College football exec declares bowl games ‘officially dead’ amid new controversy

The historic decision by a blue-blood program to opt out of a bowl game following its snub from the playoff could have enormous ramifications to the college football bowl season.

Could college football bowl games be a thing of the past? | Matthew Emmons-Imagn Images

The decision by Notre Dame to not play in a bowl game could have sweeping consequences not only for the playoff system, but also regarding the future of the national college football bowl system itself.

That is according to a bowl executive who believes the move could have historic implications for the entire postseason format.

The end of college football bowl season?

After being snubbed from playoff consideration on selection day, Notre Dame stunned the college football world by declining to take part in any postseason competition, and a person involved in the bowl system has suggested that the move could spell its end.

“The bowl system we know now is officially dead,” a college football bowl executive said, via On3 Sports’ Brett McMurphy.

They added: “RIP. It was a nice run while it lasted.”

Playoff or bust?

After news of Notre Dame’s decision went public, a growing consensus has emerged among college football analysts that a precedent has already been established.

By having such a well-known and highly-ranked team that was kept out of the playoff elect to not play in any bowl game, a message of sorts has been communicated to decision makers that the big-time schools are moving towards a playoff-or-bust mentality.

Over time, that could prove to be a mortal blow against a bowl system that was already struggling to stay as relevant as in years past since the emergence of the playoff.

Why Notre Dame did it

Notre Dame looked poised to take the final place in the College Football Playoff after being ranked ahead of Miami in the selection committee’s previous rankings. 

That was, until the selectors suddenly swapped them on the last day to put the Hurricanes in and the Irish out.

While most observers agree Miami likely deserved the spot given its head-to-head victory over Notre Dame, the timing of the committee’s decision also drew criticism.

And positively enraged everyone at Notre Dame, enough to withdraw their name from any bowl consideration. Why play in a rinky-dink bowl game when you could have had a playoff spot?

Notre Dame isn’t alone

While it may be the most high-profile program to back out of the bowl season, Notre Dame is not the only one to make that decision.

Kansas State and Iowa State were the two other bowl-eligible teams that announced they will not play in the postseason after the first school’s head coach retired and the latter’s, Matt Campbell, left the program to become the head man at Penn State.

Florida State, Auburn, UCF, Baylor, Kansas, Rutgers, and Temple were the 5-7 schools that also turned down a bowl appearance that was offered to them, according to McMurphy.

Those schools all have very different reasons, but the relatively easy decision they made to not take part in bowl season could itself be enough to send a message to the powers that be that the system itself may not be as important as it once was.

ESPN being the main power in question, given it broadcasts so many of the bowl games and owns more than a dozen of them.

The end of another tradition?

The network could eventually decide that bowl season is an acceptable sacrifice in order to put all of its attention on broadcasting the College Football Playoff.

Which could, in turn, fuel more expansion of the playoff field to ensure as many high-profile schools can take part as possible.

Who knows what the timeline would be, but if the process of eliminating bowl games will turn college football’s operators a profit in place of tradition, you can be sure that’s the course they’ll take.