College Football Debate Analysis
College football debate
Here’s an easy question, who was the division one NCAA football national championship last year? If you said the Alabama Crimson Tide you are correct, sort of. Yes, Alabama did defeat the LSU Tigers 21-0 in the National Championship game, but some other teams could make a case for National Champions as well. According to the end of the year Associated Press Poll, Alabama was not an unanimous number one. LSU received one first place vote and Oklahoma State received 4 first place votes. Oklahoma State finished up 3rd in the final poll, after defeating Stanford in the Tostitos Fiesta bowl. Division 1 College football is the only sport that does not have a tournament or playoff system to provide a true national championship. …show more content…
This is not the only example of no clear cut true National Champion. Take for instance in 2003 when LSU defeated Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl National Championship Game, but USC defeated Michigan in the Rose Bowl and ended up finishing #1 in the AP Poll. Both teams had one lose each and our officially declared Co-National Champions. This is what really got people pressing and criticizing the Bowl Championship Series, commonly referred to as the BCS system. Everyone who is involved in college football from athletic directors of big-time universities to the average Joe college football fan was outraged and agrees there should not be such a thing as ‘Co-National Champions’. This is why I BELIEVE college football should setup up a playoff system like Division 1-AA, also known as FCS, Division II and III. 2003 | LSU (National Champs)
USC (#1 in AP Poll) | 13-1
12-1 | Sugar: Beat Oklahoma 21-14
Rose: Beat Michigan 28-14 | Nick Saban
Pete Carroll | Teams in certain smaller conferences are already eliminated from serious bowl contention and national champion hopes from the very first day of practice. Smaller schools are seen as less talented by voters and media polls. Voters pay more attention to how the game was won and who the victory was against rather than focusing on the simple fact and cliché that ‘a win is a win’. Instead of being judged on their performance on the field, teams are being judged by their strength of schedule and how much the team won by. There have been many cases of schools that have gone undefeated through an entire season and have been overlooked by voters for a shot at the National Championship game. A few examples of undefeated teams who were snubbed out of the National Championship game are : * 2009 Boise State Broncos – 14-0 * 2008 Utah Utes – 13-0 * 2006 Boise State Broncos – 13-0 * 2004 Auburn Tigers – 13-0 * 2004 Utah Utes – 12-0 * 1999 Marshall Thundering Herd – 13-0 * 1998 Tulane Green Wave – 12-0
(Playitoff.org)
These teams went against stiff competitions and teams such as Auburn is part of the South Eastern Conference, also known as the SEC, and is arguably the top conference in all of college football. Considering the last six National champions have come out of the SEC. (SEC's College Football National Title Dominance Likely Coming to an End). The other schools from the list above come out of Non Automatic Qualifying BCS conferences. Conferences like The Mountain West which Utah resided in until 2011, and The Western Athletic Conference like Boise State, produced great football schools. However, traditionally these conferences have been smaller schools and do not have as deep of depth from all teams. Unlike power conferences like the Big 12, Big 10, and SEC which have produced numerous National Championship teams throughout the years.
Another reason for having a bowl system rather than a playoff system is that bowl games creat lots of money for each school and its conference. No matter if the team wins or loses both schools essentially win when it comes to payouts from their respected bowl game.
The five games comprising the Bowl Championship Series are the most lucrative. Six conferences -- the Atlantic Coast, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10 and Southeastern -- are under contract to send their champions to those bowls; each received $18.9 million last season, according to Bill Hancock, executive director of the Prairie Village, Kansas-based BCS (College Football Winners Still Lose as Bowl Costs Exceed Payout)
This money will often be split among each university in the conference and can help pay for their athletic programs. The money can also help add renovations to the school’s athletic facilities, or general school funding.
By adding a playoff system into effect, conferences would no longer have their first game against an FCS opponent.
FCS schools are allowed 63 scholarships to be distributed among the whole team. FBS schools are allowed 85 scholarships and are all full rides. This means that the FCS schools often do not have the depth or talent to compete against BCS schools. Sure there is the argument ‘Well this is why you play the game’ but in all honesty it is more like ‘David vs Goliath’. Sure every now and then an FCS team will upset an FBS team. However looking at the data, FBS schools FBS schools have a record of 1838-396-18 (.820) vs. FCS schools since 1978. (History of FCS (I-AA) vs. FBS (I-A)). Take for instance this year Oklahoma State beat Savannah State 84-0. This game was a waste of time for everyone involved. Sure Savannah State enjoyed receiving a nice payout for coming to Oklahoma State, close to a million dollars, but enough is enough. Instead of having a tune-up game for a team like Oklahoma State they could be playing a conference opponent or an evenly faired opponent from a BCS or FBS …show more content…
conference.
Others may argue that by having a playoff system it will diminish the regular season of college football, because teams will look to ‘save’ their players for when the games really count. However, this is not true, because with limited playoff spots, teams will aggressively be fighting for who will make the playoff picture. Teams will only be able to lose 1 or maybe 2 games at most if they plan on making the playoffs. With tough competition throughout college football this will intensify the magnitude of each game, not diminish it.
Some administrators and other school officials are worried that a playoff system would take away more time from the student-athletes in the classroom. However, this would not cause a big problem or severely disrupt an athlete’s ability to learn and be successful in the classroom. Unlike other sports such as basketball, soccer, and volleyball, which can often be played on back to back days or 2-3 days after one another, football is only played once a week. With the psychical demands football puts on athletes bodies they need time to rest, so games are never scheduled twice in one week. With one game a week, athletes will be able to be back in the classroom and will not have to miss significant class time. Besides, football games are normally played on Saturday mornings, afternoons, and occasionally at night. At most a college football player will miss class on Friday if the team has a faraway game and must travel a day before the game to reach its destination. Even if a student does miss a day of class, it is a school sponsored event, so the professor should understand this and allow the student to turn in any missed work after or before the game. Former NCAA president Myles Brand
“I have mixed feelings about the argument that such a tournament [an “NFL-style playoff”] would have severe academic consequences. Only a few schools and a limited number of student-athletes would participate, and the impact would not be greater than football championships in other divisions or championships in other sports.” (Playitoff.org)
Bill Hancock BCS member “It affects the student athletes in many ways. One is whole other series of football games. Another is conflicts with final exams. There's no conflict with basketball and final exams, but there would be with a big December tournament." recent survey conducted at the Quinnipiac University found that 63% of individuals interested in college football prefer a playoff system to the BCS, while only 26% support the BCS as status quo Also ESPN has offered as much as $500 million annually in a 12 year deal to broadcast both semi-final games and the championship game. However, the BCS also wants to see what other networks will bid such as NBC, FOX, CBS, and Turner. (Playoff Construction up for Debate) Lets also consdier that if the playoff system was larger, even more money would be flowing from the networks. ESPN’s bid was for 3 games, the 2 semi-final games and the championship game. Imagine if it was ten teams that’s 6 games they could sell television rights to and double their profits. Currently if Kansas State, Oregon, and Notre Dame all win out they would all be undefeated, one of these undefeated teams will not make the national championship game. Next year’s playoff system would have K-State, Oregon, Notre Dame, and Alabama in the playoff format. However, this is not enough teams to determine a true National Championship. Sure each team is from a different conference each a BCS automatic qualifying conference, K-state the Big 12, Oregon the Pac-12, Alabama the SEC, and Notre Dame is a college football independent. However, many other potential championship teams would be left out. Teams such as No. 5 Georgia, No.7 Florida and No. 8 LSU who played in last year’s National Championship game, and No. 9 Texas A&M, would be sitting at home. Note that No. 6 Ohio State who is 10-0 is not eligible for post season play this season due to player and coaches violating NCAA terms. College football needs to create a playoff system to allow all 8 of these teams to fairly compete for a national championship. Next year’s system would have the top 4 playing each other for a championship. Kansas State the No.1 would play No.4 Alabama while on the other side No.2 Oregon would play No.3 Notre Dame. However, with an 8 team playoff, 4 more teams would partake in the playoffs. The format would be like College Basketball’s Elite Eight structure.
Eichelberger, Curtis.
"College Football Winners Still Lose as Bowl Costs Exceed Payout." Bloomberg.com. N.p., 22 Dec. 2010. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. <http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-23/college-football-winners-still-lose-as-bowl-game-expenses-exceed-payout.html>.
"PLAYitOFF.org." : The Campaign for a College Football Playoff. N.p., 2009. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. <http://playitoff.org/contact.php>.
Wolken, Dan. "SEC's College Football National Title Dominance Likely Coming to an End." The News-Press. USA TODAY SPORTS, 12 Nov. 2012. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. <http://www.news-press.com/article/20121111/SPORTS/121112001/SEC-s-college-football-national-title-dominance-likely-coming-an-end>.
McKillop, Andrew. "History of FCS (I-AA) vs. FBS (I-A)." CSN RSS. College Football Data Warehouse, 23 May 2012. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. <http://www.collegesportingnews.com/content.php?760-History-of-FCS-vs.-FBS>.
Schroeder, George. "Playoff Construction up for Debate." USA TODAY 12 Nov. 2012, Sports sec.: n.8C.
Print.
Here’s an easy question, who was the division one NCAA football national championship last year? If you said the Alabama Crimson Tide you are correct, sort of. Yes, Alabama did defeat the LSU Tigers 21-0 in the National Championship game, but some other teams could make a case for National Champions as well. According to the end of the year Associated Press Poll, Alabama was not an unanimous number one. LSU received one first place vote and Oklahoma State received 4 first place votes. Oklahoma State finished up 3rd in the final poll, after defeating Stanford in the Tostitos Fiesta bowl. Division 1 College football is the only sport that does not have a tournament or playoff system to provide a true national championship. …show more content…
This is not the only example of no clear cut true National Champion. Take for instance in 2003 when LSU defeated Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl National Championship Game, but USC defeated Michigan in the Rose Bowl and ended up finishing #1 in the AP Poll. Both teams had one lose each and our officially declared Co-National Champions. This is what really got people pressing and criticizing the Bowl Championship Series, commonly referred to as the BCS system. Everyone who is involved in college football from athletic directors of big-time universities to the average Joe college football fan was outraged and agrees there should not be such a thing as ‘Co-National Champions’. This is why I BELIEVE college football should setup up a playoff system like Division 1-AA, also known as FCS, Division II and III. 2003 | LSU (National Champs)
USC (#1 in AP Poll) | 13-1
12-1 | Sugar: Beat Oklahoma 21-14
Rose: Beat Michigan 28-14 | Nick Saban
Pete Carroll | Teams in certain smaller conferences are already eliminated from serious bowl contention and national champion hopes from the very first day of practice. Smaller schools are seen as less talented by voters and media polls. Voters pay more attention to how the game was won and who the victory was against rather than focusing on the simple fact and cliché that ‘a win is a win’. Instead of being judged on their performance on the field, teams are being judged by their strength of schedule and how much the team won by. There have been many cases of schools that have gone undefeated through an entire season and have been overlooked by voters for a shot at the National Championship game. A few examples of undefeated teams who were snubbed out of the National Championship game are : * 2009 Boise State Broncos – 14-0 * 2008 Utah Utes – 13-0 * 2006 Boise State Broncos – 13-0 * 2004 Auburn Tigers – 13-0 * 2004 Utah Utes – 12-0 * 1999 Marshall Thundering Herd – 13-0 * 1998 Tulane Green Wave – 12-0
(Playitoff.org)
These teams went against stiff competitions and teams such as Auburn is part of the South Eastern Conference, also known as the SEC, and is arguably the top conference in all of college football. Considering the last six National champions have come out of the SEC. (SEC's College Football National Title Dominance Likely Coming to an End). The other schools from the list above come out of Non Automatic Qualifying BCS conferences. Conferences like The Mountain West which Utah resided in until 2011, and The Western Athletic Conference like Boise State, produced great football schools. However, traditionally these conferences have been smaller schools and do not have as deep of depth from all teams. Unlike power conferences like the Big 12, Big 10, and SEC which have produced numerous National Championship teams throughout the years.
Another reason for having a bowl system rather than a playoff system is that bowl games creat lots of money for each school and its conference. No matter if the team wins or loses both schools essentially win when it comes to payouts from their respected bowl game.
The five games comprising the Bowl Championship Series are the most lucrative. Six conferences -- the Atlantic Coast, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10 and Southeastern -- are under contract to send their champions to those bowls; each received $18.9 million last season, according to Bill Hancock, executive director of the Prairie Village, Kansas-based BCS (College Football Winners Still Lose as Bowl Costs Exceed Payout)
This money will often be split among each university in the conference and can help pay for their athletic programs. The money can also help add renovations to the school’s athletic facilities, or general school funding.
By adding a playoff system into effect, conferences would no longer have their first game against an FCS opponent.
FCS schools are allowed 63 scholarships to be distributed among the whole team. FBS schools are allowed 85 scholarships and are all full rides. This means that the FCS schools often do not have the depth or talent to compete against BCS schools. Sure there is the argument ‘Well this is why you play the game’ but in all honesty it is more like ‘David vs Goliath’. Sure every now and then an FCS team will upset an FBS team. However looking at the data, FBS schools FBS schools have a record of 1838-396-18 (.820) vs. FCS schools since 1978. (History of FCS (I-AA) vs. FBS (I-A)). Take for instance this year Oklahoma State beat Savannah State 84-0. This game was a waste of time for everyone involved. Sure Savannah State enjoyed receiving a nice payout for coming to Oklahoma State, close to a million dollars, but enough is enough. Instead of having a tune-up game for a team like Oklahoma State they could be playing a conference opponent or an evenly faired opponent from a BCS or FBS …show more content…
conference.
Others may argue that by having a playoff system it will diminish the regular season of college football, because teams will look to ‘save’ their players for when the games really count. However, this is not true, because with limited playoff spots, teams will aggressively be fighting for who will make the playoff picture. Teams will only be able to lose 1 or maybe 2 games at most if they plan on making the playoffs. With tough competition throughout college football this will intensify the magnitude of each game, not diminish it.
Some administrators and other school officials are worried that a playoff system would take away more time from the student-athletes in the classroom. However, this would not cause a big problem or severely disrupt an athlete’s ability to learn and be successful in the classroom. Unlike other sports such as basketball, soccer, and volleyball, which can often be played on back to back days or 2-3 days after one another, football is only played once a week. With the psychical demands football puts on athletes bodies they need time to rest, so games are never scheduled twice in one week. With one game a week, athletes will be able to be back in the classroom and will not have to miss significant class time. Besides, football games are normally played on Saturday mornings, afternoons, and occasionally at night. At most a college football player will miss class on Friday if the team has a faraway game and must travel a day before the game to reach its destination. Even if a student does miss a day of class, it is a school sponsored event, so the professor should understand this and allow the student to turn in any missed work after or before the game. Former NCAA president Myles Brand
“I have mixed feelings about the argument that such a tournament [an “NFL-style playoff”] would have severe academic consequences. Only a few schools and a limited number of student-athletes would participate, and the impact would not be greater than football championships in other divisions or championships in other sports.” (Playitoff.org)
Bill Hancock BCS member “It affects the student athletes in many ways. One is whole other series of football games. Another is conflicts with final exams. There's no conflict with basketball and final exams, but there would be with a big December tournament." recent survey conducted at the Quinnipiac University found that 63% of individuals interested in college football prefer a playoff system to the BCS, while only 26% support the BCS as status quo Also ESPN has offered as much as $500 million annually in a 12 year deal to broadcast both semi-final games and the championship game. However, the BCS also wants to see what other networks will bid such as NBC, FOX, CBS, and Turner. (Playoff Construction up for Debate) Lets also consdier that if the playoff system was larger, even more money would be flowing from the networks. ESPN’s bid was for 3 games, the 2 semi-final games and the championship game. Imagine if it was ten teams that’s 6 games they could sell television rights to and double their profits. Currently if Kansas State, Oregon, and Notre Dame all win out they would all be undefeated, one of these undefeated teams will not make the national championship game. Next year’s playoff system would have K-State, Oregon, Notre Dame, and Alabama in the playoff format. However, this is not enough teams to determine a true National Championship. Sure each team is from a different conference each a BCS automatic qualifying conference, K-state the Big 12, Oregon the Pac-12, Alabama the SEC, and Notre Dame is a college football independent. However, many other potential championship teams would be left out. Teams such as No. 5 Georgia, No.7 Florida and No. 8 LSU who played in last year’s National Championship game, and No. 9 Texas A&M, would be sitting at home. Note that No. 6 Ohio State who is 10-0 is not eligible for post season play this season due to player and coaches violating NCAA terms. College football needs to create a playoff system to allow all 8 of these teams to fairly compete for a national championship. Next year’s system would have the top 4 playing each other for a championship. Kansas State the No.1 would play No.4 Alabama while on the other side No.2 Oregon would play No.3 Notre Dame. However, with an 8 team playoff, 4 more teams would partake in the playoffs. The format would be like College Basketball’s Elite Eight structure.
Eichelberger, Curtis.
"College Football Winners Still Lose as Bowl Costs Exceed Payout." Bloomberg.com. N.p., 22 Dec. 2010. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. <http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-23/college-football-winners-still-lose-as-bowl-game-expenses-exceed-payout.html>.
"PLAYitOFF.org." : The Campaign for a College Football Playoff. N.p., 2009. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. <http://playitoff.org/contact.php>.
Wolken, Dan. "SEC's College Football National Title Dominance Likely Coming to an End." The News-Press. USA TODAY SPORTS, 12 Nov. 2012. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. <http://www.news-press.com/article/20121111/SPORTS/121112001/SEC-s-college-football-national-title-dominance-likely-coming-an-end>.
McKillop, Andrew. "History of FCS (I-AA) vs. FBS (I-A)." CSN RSS. College Football Data Warehouse, 23 May 2012. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. <http://www.collegesportingnews.com/content.php?760-History-of-FCS-vs.-FBS>.
Schroeder, George. "Playoff Construction up for Debate." USA TODAY 12 Nov. 2012, Sports sec.: n.8C.
Print.