjoyed, just not like they ever were before.

College football has been ruined as we know it because of the NIL, transferring immediately now,  Power Conferences creating a monopoly with no Cinderella possibility, and accepting 6-6 as bowl worthy by creating way too many bowl games, of which many nfl-to-be players skip out on. Watered down the entire meaning of a championship or strong season.

College hoops got ruined by the NBA accepting players out of high school, but then changing to allow one-and-dones. We hardly know anyone on teams from year-to-year, now the mid-majors lose their talent to power teams, and the best kids leave ASAP. And now, the G league and international leagues are getting kids directly out of high school. 

Money rules the day. It just happened to ruin my two favorite sports.

[greenminer]

The SEC wants all the resources and titles, the media wants all the viewership.

The SEC is fine with current state of CFP, but I think the media is gonna have to consider expansion/change.

My guess is the media has the leverage and will get what it wants.

[NTSU52]

If it had been Cincinnati vs. Michigan or even Cinci vs. Georgia the viewership would have been up. People are just tired of the SEC domination and seeing the same few teams in the playoff every year.

[meangreenfaninno]

17 minutes ago, NTSU52 said:

If it had been Cincinnati vs. Michigan or even Cinci vs. Georgia the viewership would have been up. People are just tired of the SEC domination and seeing the same few teams in the playoff every year.

I personally had no interest in the game this year.  I am sure many others felt the same.

[El Paso Eagle]

19 hours ago, Wag Tag said:

Isn’t this true with all sports? To many other options. Best they can do is expand the format.

Not so sure about the options. Think more and more people are getting tired of the professionalism of college sports

[TIgreen01]

21 minutes ago, NTSU52 said:

If it had been Cincinnati vs. Michigan or even Cinci vs. Georgia the viewership would have been up. People are just tired of the SEC domination and seeing the same few teams in the playoff every year.

This.  I see some arguments against playoff expansion that reason more teams in the field means the possibility of an all SEC final four increases, as well.  Based on the current 12 team proposals out there that add more guaranteed spots for P5 and then more at-large spots, it is likely to mean at least 3 sec teams make that playoff every year.  In theory, they could all win and we still end up with an all sec final.  The argument is meant to sway opinion against expanding.  I’d be absolutely ok with that scenario, though if it meant more access opportunities for other conferences and schools- especially G5 schools.  Saban and the P5 schools can yell until they are blue in the face that we don’t belong.  If they really believed that then they would have no problem lining up, filling a stadium and getting an extra win added to their schedule every year in the first rounds of a playoff.  I call BS.

[greenminer]

2 hours ago, El Paso Eagle said:

Not so sure about the options. Think more and more people are getting tired of the professionalism of college sports

I'm not convinced.  

I know it feels good (noble?) to talk about the sanctity and amateurism that used to be college sports, but deep down I think the casual fan just wants to see the team wearing their uniforms beat the team that's not wearing their uniforms, regardless of the money behind tossed around off the field.  I'm more inclined to to think the drop in viewership is mostly driven by people knowing their team is not in the picture, and not even being considered for the playoffs.

Edited January 14, 2022 by greenminer

[NorthTexasWeLove]

5 hours ago, greenminer said:

I'm not convinced.  

I know it feels good (noble?) to talk about the sanctity and amateurism that used to be college sports, but deep down I think the casual fan just wants to see the team wearing their uniforms beat the team that's not wearing their uniforms, regardless of the money behind tossed around off the field.  I'm more inclined to to think the drop in viewership is mostly driven by people knowing their team is not in the picture, and not even being considered for the playoffs.

Both are major problems.  

[Salsa_Verde]

On 1/13/2022 at 2:00 PM, edcollopy said:

The tough part of the Southeast being number 1 in football is that they are mostly very small media centers. The tv sets in the midwest, NE, and west coast are tuning out in large numbers. The lack of balance in college football is going to continue to drive viewers away. The portal and NIL are turning alot of people off of the sport just like the 1 and done turned people away from college basketball.  All of these things were designed to help the student athlete financially, but it's hurt many academically and viewership will continue to decline for football and basketball.

Completely disagree that the portal and NIL are turning people away. What does a casual fan (which drives viewership) care about who is transferring and who is getting an NIL deal? SEC spends money on coaching, the other conferences do not and it’s shows on the field. 

[Salsa_Verde]

On 1/13/2022 at 4:14 PM, UNTLifer said:

I watched it and loved it, but I don't like the current set-up nor what the NIL is going to do to the game.

What is it doing to the game exactly? 

[Salsa_Verde]

8 hours ago, NTSU52 said:

If it had been Cincinnati vs. Michigan or even Cinci vs. Georgia the viewership would have been up. People are just tired of the SEC domination and seeing the same few teams in the playoff every year.

Yes. I believe it’s that simple. When USC gets back to where it was you’ll see a huge jump in viewership I believe. 

[UNTLifer]

2 hours ago, Salsa_Verde said:

What is it doing to the game exactly? 

It appears that the rich will continue to get richer and basically openly recruit anyone they think they can get to transfer in.  G5 hits on a player that was underrated and he comes in a lights it up will be the target of the moneyed programs.

[NT80]

Four hand-picked teams in a biased CFP is not a Playoff.  The same basic teams every year is not exciting.  Make it a true Playoff with at least 16 teams, including all FBS conference champions, like every other level of pro, college and high school football, then people will become excited and tune in.

[untjim1995]

The Sec adding Texas and OU made the other three power conferences (no Big XII) combine efforts to battle the SEC. Now, because they know the SEC would be more likely to get 3 or 4 teams in the 12-team playoff, they won’t agree to that, as it gives the other conference champions a better chance to win it all if most years only one SEC team is in. 
 

The G5s and the Big XII will be on the outside looking in for a long time, if not forever.

[wardly]

The P5 programs are going to spin off at some point. If I were king for a day I would separate all football programs into three tiers based upon their athletic budget. The big boys, lets say $ 50 million or over are tier 0ne's. Those programs $25 million to $ 50 million are tier Two's, and those below $25 million are tier threes. At present both the top tier  [ Georgia vs Bama] and lower tier [NDSU vs MSU] have a playoff system. We just need to establish one for tier 2 programs [G5's] and move on with our lives.

[Tom McKrackin]

22 minutes ago, wardly said:

The P5 programs are going to spin off at some point. If I were king for a day I would separate all football programs into three tiers based upon their athletic budget. The big boys, lets say $ 50 million or over are tier 0ne's. Those programs $25 million to $ 50 million are tier Two's, and those below $25 million are tier threes. At present both the top tier  [ Georgia vs Bama] and lower tier [NDSU vs MSU] have a playoff system. We just need to establish one for tier 2 programs [G5's] and move on with our lives.

The problem with that theory is that for every Alabama there is also a Kentucky or Missouri or whatnot that needs a couple of G5 wins to pad their lack of success in the division that participate in.  I sadly see us in the same position in the AAC.  We won't dominate budgets and facilities in the AAC like we do in CUSA.  So I don't see us winning as many games in the conference as we are able to in CUSA.  That makes me think @Wren Baker will need to start scheduling more division 2 opponents in our non conference or lower tier teams.  This makes me think they will never want us to go away.  They need us for non conference wins.

[Greenrex]

On 1/14/2022 at 1:32 PM, greenminer said:

I think the casual fan just wants to see the team wearing their uniforms beat the team that's not wearing their uniforms, regardless of the money behind tossed around off the field. 

Good reason to allow more girls to play the game.

[wardly]

4 hours ago, Tom McKrackin said:

The problem with that theory is that for every Alabama there is also a Kentucky or Missouri or whatnot that needs a couple of G5 wins to pad their lack of success in the division that participate in.  I sadly see us in the same position in the AAC.  We won't dominate budgets and facilities in the AAC like we do in CUSA.  So I don't see us winning as many games in the conference as we are able to in CUSA.  That makes me think @Wren Baker will need to start scheduling more division 2 opponents in our non conference or lower tier teams.  This makes me think they will never want us to go away.  They need us for non conference wins.

I didn't say we couldn't play them them. That would not change. You would still see Georgia playing SE Louisiana or UNT. At present the NCAA only allows one win by 1A programs against 1AA schools to count towards bowl eligibility. I don't know if the same applies to P5 schools vs G5 programs. I am just advocating classification of all D1 football programs based upon athletic budgets which seems to be an equalizer. High schools do their classifications based upon their student enrollment which seems to work. I don't see why doing the same with college football based upon the size of their athletic budget wouldn't work as well.

[Mike Jackson]

NIL and new transfer rules are just convenient scapegoats.  The problem is the overall anticompetitive structure of College Football.   These powerhouse teams rarely leave their region to play a game.  College football has always been regional.  And it will continue to decline until we see regularly see non-conference regular season games between the best brands. Just go on Winspedia.com and see how rare these cross-regional regular season non-conference games are.  Hell let’s just list the big brand college football teams Alabama hasn’t played a road a regular season at game in 30 years.

USC

UCLA* - (3 games total 1 at Rose Bowl 2000)

Oregon - never played anywhere

Washington - 1978 last regular season game

Colorado - No regular season games

Nebraska - no matchups since 1978

Iowa - never played 

Michigan - (2012 in Arlington Regular Season)

Michigan State - no regular season games

Ohio State - (only regular season game 1986 in New Jersey 🙄)

Virginia Tech - ( 2 games in Atlanta)

Boston College - no games after 1984

Pittsburgh - no games

Alabama is not unique in doing this.  And the problem is huge in my opinion.

Imagine if the NFL were run with this. 12 game schedule, 6 division games, 4 conference games, and 2 games the teams get to schedule ( so no regular season NFC vs AFC matchups unless Jacksonville wants a payday at Dallas or something else akin to that).  Also those 4 in conference games were scheduled by the teams with one money and playoff positioning in mind, no rotation.  And the playoffs were just NFC & AFC championship games and the Super Bowl.  The participants would be based on ranking with tie breakers beyond head to head determined by a committee based on “eyeball test”.   (Side note: You think a committee not trying to shoehorn a Cowboys team with the same record as Tampa Bay into the NFC Championship game over them?)    If the NFL were run this way there would be a ratings decline in that league also.  Now imagine if there was no draft or salary cap.  Your interest in watching games would drastically decline unless you are fan of one of the most popular franchises. 🤷🏽‍♂️

 

 

[Quoner]

2 hours ago, Mike Jackson said:

NIL and new transfer rules are just convenient scapegoats.  The problem is the overall anticompetitive structure of College Football.   These powerhouse teams rarely leave their region to play a game.  College football has always been regional.  And it will continue to decline until we see regularly see non-conference regular season games between the best brands. Just go on Winspedia.com and see how rare these cross-regional regular season non-conference games are.  Hell let’s just list the big brand college football teams Alabama hasn’t played a road a regular season at game in 30 years.

USC

UCLA* - (3 games total 1 at Rose Bowl 2000)

Oregon - never played anywhere

Washington - 1978 last regular season game

Colorado - No regular season games

Nebraska - no matchups since 1978

Iowa - never played 

Michigan - (2012 in Arlington Regular Season)

Michigan State - no regular season games

Ohio State - (only regular season game 1986 in New Jersey 🙄)

Virginia Tech - ( 2 games in Atlanta)

Boston College - no games after 1984

Pittsburgh - no games

Alabama is not unique in doing this.  And the problem is huge in my opinion.

Imagine if the NFL were run with this. 12 game schedule, 6 division games, 4 conference games, and 2 games the teams get to schedule ( so no regular season NFC vs AFC matchups unless Jacksonville wants a payday at Dallas or something else akin to that).  Also those 4 in conference games were scheduled by the teams with one money and playoff positioning in mind, no rotation.  And the playoffs were just NFC & AFC championship games and the Super Bowl.  The participants would be based on ranking with tie breakers beyond head to head determined by a committee based on “eyeball test”.   (Side note: You think a committee not trying to shoehorn a Cowboys team with the same record as Tampa Bay into the NFC Championship game over them?)    If the NFL were run this way there would be a ratings decline in that league also.  Now imagine if there was no draft or salary cap.  Your interest in watching games would drastically decline unless you are fan of one of the most popular franchises. 🤷🏽‍♂️

 

 

What is this list? Just going off memory, I can remember recent Texas/Ohio State, Texas Notre Dame, Oklahoma vs. Ohio State and the Baker Mayfield flag stuff, Oregon playing I think Tennessee and Virginia and several others. Also recall BC played at UNI and being annoyed we didn't bring them here. You're also missing a lot of the Arlington neutral site opener type games. 

 

Your point that it should happen more isn't wrong - this list is just weird and incorrect. In Three Stacks terms, "Sorry Mike Jackson, data ain't for real."