Mother Of All Playoffs

[CajunNation]

RULES

---All eleven conference champions get bid.

---Next 13 highest BCS ranked schools get bid, total of 24.

---Highest 8 seeds get first round bye.

---Seeds 9-24 begin First round action at higher seed's home field on second Saturday of December.

---Sweet 16 would play on third Saturday of December, once again at higher seed's home field.

---Elite 8 would play Christmas weekend. This would begin use of "BCS" bowls, Rose, Sugar, Fiesta, and Orange.

---Final-Four would be New Year's weekend, once again at 2 of the 4 "BCS" bowl sites.

---National Championship game would be, once again at 1 of the "BCS" bowl sites. Instead of 4+1, it would be 4+2+1.

FIRST-ROUND MATCHUPS

#24 TROY at #9 AUBURN

#23 OHIO at #10 OKLAHOMA

#22 HOUSTON at #11 NOTRE DAME

#21 TEXAS A&M at #12 ARKANSAS

#20 BYU at #13 WEST VIRGINIA

#19 TEXAS at #14 WAKE FOREST

#18 CALIFORNIA at #15 VIRGINIA TECH

#17 TENNESSEE at #16 RUTGERS

SWEET 16

(Rutgers/Tenn winner) at #1 OHIO STATE

(Va Tech/Cal winner) at #2 FLORIDA

(Wake Forest/Texas winner) at #3 MICHIGAN

(West Virginia/BYU winner) at #4 LSU

(Arkansas/Texas A&M winner) at #5 USC

(Notre Dame/Houston winner) at #6 LOUISVILLE

(Oklahoma/Ohio winner) at #7 WISCONSIN

(Auburn/Troy winner) at #8 BOISE STATE

SUMMARY

---This system would allow almost all of the other bowl games outside of the "BCS" bowls to still serve a purpose, and for schools not making the tourney to still have a post-season.

---This playoff should be conducted at a time that does not interfere with the NFL playoffs, which is why I chose the dates I did.

---The "home game" format is necessary to involve as many teams as I did. It is similar to the 1-AA model. The reward of another home game has many benefits, financial or otherwise.

---In order for the major conferences to buy into a playoff, it would have to be seen as almost "rigged" in their favor. I believe first round byes, home field advantage, and multiple at-larges from each major conference, all based on strength of individual schools, is key to getting this passed.

---I also believe that this system would lead to an end to 12 team conferences. Conference championship games would become unnecessary and VERY damaging to the loser. If there is no championship game, what is the need for 12 team conferences?

---This plan woul lead to VERY stable, compact, regional conferences that made sense. This playoff would generate money that would put the basketball tourney to shame. Finally, it would crown a National Champion that was decided by the players and coaches on the field.

[FirefightnRick]

Excellent work Cajun. I believe our friend ArkStFan mentioned about a playoff similar to this one you listed, some time in the past, that would generate close to $400 Million given current TV contracts etc.

No reason in the football loving world not to go this route. If the university presidents would ever get off their high horse and agree to it we might see a playoff some time in the near future. There's a good article in this week's SI about just this, a D I playoff!

Good post Cajun.

Rick

[shaft]

Why that system? I agree that if the NCAA makes the change to a playoff they need to replace the entire post-season system, but here' a few things to consider:

-most post-season are designed to allow about 1/3 of the feild to move on.

-why are there first round byes? Teams are already rewarded by their regular season record with seeding.

-why 2 rounds of home feild advantage? Again teams have already been rewarded for their records by seeding, why are you know giving teams a cash advantage. The bowls take place on neutral sites for a reason.

-Sponsorship. Who's going to sponsor the different rounds? To you really expect Wyndam to sponsor a bowl in Norman where they don't have franchise.

[TIgreen01]

This formula makes almost too much sense. I hate hearing all the pro-playoff people in the media talk about their format for a playoff b/c most of them only advocate an 8 team playoff....which is an absolute joke.

Good work.

[greenminer]

If there were a playoff system in effect right now, I think LSU - the way they are playing from the second half of the season until now - would be making a lot of noise and upsetting a lot of people.

Different post-seasons benefit different people. This is always an interesting argument, one that has been 'bowling' into serious consideration since the BCS system came into place. I might have more to add after I give this more thought.

-gm

[CaribbeanGreen]

Good work, Cajun -- again, the only fear I have about a playoff of this size is the possible college basketball-izing of the regular season...You just count on post season suspense and drama making up for the lack of as much in the regular season. (i.e. this year's Ohio St/Michigan game and most conference title games would just be like a week 17 NFL game with backups playing, nobody showing anything, etc)..

[Mean'n'Green07]

I wrote a paper about this trying to figure out why a playoff system isn't used. The only real reason I can think about is tv ratings for mid-season games. Unlike pro football, in college every game matters. The Ohio state and michigan game still would of had a lot of hype, but if there's a playoff system either team can still redeem themselves in the playoffs. Rather than putting everything on the line, both teams might of just played it safe instead of risking injuries (much like two powerhouses in the nfl who both already have homefield advantage).

This is the only logical reason I can find to keep the BSC.

[SCREAMING EAGLE-66]

----Personally I would like to see the a 16 team playoff---- eleven conference champs plus 5 more (could be independents or from a conference) ---- with no more than two representaives per conference.

-----The Holiday bowl system could still exist for those teams not selected as the 16 playoff teams... Most bowl games now have no effect on the top 5-6 teams in final standings anyway. We have about 60 teams involved in bowls now... This is not increasing

[NT80]

It's going to take a lot of these BcS 1-loss team's Presidents to demand a playoff. One loss and done towards a national championship is making many fans of these programs unhappy. I'm in favor of any playoff system that allows all conferences access. The underdogs are always fun to root for in playoffs.

[CajunNation]

Why that system?  I agree that if the NCAA makes the change to a playoff they need to replace the entire post-season system, but here' a few things to consider:

-most post-season are designed to allow about 1/3 of the feild to move on.

-why are there first round byes?  Teams are already rewarded by their regular season record with seeding.

-why 2 rounds of home feild advantage?  Again teams have already been rewarded for their records by seeding, why are you know giving teams a cash advantage.  The bowls take place on neutral sites for a reason.

-Sponsorship.  Who's going to sponsor the different rounds?  To you really expect Wyndam to sponsor a bowl in Norman where they don't have franchise.

←

I'll address each question in order.

1)The ratio of teams chosen for the playoff is very similar to basketball

350?/65....119/24

2)First round byes are necessary for 2 reasons. First, it cuts down on number of games played. Secondly, it is an added carrot to further entice the big 6 conferences to go for this as it really gives the top 8 seeds a huge advantage.

3)2 rounds of home field is necessary, again, for 2 reasons. First, it rewards the top 16 seeds with an extra, lucrative, home game, another carrot for the big boys. Secondly, this protects the rest of the bowl system from being eaten up by the playoff. Remember, you are still going to have around 40 bowl worthy schools not selected for the playoff. They have to have somehere to go.

[chomp]

I am a proponent of a playoff and am even more of one this year since the situation my school (Florida) found itself in. My understanding is that it is 3 fundamental problems that have quashed all playoff proposals (note, none of them are about academics).

1. Instituting a playoff would be risky for coaches. As it stands now, with such a large number of bowls, half of all bowl teams end their season as winners, making it easier for coaches to keep their job. With a playoff, only winning it all could ever satisfy a lot of alumni at BCS schools.

2. Surveys of student athletes have suggested that the push for pay for college football players is likely to become much stronger if college moves to a playoff and increases both revenue for college football and games played by athletes. While it might be possible to pay football players a stipend, with most schools' athletic departments in the red, it would be impossible to do so for all other student athletes.

3. The biggest reason rests with money. Under the current system, the power conferences share very little of the revenue from the bowls. The SEC, with 2 BCS teams, gets $15 million for each plus nice payouts from the other bowls its teams play in. Compare that with Sun Belt which at best will break even with its bowl participants. Under a playoff, there would certainly mean more equality in revenue distribution between conferences like the SEC and the Sun Belt.

Given these issues, I can only see a playoff occurring in two scenarios. In the first scenario, the revenue from a playoff is so large that it expands the pie broadly enough that problems 2 & 3 can be overcome. In the second scenario, the biggest conferences (or perhaps the a set of schools from them), leave the NCAA and form their own league, instituting a playoff. This would allow them to institute a playoff while retaining all of the revenue for themselves. I would be happy to see a playoff under the first scenario but not the second.

[CajunNation]

<<In the second scenario, the biggest conferences (or perhaps the a set of schools from them), leave the NCAA and form their own league, instituting a playoff. This would allow them to institute a playoff while retaining all of the revenue for themselves. I would be happy to see a playoff under the first scenario but not the second. >>

That would be a complete failure.

If they were to leave, they would basically become pro-franchises, a minor league for the NFL. All of those players are going to want to get paid, big time. Instead of recruiting, you'd have bidding wars for the top talent. Agents would negotiate contracts with booster clubs. You would have agents lurking all over high schools for talent.

Without oversight from the NCAA, these programs would eat each other alive. The only way it could survive, was if the NFL stepped in to control it. Then, these schools would dwindle to about 30.

That route is not the panacea some people think it is.

In the future, either an inclusive playoff will be implemented, or the NCAA allows the big 6 conferences to form their own Division yet still be goverened by the NCAA, and 1-AA would be grouped with the remaining 1-A schools and the playoff expanded from 16 to 32.