Forbes, March, 2023: AAC Commissioner is right/Its time to drop the Power 5 label.

[PlummMeanGreen]

(Mods please delete if this link should not be on GMG).

From the Forbes article: “With the finishing touches being placed on a 12 team playoff, the financial future looks better for the newly expanded 2023 version of the AAC. New members are Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, North Texas, Rice, UAB and UTSA.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/karenweaver/2023/03/11/aac-commissioner-is-right-its-time-to-drop-the-power-5-label/amp/

Edited March 30, 2023 by PlummMeanGreen

[UNT Texas Hooligan]

That's MY commissioner 

[GrayEagle]

16 minutes ago, UNT Texas Hooligan said:

That's MY commissioner 

Mine, too.  I have long advocated that Mike Aresco was the best commissioner in the FBS and that I'd rather have him in our corner than any other person.  

I'd like to see the champion of the top six conferences get an automatic bid while the number seven rated conference plays number ten and number eight plays number nine for the seventh and eighth spots in the playoff (much as the lower rated conferences in basketball have to play-in for a spot in the sixty four team NCAA Basketball Championship tournament).  The other teams still play in bowl games but it takes seven wins to qualify for a bowl; thereby greatly reducing the number of bowls but raising the quality.  That would mean that independents would have to attach themselves to a conference for playoff purposes or only play in bowls.

[wardly]

It's hard not to have a distinction between P5 and G5 programs when UT has an athletic budget of over $120 million and La. Monroe is less that $20 million. In my perfect world athletic programs would be classified based upon their budget. and separated into 3 divisions, class 1, 1A, and 1AA . UNT would be a 1A program, which would have their own football playoff system like 1AA does now.

[MeanGreenGlory]

3 hours ago, wardly said:

It's hard not to have a distinction between P5 and G5 programs when UT has an athletic budget of over $120 million and La. Monroe is less that $20 million. In my perfect world athletic programs would be classified based upon their budget. and separated into 3 divisions, class 1, 1A, and 1AA . UNT would be a 1A program, which would have their own football playoff system like 1AA does now.

I think this only works if a spending cap is implemented for each tier. Otherwise, if Class 1 breaks off, you're still going to have the impact of the "haves" vs. "have nots" and then that will bring up the argument for further consolidation until it's just the 20 largest programs in the country which wouldn't be very fun to follow in my opinion. 

Formula 1 has implemented this and I think it yields better competition because having the same constraints reveals which teams are more strategic and effective with the resources. I have no doubt that implementing spending caps in college athletics would do the same.

[wardly]

20 hours ago, MeanGreenGlory said:

I think this only works if a spending cap is implemented for each tier. Otherwise, if Class 1 breaks off, you're still going to have the impact of the "haves" vs. "have nots" and then that will bring up the argument for further consolidation until it's just the 20 largest programs in the country which wouldn't be very fun to follow in my opinion. 

Formula 1 has implemented this and I think it yields better competition because having the same constraints reveals which teams are more strategic and effective with the resources. I have no doubt that implementing spending caps in college athletics would do the same.

It is the "haves vs have nots" driven by tv revenue. i just think we need to recognize it and have a playoff system for G5 programs as we do for 1AA schools.

[TIgreen01]

MLB allows for gigantic differences in budgets and it has worked for over 100 years.  The problem is the TV networks have effectively locked out all but the top audience draws from the playoff.  The expanded playoff is better, but it still doesn’t go far enough.  

Wardly’s system (above) is best if competition is the goal.  The problem is that competition is NOT the goal.  Making the absolute most money as possible in that championship game is the goal.  Get the best matchup of tv draws possible to drive up ad revenue means TV wants only a few teams possibly in the mix.

This NCAA final four is going to be a disaster for TV…and it’s only going to further embolden them to limit who can crash the party.

[NT80]

11 hours ago, wardly said:

It is the "haves vs have nots" driven by tv revenue. i just think we need to recognize it and have a playoff system for G5 programs as we do for 1AA schools.

No way!   1-AA or FCS gets no respect nor media.   We just played two "haves" programs in Okla. St. and Wisconsin.   We did OK against them!

[DentonLurker]

He can talk all he wants about P5/G5. That divide isn’t going to go away. It’s been rebranded over the years (D1-D2, D1A-D1AA, FBS-FCS, P5-G5, etc.). There will always be minor breaks in the armor where a school makes a run or wins a game few thought they would, but there will always be a divide along the way of $’s and power.

 

[Jonnyeagle]

14 minutes ago, DentonLurker said:

He can talk all he wants about P5/G5. That divide isn’t going to go away. It’s been rebranded over the years (D1-D2, D1A-D1AA, FBS-FCS, P5-G5, etc.). There will always be minor breaks in the armor where a school makes a run or wins a game few thought they would, but there will always be a divide along the way of $’s and power.

 

Having 12 playoff teams changes it dramatically 

[Mean Green 93-98]

14 minutes ago, DentonLurker said:

He can talk all he wants about P5/G5. That divide isn’t going to go away. It’s been rebranded over the years (D1-D2, D1A-D1AA, FBS-FCS, P5-G5, etc.). There will always be minor breaks in the armor where a school makes a run or wins a game few thought they would, but there will always be a divide along the way of $’s and power.

 

Those aren't good comparisons.  D1/D2 and FBS/FCS are legitimately official separate NCAA classifications with clear criteria and separate championships.  P5 and G5 is something some media guy somewhere made up, and we've all somehow allowed ourselves to go along with it.

[DentonLurker]

21 minutes ago, Jonnyeagle said:

Having 12 playoff teams changes it dramatically

Not really. 1 of 12 being from outside the “P5” isn’t going to change much.

18 minutes ago, Mean Green 93-98 said:

Those aren't good comparisons.  D1/D2 and FBS/FCS are legitimately official separate NCAA classifications with clear criteria and separate championships.  P5 and G5 is something some media guy somewhere made up, and we've all somehow allowed ourselves to go along with it.

I get what you’re saying, but they are clear dividing lines. They give a school a path they need to take to move up the ladder. My point is the lines have been redrawn over the years, officially and unofficially. They will continue to be drawn and redrawn moving forward. If not P5/G5, there will be something else that catches on.

[NT80]

1 hour ago, DentonLurker said:

Not really. 1 of 12 being from outside the “P5” isn’t going to change much.

I get what you’re saying, but they are clear dividing lines. They give a school a path they need to take to move up the ladder. My point is the lines have been redrawn over the years, officially and unofficially. They will continue to be drawn and redrawn moving forward. If not P5/G5, there will be something else that catches on.

It's headed towards SEC/Big10 and all others.  The so-called P5's in the Big12, ACC, and Pac12 better brace themselves for a demotion.

[wardly]

4 hours ago, Mean Green 93-98 said:

Those aren't good comparisons.  D1/D2 and FBS/FCS are legitimately official separate NCAA classifications with clear criteria and separate championships.  P5 and G5 is something some media guy somewhere made up, and we've all somehow allowed ourselves to go along with it.

My point is that I would like the separation to be official so that the G5 programs can have their own football playoff to begin with, and perhaps add other sports in the future.