Future of CFB bowl system

[freescooter]

This is easy as pie.

Look at NCAA basketball. Even with a 68 team field, there are still two other tournaments that draw teams.

College football can go to a 16 team tourney. Play the quarters at Christmas, the semis at New Years, and the final the first week in January. Basically, the way it is now.

The non-tourney teams can play their bowl games before the tourney, all though December up to Christmas. So you have a regular season, a bowl season and a tournament season.

And don't tell me that will make the bowls meaningless. Most of them are meaningless NOW!!!! The bowls are a reward for a winning season and a reward for the alumni. There are enough cities and sponsors that want to be part of college football to fund dozens of bowls.

I more or less agree with this. Which has been what bowls have traditionally been about. A chance to go someplace you wouldn’t normally go and play someone you wouldn’t typically play. It gives various networks something to show during times when lots of people are off and not much is on tv. I mean I watched a bit of the BC game and the Rutgers game on a Thursday afternoon. Are they out-drawing the NFL? Of course not. But Housewives of Nutley New Jersey? Probably.

 

[History Geek]

Just because stands are empty doesn’t mean the ratings are bad. The Pop Tarts bowl had like 4M viewers.

Fair enough my perception was that the bowl ratings tanked this season. Maybe that’s wrong.

 

[Patman]

10 game regular season. Should be a 32 team playoff structured like FCS.

That leaves a crap ton of dead air. 12 is fine. It's football it will take forever. You'll still need bowl games to fill the entertainment gap.

 

[Patman]

If you are the Director of Marketing at any of the current bowl sponsors, how do you go to your boss and recommend renewing a bowl sponsorship? You would look like an idiot.

"Sir, we made a pile of money this year" "oh best not do that again"

 

[giddyup]

That leaves a crap ton of dead air. 12 is fine. It's football it will take forever. You'll still need bowl games to fill the entertainment gap.

The more participation, the better. That’s how you’re going to keep the sport alive and healthy. 12 is not enough. If MBB teaches anything, it’s give teams a shot at the brass ring and people follow. You sell hope, the underdog and the idea everybody gets a fair shot. It’s the American psyche. Cartels, premier leagues and self perpetuating systems belong in Europe.

 

[Purple Stein]

I more or less agree with this. Which has been what bowls have traditionally been about. A chance to go someplace you wouldn’t normally go and play someone you wouldn’t typically play. It gives various networks something to show during times when lots of people are off and not much is on tv. I mean I watched a bit of the BC game and the Rutgers game on a Thursday afternoon. Are they out-drawing the NFL? Of course not. But Housewives of Nutley New Jersey? Probably.

And these bowl games could be formed into a secondary tournament similar to the NIT. That would at least give us something to play for.

I think what this points to is that, with the onset of the NCAAF tournament, the Cure Bowl and all the rest will need some kind of defined identity.

 

[ZooCougar]

The more participation, the better. That’s how you’re going to keep the sport alive and healthy. 12 is not enough. If MBB teaches anything, it’s give teams a shot at the brass ring and people follow. You sell hope, the underdog and the idea everybody gets a fair shot. It’s the American psyche. Cartels, premier leagues and self perpetuating systems belong in Europe.

What Europe has with Premier Leagues and Promotion and Relegation is better than anything we have. They have an open system with a pyramid.

I don’t think you know what you are talking about.

The European Super League has been rejected by European fans.

In America, Power Conference Fans are basically demanding it. The USA is more like what you perceive Europe to be than Europe actually is.

 

[shizzle787]

Ultimately, I believe the CFP will expand to 24 teams. Bowls will still exist outside of the CFP, but they will struggle for relevance like the NIT.

 

[AllHusky]

What Europe has with Premier Leagues and Promotion and Relegation is better than anything we have. They have an open system with a pyramid.

I don’t think you know what you are talking about.

The European Super League has been rejected by European fans.

In America, Power Conference Fans are basically demanding it. The USA is more like what you perceive Europe to be than Europe actually is.

The Premier League concept is unbelievably attractive to me. I admit, I don't know the mechanics of who gets promoted and who gets demoted, but details details details.

Spitballing

3 leagues of 32
bottom 4-6 rotated out every 2-3 years
top 8 in each league make a 3 round playoff
(=21 total games, how many bowls are there currently?) 21 games get sponsors
A league more expensive than C
Championship more expensive than first round

Your A league Champ is National Champ, everyone else gets a final ranking 1-96

 

[CCSUblue]

The Premier League concept is unbelievably attractive to me. I admit, I don't know the mechanics of who gets promoted and who gets demoted, but details details details.

Spitballing

3 leagues of 32
bottom 4-6 rotated out every 2-3 years
top 8 in each league make a 3 round playoff
(=21 total games, how many bowls are there currently?) 21 games get sponsors
A league more expensive than C
Championship more expensive than first round

Your A league Champ is National Champ, everyone else gets a final ranking 1-96

How would standings/rankings work for a 32 team league when each team only plays 12 regular season games? Doesn't work. Euro football works because everyone plays everyone - 20 teams playing 38 matches a season.

 

[huskymedic]

 

[DoctorWho85]

I still think we need to do away with the entire bowl system. It's stupid and outdated at this point. Adopt something similar to the FCS play offs. They have zero problem with the extra games. No reason why FBS can't do the same.

 

[RioDog]

The Premier League concept is unbelievably attractive to me. I admit, I don't know the mechanics of who gets promoted and who gets demoted, but details details details.

Spitballing

3 leagues of 32
bottom 4-6 rotated out every 2-3 years
top 8 in each league make a 3 round playoff
(=21 total games, how many bowls are there currently?) 21 games get sponsors
A league more expensive than C
Championship more expensive than first round

Your A league Champ is National Champ, everyone else gets a final ranking 1-96

Sounds great for a pro league. Relegation, even of the most remote probability, Will NEVER fly with the entitled, beauty contest P2/3/4 prima donna institutions. Never.

 

[tiger paw]

IF you don't like the bowl games, don't watch. ESPN has women's volleyball for guys like that.

 

[ZooCougar]

The Premier League concept is unbelievably attractive to me. I admit, I don't know the mechanics of who gets promoted and who gets demoted, but details details details.

Spitballing

3 leagues of 32
bottom 4-6 rotated out every 2-3 years
top 8 in each league make a 3 round playoff
(=21 total games, how many bowls are there currently?) 21 games get sponsors
A league more expensive than C
Championship more expensive than first round

Your A league Champ is National Champ, everyone else gets a final ranking 1-96

“premier” is just the top league.

What you just described is an open system with a pyramid and promotion and relegation.

This is something that won’t happen in American sports because the stakeholders are cowards who hate true competition and they only care about protecting their investment.

And the people behind the aborted Euro Super League? Americans. That evil clown John Henry (Liverpool) Bigger Clown Glaser (Man U) and Cheap Clown Stan “Wal Mart Trophy Husband” Stan Kroenke “Arsenal”.

 

[Patman]

“premier” is just the top league.

What you just described is an open system with a pyramid and promotion and relegation.

This is something that won’t happen in American sports because the stakeholders are cowards who hate true competition and they only care about protecting their investment.

And the people behind the aborted Euro Super League? Americans. That evil clown John Henry (Liverpool) Bigger Clown Glaser (Man U) and Cheap Clown Stan “Wal Mart Trophy Husband” Stan Kroenke “Arsenal”.

also can't happen because you need a very formal structure to move teams up and down and right now the college sports environments have been actively avoiding such structures. American football is the hardest due to the least amount of games.