The college football system does not work. Why? The current conference alignments serve TV dollars and greedy university administrators rather than the student-athletes they hypocritically claim as the top priority, and the fans are left at the mercy of the latest whim of these powers that be.
Under this system, the major colleges are stretched to all parts of the country just for conference play, and the so-called "mid-major" schools have virtually no shot at success in the diluted pool that was formerly known as Division I-A and I-AA.
The trend toward two-division super conferences also doesn't work, since it is impossible to produce a true conference champion as long as all conference members don't play each other every year. What the SEC and others have produced under this system would be more appropriately titled the "TV champion." These teams have played just enough conference members to call it a season and cash in on the TV title game, which is an exercise in excess. There is no reason for any conference to have as many as 14 teams, other than the current fight for the top TV markets, of course. The big conferences have formed a monopoly with far-reaching geographical influence that hurts teams in and out of these big-money conglomerates.
Most importantly for initiating this new plan is that while the Bowl Championship Series formula is a small step in the right direction, time has shown that it has resulted in more problems than solutions. It is still not a valid means to produce a national champion in the title game, and it is virtually meaningless for all other bowls since teams don’t even match up based on 3 vs. 4, 5 vs. 6, etc.
Why even play the season if political maneuvering by bowl sponsors, host cities, and conference commissioners is going to affect where a team lands in the postseason? Selecting a team for a bowl based on the number of tickets that school will sell is a method more suited for a preseason exhibition than the postseason. It is counter to what you play the season for.
The college football structure needs complete reform — not just in the creation of a playoff system to replace the bowls, but also in the conference structure in order to better produce an equitable playoff system. Conference realignment is the first step.
The bowl system has been an important part of college football's history, but it currently serves little purpose other than to promote the host city's convention and visitor's bureau. It victimizes the fans and whores the colleges participating. When teams look at bowls such as the Independence Bowl as punishment rather than reward, and other bowls like the Las Vegas Bowl and the Hawaii Bowl frequently serve as host to their hometown teams, it simply cheapens the entire season.
Click here to read more about Project Playoffs in part 3.
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