re: Why not move to a 6 team playoff vs. an 8 team playoff?

quote:

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with 5 power conferences, 6 is the way to go...even 5 could work...4 vs 5 would be a play-in game

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You have,
4 power conferences with CCG's
1 power conference without a CCG
1 IND school who is "half in" a conference

4 CCG's as defacto first round is already in place
2 playoff games are already in place

You already have a 8 team playoff with substitution after the 4 CCG's to patch the final four as needed. Project out 10 - 20 years from now...


Pick A or B for each possibility

ITEM #1
A) Notre Dame will still be IND
or
B) Notre Dame will become a full member of the ACC

ITEM #2
A) Bottom 5 members of the Big 12 will have major brand status
or
B) Bottom 5 members of the Big 12 will still be cellar dwellers

ITEM #3
A) Big 12 will have gotten back to 12 and expanded to new markets by entering new states
or
B) Big 12 will still be at 10 teams and limited markets of OK, KS, IA, and WV

ITEM #4
A) Big 12 will even exist in 10 - 20 years
or
B) PAC 16 becomes a reality and 4 top level Big 12 schools join the PAC



Often overlooked in conference realignment is the true nature is not expansion, but contraction. Fewer top schools mean bigger slices for fewer schools and will pressure bottom lines to increase revenue. Chicago in the B1G, Idaho in the PAC, and Tulane in the SEC are all examples of schools who have dropped out of conferences when keeping up was no longer acceptable.

If you go beyond 4 now, and keep the CCG's, then you are inviting lower conferences a seat at the table which is pretty much what the playoff system was invented to eliminate. The value of a playoff MNC in football is to protect the exclusive nature of the product to protect the long term value. Making the playoff accept more than 4 teams is opening Pandoras Box and that would not bode well long term for the SEC. Thinking more than 4 gets multiple SEC teams in is is not the answer because the rest of the country will resist this.

If your vision is
Team 1 = SEC vs Team 8 = I ND
Team 2 = PAC vs Team 7 = PAC
Team 3 = ACC vs Team 6 = SEC
Team 4 = B1G vs Team 5 = SEC

The reality is probably more like
If your vision is
Team 1 = SEC vs Team 8 = I ND
Team 2 = PAC vs Team 7 = B 12
Team 3 = ACC vs Team 6 = CUSA
Team 4 = B1G vs Team 5 = AAC