Big East considers adding TCU

[Spence]

It is going to happen. Because TV wants a playoff and it will be the only way to make it happen. I don't think you will reconize CFB in 10 years. I think the bowls will be gone and the all games will be done by the second week of December except for the championship game on or around New Years. I also think lots of people you have spent years calling for a playoff will not like what they see in the end. I also think it is going to happen and sooner rathger then later.

[..fanatic]

I think this discussion is the reason these are called conspiracy "theories". They have no basis in fact and presume results based on misconceptions, especially regarding TV's financial influence in the equation. Evidence link: http://espn.go.com/ncaa/revenue

[Spence]

Where is the bowl money add into? I know Jim Delany wants a 16 team conference and I know that if the B-10 does it, others will follow suit. Once that snowball starts rolling it will roll quick down hill. I'm not a fan of it happening, but I see no way that it doesn't happen. I don't know how the conferences will change or who will be in them, but I think it is going to happen.

[..fanatic]

Where is the bowl money add into? I know Jim Delany wants a 16 team conference and I know that if the B-10 does it, others will follow suit. Once that snowball starts rolling it will roll quick down hill. I'm not a fan of it happening, but I see no way that it doesn't happen. I don't know how the conferences will change or who will be in them, but I think it is going to happen.

Conferences want more teams because it provides more exposure and bargaining power. More importantly, they are just trying to strengthen themselves so they won't be the one that gets eaten, but that doesn't mean they want to take the next step to a playoff. Jim Delany, in particular, has been very vocal of his anti-playoff stance. And the last time I saw any percentages on the number of school presidents who were for it, it was at or near 100% against.

You ask where is the bowl money in the chart, but that question misses the point. Schools like bowl trips for exposure and recruiting, not the money. Look how little TV $$$ matter compared to donations, ticket sales, etc. At the end of the day, those who buy tickets and donate to the program matter a helluva lot more than anyone wants to give credence to. It is not about pleasing TV for TV's sake. It's about bargaining power for the schools and conferences. They hold the cards - not TV.

[Spence]

I only asked where the bowl money fit in because I wanted to know. There wasn't a point trying to be made there. Delany was against a playoff format, but recently I have heard him soften his stance. That is the reason I mentioned Delany, because they need him to get it done.

I do think in the past TV needed the schools worse then the schools needed TV, but in today's economy, I see that changing. Especially with the whole healthcare thing going on now. It almost has to put a drain on donations. - at least for people not in the heathcare industry.

I hope you are right and playoffs aren't sitting on the table. I think playoffs would hurt the fans. I think they would also hurt the schools who think it is a good idea. They only people I see playoffs helping is conferences like C-USA. MAC, and the Sun Belt. They guys who don't have any seat at the table and have almost no chance of getting one. I do know that the mega conferences are going to happen, unfortunately. The ground work is being laid.

[WoVeU]

I like that scenario...but it will be bloody cutting to 64 from 120...

Man, you said it...we could go with out Horror Films for a couple years after that weeping and gnashing of teeth ensues. (Recall the "top" 3 to 5 teams who scream and lament at tourney time every year. Well, imagine those left on the outside looking in at this kid of cut!!???!! And not for one night...no proms ever again...40, 50, and 60 year-old virgins!)