[NU Sports] Can this day get any better???

[Jonathan Hodges]

> Miami would bring a "name" program to some of those other bowls, but not a
> large contingent of fans. Boise would easily outdraw Miami for the Fiesta
> Bowl and TCU could probably rival them for a short trip to New Orleans for
> the Sugar (though with Bama, they should fill seats).
>

Sorry, couldn't let this go by.  There is no way a bowl would voluntarily
pick Boise State or TCU over Miami FL.  There may be plenty of mediocre
teams in the ACC that don't draw well, but if Miami, VT, or Florida State
are in the mix, they'll be picked over a mid-major any day of the week.

Despite Boise State's success they don't really have a national following
and likely wouldn't be able to cater to a BCS bowl's financial needs on
their own (say they play TCU).  And TCU has attendance numbers only slightly
above NU despite tons of recent success (they face many of the same issues
as NU - small, private school in an area dominated by big state schools and
are in a pro sports town).

And, as we've seen before, W/L records don't matter when it comes to bowl
selections, specifically in the BCS - all that matters is filling the seats
and getting people to watch on TV.  Let's not pretend the system is anything
but a money machine.


>
>
> So I guess yes, the day can get even better. We beat Iowa. ND loses. AND
> the B(C)S is losing!
>

I, too, would prefer a playoff (I support a Plus One system with the current
bowls intact), but no amount of BCS apocalypses will adversely affect the
current system; in fact, I would argue they make the current system
stronger.  Just look at issues earlier this decade which seemingly should
have brought the system to its knees, but it's going on even stronger (and
is renewed with the biggest contract yet through 2013).

The only way the system is coming down is if the BCS conferences decide to
give up money they currently enjoy from the BCS.  The big conferences hold
all of the power and money and they won't give it up voluntarily.  I read in
(NU alum & SI writer) Stewart Mandel's book that a move to a playoff adding
additional games would require a full NCAA Div. I vote, which would
definitely involve some monetary concessions to the "little guys" to pass
(i.e. revenue sharing in the NCAA basketball tournament).

Of course, NU, as a member of a BCS conference that has equal revenue
sharing, reaps huge benefits from the current system, so it's hard to
complain about it too much.

I think a "Plus One" is likely to be seriously discussed within the next 10
years ago, but a full playoff and/or abandoning the current bowl system are
pipe dreams.

Jonathan