I'd like to chime in with a couple of observations. First, it is very difficult
to compare football to baseball, basketball, and hockey because football is the
only sport that uses a one game playoff whether in college or pro. The other
sports use a 7 game series to advance rounds. So if we'd like to compare
"ratings", lets compare the total number of eyeballs for the series rather than
looking at one game. I don't have the numbers, but if you look at the World
Series or the NBA finals as examples, I'd bet that there are more eyeballs
watching those games as a whole than are watching the one game that is the BCS
championship. (Just an observation).

There are many people that feel that a playoff would lead to increased ratings
and increased viewership. An 8 team playoff would produce 7 games with national
implications. There aren't too many people that would argue that those 7 games
would HIGHLY outdraw the viewership of the 7 biggest bowl games on the schedule.
College football tends to be a regional sport. A playoff would make it a more
national event like pro football is. Would it affect the lower "exhibition"
games. Sure. But my feeling is that the impact would be minimal at best. And
looking at the stadiums for these other bowls is almost humorous. They don't
sell out and most of the time they are half empty.

I would argue that the playoff is better for the reasons stated above. Maybe
I've beaten the same horse, but I'm using a different whip :)

Just some thoughts. I know it isn't going to happen, but I thought I'd throw a
changeup for the argument.



----- Original Message -----
From: Jim Mengel
To: collegebcs@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Saturday, June 13, 2009 12:55 PM
Subject: Re: [collegebcs] Re: BCS Administrator on Rose Bowl and NonAQ.





Your argument could use some explanation. What is it that needs to change?

Under the system in place college football stages a 12 game regular
season that demands championship contenders to play at the highest
levels each week. There is little margin of error for performance
whether the opponent is marginal or top shelf. Unlike any other major
sport, college football stages a single championship game and 33
"exhibition" games at the conclusion of the season. The BCS
championship game is second only to the Super Bowl in TV ratings while
a half dozen of the "exhibition games" outperform the NBA, MLB,and NHL
championship telecasts.

All of this has combined to sustain record levels of attendance and
lucrative broadcast contracts in the regular season and proliferating
Bowl games, er "exhibition games".

And those football crowds pay the cost of most of the rest of the
intercollegiate sports programs at the member schools, especially the
unfunded federal mandates of Title IX.

So are you suggesting to college presidents that this "old,
antiquated and monopolistic" system needs to be changed just so a
playoff can be instituted to determine the number one team in the
country?

Better come up with something better than "combine the playoffs and
the Bowls, shorten the regular season, here is a 16 team playoff
matrix,etc..."

Those horses have been beaten to death.

If you are going to change the present system you need to have an
alternative that is better.

jim

On Sat, Jun 13, 2009 at 10:49 AM, reidomo<mitch.agana@...> wrote:
>
>
> You guys all crack me up. Everybody's caving on a playoff system using the
> same shopworn assertion that "every week is a playoff in college footie".
> Please, spare me your regressive thinking. I disagree with the claim that
> they are doing a good job, quite the contrary. Not picking on you Jason,
> just finally responding to all of this mamby pamby NCAA Company Line stuff
> about how the system is fine like it is. It is not fine, in fact it is old,
> antiquated and monopolistic and it needs to be changed. It would be
> complicated but it could be done. Do I have all the answers? No. But neither
> does anyone else, most especially those in control of this system we have
> now.
>
> Okay, rant is over now. Carry on. :)
>
> --- In collegebcs@yahoogroups.com, "Jason O'Mahony" <jayoshanks@...> wrote:
>>
>> --- In collegebcs@yahoogroups.com, Alan Milnes <bcs@> wrote:
>> >
>> > 2009/6/10 Emmet O'Brien <obrienemmet@> wrote
>> >
>> > >
>> > > >I agreed they should have a playoff system, like they do in others
>> > > > sports
>> > >
>> >
>> > So you would be happy to be like the NFL and have 32 teams playing the
>> > regular season then contesting a play-off??
>> >
>> > Alan
>> >
>> >
>> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>> >
>>
>> Thankfully, I don't think we will ever see a playoff system in NCAA
>> Football as long as the Bowl Committee are around.......and besides this
>> ain't baseball or basketball...it's a wee bit more physical than that.
>>
>> The BCS aint doing that bad a job in my opinion, it's by far a better way
>> of ranking the teams over the course of the season than deciding the
>> championship on 2 or 3 major polls!
>>
>
>




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]