re: Death of College Athletics

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Which was not the issue raised in the OP, and therefore not implicated in my response. Read closer.

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Which was why my response to the op was basically forget about the other sports, football itself is on a march to death.

The SEC is kind of an example of how college athletics should be more ubiquitous and not the "haves/haves not". College football needs to expand the playoff with not one, but two automatic bids for the G5.

Oh, yeah, I thought you had taken too many shots to the head and were going to #MeToo us.

I get what you are saying, but College Football doesn't have the parity that you have in the NFL and I never hope it gets that way. While I like the 4 time format, I do think about 6 is about as far as it needs to expand because I think there is a significant drop off in quality of teams after about 6.

There is another issue about expanding the playoffs and that is the cost to the fans. Right now with just 2 playoffs games your are talking very expensive trips that the average college football fan will struggle to be able to pay for with it being over the Christmas holidays...I already think that multiple playoff sites should be set aside to better accommodate teams. If Clemson and Alabama end up playing for the title, it should be played in the South at a play like Atlanta, Charlotte, Tampa, Jax to accommodate the fan bases and the top contender should have that choice. Right now 2 teams from the South will have to go to California to play and that's just not good.

I admit there is a part of me that would not mind an expanded playoff. Let's to it in small increments to see how it works. Lets go to 6 teams for 5 years and if it needs to get bigger then go to 8 for another 5 years with "Look-In" options at the end of each you to make the necessary adjustments.

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There is another issue about expanding the playoffs and that is the cost to the fans.

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First two rounds on campus. Would not be a huge burden on fans, especially if season was shortened to 11 games.

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Right now with just 2 playoffs games your are talking very expensive trips that the average college football fan will struggle to be able to pay for with it being over the Christmas holidays

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NC game is 475 face value...in an expensive part of California. Yeah its way overpriced and you wont have normal fans going to that game. Completely agree there

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I already think that multiple playoff sites should be set aside to better accommodate teams.

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Agreed. Bama-OU lets play in Nashville or New Orleans. Clemson-ND Charlotte, Nashville, etc. Id even be ok with a college stadium hosting if there were enough hotel rooms in that town.

We can agree to disagree on the expanded playoff. Right now bowls are being held on to because that is what we know. Unfortunately its a sinking ship. The bowls have no meaning anymore and its sad(from a fan perspective) that only 4 teams can really have a meaningful post-season.

Id kill to have 16 games with national championship implications within a 45ish day period. It would would be lifeblood to a sport that, as it is now, is slowly fading. Youd bring back the west coast fans as well.

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Not for the money makers

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Even the money makers will die, and it will be sooner than most think.

As an old guy, those between 105 and 75 have been the bulk of the donations as they have the bulk of the money. The pre war generation is dying quickly because they are old and those nearer the end of the baby boom (say 1950 to 1960) are getting too old to care.

Problem is they have been supporting bloated salaries and office costs that have been growing well faster than both inflation and average wages. This will lead to a perfect storm very soon as TV is only 1/3 of the revenue stream while 1/3 is donations and 1/3 is live event revenue. Imagine any company where 1/3 of its revenues disappears over a few short years. Multiply that by universities that know how to spend, but not spend efficiently.

Granted I am old, but in my generation they were smart and kept fan cost low so the poor and middle class kids could produce the next generations of donors. The bigger problem is sports were the event but the real value was cementing interpersonal relationships with the fans. Fans sat next to each other for generations and created bonds with each other exceeding just the sporting event. That has been replaced by corporate folks who change from game to game and would rather discuss their money than their family.

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Today, most colleges are struggling to keep athletics

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Not as much as you would think because they have old farts to donate. The real issue is they continue to spend like lottery winners and less like Scottish bankers. Leadership ASSUMES that the money will grow at 15% and they can give themselves a 15% raise each year. Clearly this is not the case but they do not see it because they would have to earn less and spend less.

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The old guard doesn't want to recognize this, but it is true.

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Who do you think the old guard is? The old guard of fans have watched the money grab over the past 20 years and certainly the past 10 with disgust. The old guard of presidents and AD's are NOT the old guard in case you have not noticed. That is part of the problem as presidents and AD's are replaced it is not with a modest and sustainable 2% to 4% but a 200% to 400% that can not be sustained long term. Paying the former AD 200K and his replacement 2M will catch up sooner than later.

The bigger issue is the facilities arms race going on right now where only the handful of contractors are the real winners. College kids may be young but not stupid in they know this is jay throwing money in a fire as opposed to using it to build a future. It is not that a place like Berea College exists, it is that so few want to ensure their own future by learning how they did it.

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Sorry about the fake punt man

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How long till there is a poster by the name of "Kirby's Fake Punter"

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Id kill to have 16 games with national championship implications within a 45ish day period. It would would be lifeblood to a sport that, as it is now, is slowly fading. Youd bring back the west coast fans as well.

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Let me ask you a question with regards to the 16 team model you advocate. Would those first round teams that are beaten be done for the year or would you allow them to attend a bowl perhaps against those schools that did not make the 16 team tournament? Just curious.

I do like 12 games in a regular season because I like more football and not less. Most teams also need that extra game for the income and if only 16 teams make the tournament then that's going to be a pretty sizable pay cut for a lot of programs.

Sounds like your deepwater well dried up. Sorry you are out of a job. Shouldn't be too hard to get another tho.

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SEC football is threatened by the significant drop in youth and high school football across this country.

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Yeah Little Rock used to produce a fair number of football athletes for us, but now most of them are playing basketball. Cheaper for non-affluent families and easier to play.