Big Ten and other Conference Expansion

[BigJim]

????? All I’m saying is that not expanding the playoffs is not in most conferences’ best interests, given four slots and the SEC shill of ESPN doing its best to bump SEC selections. Helping themselves should trump screwing the SEC, but we will see soon enough.

I think this is a good point. What I suspect may change is the non SEC conferences wanting to modify previous discussions to try to put a cap on the number of teams from a conference and/or revenue splits.

 

[Zurp]

Committee names the playoff seeds. Not rankings. Am I wrong?

Yeah, you are wrong; for the purpose of the playoff ranking the CFP Selection Committee does their own rankings:

I think that what BigWoof is saying (correct me if I'm understanding you wrong) is that ESPN can't influence the rankings that the committee comes up with. The human polls (Coaches' and AP) may be influenced by ESPN, but the committee's polls are not influenced by ESPN. So how can ESPN campaign for 7 teams to get into a 12-team playoff?

My answer (not to speak for anyone else) is that the committee is still made up of people. And we're ignorant if we think they don't watch ESPN. Like it or not, they are the Worldwide Leader in Sports, and they have the potential to influence popular opinion.

 

[cincibuck]

The logical thing for these schools being squeezed out would be to drop back to FCS or Div II football while maintaining Div I status in mens and womens basketball. Works fine for Villanova. Works for the Ivy League too. U Conn is probably the poster child for not moving up to the FBS level. They're less competitive in the new AAC than they were in the old, crippled Big East after Miami, VTech, and BC left. They're losing ten million a year sponsoring football and their athletic department is over $40mm in debt.

University of Dayton is a prime example of this. Pretty sure they lose money on the football program, but it keeps the alums happy. Their long time rival, Xavier, dropped football completely and their alums have been bitching about it ever since - it has led to a great T-Shirt, Xavier Football, undefeated since 1973.

 

[BigWoof31]

Zurp nailed it. I wasn't trying to be a troll (not for another three weeks anyway).

My understanding is that the Committee is made up of representatives from every league. So regardless of how much larger one league becomes, the checks and balances of the committee keep things fair.
In the early days of the committee, I could never see people like Barry Alvarez and Condi Rice getting bowled over by ESPN rankings and putting that many SEC teams in. They would be more objective.

That is likely a "Pollyanna" view of how things should work. Just my $.02

 

[ORD_Buckeye]

1) It has been said numerous times here that our position is that there are 4 remaining power conferences. The champion of each should get in the playoff. The end. The SEC gets one in that scenario. Whether the powers that be will try to make this happen or not is very much beside the point. It is what we have said that we want.
2) The SEC getting 2 of 4 is not why they took Oklahoma (and UT). They were hoping to get 7 of 12. They were making a grab for power and money that was/is good for them and bad for every other conference. It is in the other conferences' best interests to limit the SEC's power/money, especially where it will not hurt themselves. Having the SEC get 7 of 12 does mean that more teams from other conferences get in, but it also means that ESPN/SEC dominance of the decisions and the money grows. The fact that more teams from other conferences now also get a team in the playoffs does not mean that the SEC power and money share will not grow. If you do not see it that way, please say so. I will ban you to ensure that you do not continue to speak while the adults are trying to have a conversation.
3) The SEC did this while the teams they were talking to were smiling in the faces of their Big XII compatriots while sensitive Big XII information was discussed. Talk all you want about how "legal" that is. The rest of us understand that there is a big difference between legal and being a decent human being. ESPN is vile. The SEC are behaving exactly like the moral progeny of the slave-holding south.

With the conference championship games, that essentially makes it an 8 team playoff with no outside pressure from espn on some committee. Works for me.

I'm totally on board with putting the brakes on any playoff expansion. With each passing day, this was clearly Sankey and Swarbrick's play for the SEC to get half the field while ND gets in every year, hosts a home game, all without having to join a conference.

 

[cincibuck]

1) It has been said numerous times here that our position is that there are 4 remaining power conferences. The champion of each should get in the playoff. The end. The SEC gets one in that scenario. Whether the powers that be will try to make this happen or not is very much beside the point. It is what we have said that we want.

This does three powerful things at once: 1) forces Notre Dame into shit-or-get-off-the-pot time. 2) retains the value of the conference season and the CCGs. 3. Eliminates ANY conference from having two teams in the playoffs.

Also puts limits on SEC/ESPN power grab.

 

[BuckTwenty]

CBS (free) - "A Look What's Ahead For The Pac-12 With Realignment Set To Shake Up College Football Once Again"

Big 12 schools don't add enough to be "takes" by Pac 12. Really interesting comments by anonymous USC official. Lots of good info and opinions

 

[ScriptOhio]

CBS (free) - "A Look What's Ahead For The Pac-12 With Realignment Set To Shake Up College Football Once Again"

Big 12 schools don't add enough to be "takes" by Pac 12. Really interesting comments by anonymous USC official. Lots of good info and opinions

This after a report emerged last week that Texas Tech had reached out to the Pac-12 directly despite the eight remaining Big 12 schools appearing to be united for now.

There's no loyalty with any of the 8 remaining schools to the Big XII, it's every school for itself. Any one of the 8 would jump at the chance to join the PAC-12, B1G, SEC, or ACC.

 

[Woody1968]

There's no loyalty with any of the 8 remaining schools to the Big XII, it's every school for itself. Any one of the 8 would jump at the chance to join the PAC-12, B1G, SEC, or ACC.

As they should. They're fucked otherwise.

 

[BuckBackHome]

I'm down south in SEC country on vacation. The consensus based on drunken opinions at the beach is if OSU and Clemson join the SEC, the rest of college football can put away the need to even play. They don't seem to even recognize that Notre shame has a football team. At least a competitive one.

 

[muffler dragon]

They don't seem to even recognize that Notre shame has a football team. At least a competitive one.

I will acknowledge that ND has a team, but whether it's actually competitive or not is one that I would debate. Take away the name and just go off of performance, and I would expect to see middling.

 

[dragurd]

As they should. They're fucked otherwise.

Indeed as much shit as Missouri and Nebraska get for being shit in their new conferences at least they aren't flailing about looking for a home like Kansas

 

[BuckeyeNation27]

So regardless of how much larger one league becomes, the checks and balances of the committee keep things fair.

Wouldn't that be nice.

 

[JCOSU86]

I just realized something. The SEC is getting XRayRandy. The size of the subsequent ego may be so large that it collapses in on itself and forms a black hole. Kind of like an SEC diploma

 

[cincibuck]

I will acknowledge that ND has a team, but whether it's actually competitive or not is one that I would debate. Take away the name and just go off of performance, and I would expect to see middling.

Competitive or not, they've managed to get into the playoffs twice despite not playing/winning a conference championship game. That's two more than Michigan, Wisconsin, and Penn State. Might have something to do with the fact that Michigan is the only team they've played during the regular season out of the three. Might also have something to do with the fact that they've not played Ohio State during the regular season.