Re: Watching with interest the goings on in College Football
Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2021 7:29 pm
billybud wrote:Talking heads repeat public opinion...and the public has said..."there are too many bowl games"...
We have said it on this board...we reminisce about the days when going to a bowl game meant something other than..."well, you didn't actually lose more than you won".
For 2020 and beyond, the NCAA recently approved a possible expansion to as many as 86 teams in 44 postseason games, including the national championship. That means nearly two-thirds of all major-college football teams could earn a participation trophy in the form of a bowl berth.
The NCAA consensus recently was to try to accommodate all teams with records of 6-6 or better. This year, there were more eligible teams (82) than bowl slots (78), leaving four teams unhappy and showing room for more bowl games. The NCAA based its approval of an expanded bowl system on the number of bowl-eligible teams in each of the 10 major conferences over the previous four years, plus independent schools. In some years, more teams with 5-7 records might get into bowl games, as they have in the past.
BUT...we do watch those bowls...the lesser bowls like Appalachian State vs North Texas and the Mobile Bowl with Western Kentucky vs Georgia Southern, had more viewers than regular season games like K State-Baylor, UCLA-Stanford, Rutgers-Purdue, Baylor-Iowa St., Duke-UNC etc.
“What does it ultimately matter if there’s quote-unquote too many games?” Overby said of the perception by some that there’s a glut of bowl games. “As long as there’s interest and people want to play in them, and there’s a perceived value, then really it’s a net positive for the sport. The number of games is really not the issue.”
“ESPN looks at bowls as a highly profitable venture,” former CBS Sports president Neal Pilson told USA TODAY. “They can get better ratings with a (lower-tier) bowl game than they can get with maybe just another college basketball game.”
ESPN profits from the bowls...small bowl included....ESPN will support them until they are profit drainers....
Talking heads never repeat the opinions that do not reflect their agenda ...
Case in point; espn did a poll back in the early 2000's that said:
What would you prefer to determine the National Championship
(a.) a plus 1 game
(b.) a 4 team playoff
(c.) an 8 team playoff
(d.) a 16 or more team playoff
What they did not give as an option, was:
(e.) keep the BCS
Then, when they broadcasted the results, the put it on a College Football Saturday, in a segment between games, with Dari Nowkhah saying; "How do you believe the National Champion should be determined? We'll tell you what you think, when we come back from break."
Gleam from that whatever you choose. But I don't believe in broadcast coincidence.
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