A Jersey Guy: CFB Motto: Follow The Money
You will hear and read a lot of explanations given as the motivating factor for expanding the college playoff system from 4 to 12 teams, a move, which will come within the next two years.
It is a development which took another leap forward on Thursday when 10 conference commissioners and Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick met in Chicago.
But let's cut to the chase.
It's all about the money, which could be in the $2 billion a year range when all of the details of a new television contract and playoff format are settled.
And when that happens, let's hope that an edict is passed--at least privately-- that we will never, ever hear the term ""STUDENT-ATHLETE'' mentioned when talking about major college football and basketball.
For now, we will stick with football, where 130 FBS schools will return to a full 12-game regular season schedule in September, with teams filled with "employees" of the universities.
Who is kidding whom here.
The only reason that most of the FBS schools played in last-season's pandemic plagued season was because of the money.
If that were not a factor, the big boys would have followed their Ivy League relatives and shut down.
Instead, players were asked to show up midway through the summer, allow themselves to be sequestered, tested and at times, isolated from their fellow students from September until January.
They were asked to stay on campus when the other students were on holiday breaks.
They were asked not to socialize, or to minimize that contact, even within their own family.
The CFP system persevered, even with some strange events such as the Rose Bowl being played in Arlington, Texas and an assortment of postponements, cancellations and other events which continued through the spring when some teams played their fall schedule.
In the end, Alabama, an NFL feeding satellite program of talent In the Southeastern Conference, led by commissioner Greg Sankey, put together another championship season.
But because of COVID-19 issues, almost every CFB program felt a revenue decline.
Fast forward to a summer and you have major changes happening, including issue of compensating athletes for the use of their likeness and image, which is literally days away from becoming reality
It is just another example of a "sport'' that is being exposed as the billion dollar business it is.
The reaction of the power brokers in college football is almost predictable.
The players will have to "earn'' the money they will be paid.
Which brings us to this: a 12 game playoff system, an extended season which begins in early August and will not end until mid to late January, with the possibility of a 17 game season for some teams.
I don't have a problem with this.
I think this season will be exciting, unpredictable and seismic--IF we admit that this level of college football is a mini version of the National Football League and that the players work for the university to earn income for both the schools and themselves.
If they get an education, attend classes, take part in other campus activities, good for them, but let's be clear their primary JOB is to play football.
If the nature of what the game has become bothers some people, so be it.
Let them watch FCS football or Division 2 and Division 3 games where the term student athlete still has some meaning and the games are not dictated by revenue issues.
The further along the slippery slope the FBS conferences travel, the closer we are getting to the point where the differences between Saturday and Sunday football is in skill level and not much more.