January 15, 2008
Playoff proposal faces death by committee
University of Georgia president Michael Adams didn't lose the war yesterday, but his playoff proposal likely faces a long, slow, painful death after a hearing from the NCAA Division I Board of Directors yesterday.
While the committee approved 47 of the 49 proposals brought before the Board, the playoff proposition was not approved and summarily relegated to committee review.
Instead of advancing the proposal, the Board advised that they will "study the issue with others" prior to any further action.
James Barker, chairman of the board and the president of Clemson, called the talks candid and constructive. But he said the directors believe the discussion should include presidents at the conference level and the committee overseeing the Bowl Championship Series.
The board also wants a task force announced last month by NCAA President Myles Brand to study issues over the use of student likenesses' to expand its review and study commercialization as it relates to postseason football.
Holding it for "study" and sending it to a task force that doesn't yet exist and has zero members thus far... in other words, death by 1,000 paper cuts.
Comments:
posted on January 15, 2008 5:12 PM — 205.188.116.136 — link — abuse?War Eagle Atlanta
said:
I read today that essentially, they've sent it back down to the conferences to deal with. I think that the conference commissioners are to take up the issue in April when they have their annual meeting. This is probably where it belongs, but don't forget that it was the conferences who gave us the BCS...
The commissioners of the conferences were probably a little upset that Adams stole their thunder, but maybe they might be more apt to come up with a working solution to a playoff this time around. I'm going to hold my breath...
Hillbilly Bubba said:
posted on January 15, 2008 6:09 PM — 72.71.113.81 — link — abuse?
I agree with War Eagle and Eye of the Tiger. It's a step in the right direction. We, the public, have to keep the pressure on for a national playoff system. I think it will eventually happen and the sooner the better!
1st_and_NOLE
posted on January 15, 2008 7:17 PM — 71.14.108.232 — link — abuse? said:
Actually...
The NCAA sanctions and hold championships in every other sport - like March Madness.
I think it's time for either...
a) The NCAA to step in and develop a playoff system of at least 8 teams.
or...
b) University Presidents to take matters into their own hands and form their own playoff system. If some schools don't want to participate - fine. Eventually it will pick up steam and stick - especially if they can get premier programs to agree.
gaffbag said:
posted on January 15, 2008 8:13 PM — 71.234.194.7 — link — abuse?
The one pre-condition of any playoff system is that under no circumstances should a team have any incentive to sit players late in the season to prevent injuries ahead of the playoffs.
Can you imagine a world where teams bench their starters in rivalry games to make sure they are at full strength for an X-team playoff? Just the thought makes me want to cry.
Ramblin' Gator said:
posted on January 15, 2008 8:47 PM — 74.185.133.40 — link — abuse?
#8: 1st_and_NOLE, I have to agree with most of your points here (I'm not sure whether "8" is the right number or not, but the rest of your post makes perfect sense to me).
Most college football fans have forgotten or are too young to remember the days before the CFA when it was really hard to find more than one or two games being televised. A handful of schools with "rabid" fan bases ([gulp] UGA was one of them) formed the CFA to negotiate for better broadcasting terms and now we have much better coverage (Note, the NCAA resisted this innovation from its inception). It's going to take a number of university presidents to break from the NCAA and push through a playoff.
Adams is probably the wrong guy to be leading the charge. As we all noted on the other thread on this subject, he's not very popular in Athens and whoever is going to lead such an effort would need to be secure as president of their school.
1st_and_NOLE
posted on January 16, 2008 8:57 AM — 71.14.108.232 — link — abuse? said:
Well the playoff doesn't have to be exactly 8. It only needs to be AT LEAST 8 teams. This 4 team +1 crap isn't going to fly with me. Even a 4 team +1 system would have failed miserably this year. Going into the Bowls USC, UGA, OU, VT, LSU, and OSU all had legit complaints. Granted, some of those teams were upset but it may have been different if they knew they are playing for a Championship.
FanoftheGame said:
posted on January 16, 2008 10:37 AM — 198.211.223.194 — link — abuse?
As long as the BcS has all of the power, we aren't likely to ever see a playoff system. The BcS guarantees that the rich schools will keep getting richer as long as they are calling the shots.
Those who argue that a playoff system would be even more financially rewarding and profitable are probably right. But the cost for having a playoff system would mean that the BcS would have loosen the strangle hold that they have on college football and give up alot of their control over the game.
Those who argue that the NCAA should step in and do something, aren't likely to see that happen either. Ever since the 1984 anti-trust suit filed and won by the University of Georgia and Oklhoma University against the NCAA to let schools negotiate their own tv deals, the NCAA has appeared to be afraid of taking too much control of college football.
Those who argue that the Federal Government should step in and do something about the BcS strnagle hold aren't likely to see that happen either. The IRS got their @$$ handed to them in 1997 when they wanted to tax Bowl sponsorship, but congress decided to pass a law make sponsorship payments to non-profits(bowls) tax-exempt. Some Bowl commitees take advantage of this status and routinely get government funding to assist in bowl planning and development.So who really loses? The cities that host bowl games win. The sponsors of bowl games win. The Bowl Committees win. The members of the 6 major conferences win. The BcS controls the money bowls which every team in D-1 dreams of playing in so they definately win.
Those who love the traditions of the bowls have lost, big time. Bowl are no longer about tradition, they are about $$$, and the BcS has made sure of that. The fans who fell in love with college football when it was a game and not a launching pad for money hungry control freaks are losers! The players, who put on the uniform and compete on the field every weekend, not for money but to see who the better team is, are losers.
Why not a playoff?
"The main obstacle standing in the way of a playoff is the bowl system itself, a billion-dollar-a-year industry operated primarily by tax-exempt bowl committees who have spent decades and millions of dollars nurturing relationships with influential friends on university campuses, conference headquarters, state houses and the halls of power in Washington, D.C."The bottom line is that a playoff system would probably make a lot more money than the current bowl system even by keeping the major bowls as a part of the process. But the BcS would have to get out of the driver's seat....and that ain't going to happen....Hitler would be proud of the BcS and their continuing reign over college football.
My $.02
Eye of the Tiger said:
posted on January 16, 2008 4:56 PM — 138.163.0.43 — link — abuse?
Damn good post Fan of the Game! Except, now I feel like a loser and more pessimistic. I think the only way is for the Federal Government to get involved. I think if congress keeps hearing about this every year they might be inclined to do something.
Zac said:
posted on January 16, 2008 8:25 PM — 64.12.116.136 — link — abuse?
"I think if congress keeps hearing about this every year they might be inclined to do something."
Eye of the Tiger, they won't do anything about Gasoline, what in the name of Law & Order do think they'd bother to do about this? (OOPS!!! I think I just answered my own question.)
FanoftheGame said:
posted on January 17, 2008 10:13 AM — 198.211.223.194 — link — abuse?
Zac,
I couldn't agree more, but here's an idea:Maybe we should start a steroid scandal involving the BcS? We already know how much congress loves dealing with steriods in sports, rather than taking care of more pressing issues that are burdening this country.
I, personally, voted for steroids- before I voted against them. At the time, I didn't have all the facts regarding HGH and the chemicals of mass distraction. I believe that I may have been lied to.
gatorstud said:
posted on January 15, 2008 4:50 PM — 69.95.111.248 — link — abuse?kev...sending it to a task force, huh.....hmmm....i wonder if chuck norris is on this task force.....or if they will make a "made for t.v" movie out of it......
i can't stand myles brand....its funny to hear him talk about the tradtions of college basketball (where his heart truly lies) and why we should keep these traditions......but college football traditions get thrown in the trash every freaking year.....
hey myles brand...can we please get the title game back on new years day where it belongs......didn't think so.....so much for tradition.....
and as far as holding it for "study"...yeah right...he will probably hold it over the toilet and see how much ink he can get to run off it by pissin on it.....
lmho....and if i didn't mention it....i can't stand myles brand...
go gators....