[NU Sports] Money and the BCS

[Eric West]

Jim Leonard wrote:
> I don't hate the BCS like some people do, but I don't understand the why the current BCS hasn't developed a simple playoff system. We're always talking about how in college football 'it's all about the money', so why does the BCS leave so much on the table?
>   
 From the bowl organizers' side, there are two concerns, both of which 
are tied to revenue:

1. They want to maintain some degree of control over who plays in their 
game. The way they see it, there wasn't much wrong with the system 
pre-BCS, and they've conceded enough just to make #1 vs. #2 possible. 
Basing their matchup completely on arbitrary rankings (or on who 
happened to win in a previous round) would be a nightmare for their 
promotion folks.

2. They don't want their bowl to be merely a semi-final (or 
quarter-final) game, which would diminish the prestige and possibly 
change the date from the optimal New Year's slot. Even in years when 
they are not hosting the title game, these bowls are still viewed as 
destination events in and of themselves (current sportstalk blowhards 
notwithstanding), much as they were pre-BCS when they didn't have a #1 
or #2 team playing in them.

Of course, there's also fear that any move toward a playoff mentality 
would eventually lead to the obliteration of bowls entirely. True or 
not, they can't be blamed for not wanting to take a chance.

 From the "Big Six" conferences plus Notre Dame, the main concern is not 
letting outside teams gain any real chance of contending for the title 
-- and equally importantly, gaining a greater share of the available 
revenue. I believe Jonathan just posted about that in detail.

That's basically why the folks behind the BCS don't really want to 
change, and every change so far has been grudgingly made, as a reaction 
to whatever situation may have arisen that year. I'm not claiming that 
it's fair or right, mind you...it's just why.

As for "many people don't want playoffs"...oy. "Many" people want and 
don't want lots of things, but that is neither proof of majority nor any 
concern whatsoever to the BCS. They wouldn't care if 99% of the country 
wanted a playoff, so long as the remaining 1% filled their stadiums and 
gave them the revenue they desired.


Eric West
e-west at northwestern.edu