New BCS Playoff?

[MileHigh]

Don't have a problem with it. Did they clarify that it will be the top three conference champs and one at-large (if the top four aren't conference champs?) I'd also like to see the at-large always seeded 4 and play #1 whether they share the same conference or not.
Don't like the rotation of the bowls, unless they mean that no bowl can host a semi in consecutive years. Figure the Gator, the Orange, the Sugar and the Peach Bowl (yeah I'm old) can divvy up the Big East, ACC and SEC and maybe the Big 10 if need be while the Fiesta, Rose and Cotton handle the Pac12, Big 12 et.al

Did they mention whether they would permit a bowl to host a semi and the final in the same year?

Nope. But I would suspect they will try to avoid that so a team doesn't play in the same stadium in back-to-back weeks.

 

[DanOregon]

I am curious how they will make the Championship game work - the bowls are used to "offering" millions on the condition that teams spend much of that loot locally.
Are the bowl organizations going to bid on these things? Civic groups? Figure the game sponsors won't have a say in where it is played and I can count on one hand the number metro areas with DI schools and/or existing organizational structure that might have the desire to go for it: Atlanta, Dallas, Phoenix, Miami, New Orleans and maybe Indianapolis.
The NFL has an advantage in that the Super Bowl is always held in an NFL city, the local team can lobby fellow owners and rally local support.
And that said, I also wouldn't be surprised if the "bids" end up being underwhelming.

 

[JRoyal]

I can't see the SEC and Big 12 signing off if there was a rule that required all four teams to be conference champs. Maybe three champs and one at-large that could go to a conference runner-up.

And I think this sucks for fans who want to go to games. Travel to one bowl can be expensive; now you're asking people to pony up for two sites.

Of course, this wasn't done for fans. It was done for money.

 

[Stitch]

FCS fans

I can't see the SEC and Big 12 signing off if there was a rule that required all four teams to be conference champs. Maybe three champs and one at-large that could go to a conference runner-up.

And I think this sucks for fans who want to go to games. Travel to one bowl can be expensive; now you're asking people to pony up for two sites.

Of course, this wasn't done for fans. It was done for money.

I don't see how two games will inconvenience fans more than any other tournament, especially compared to every other NCAA football playoff.

 

[dixiehack]

For men's basketball, you are talking a fan base of 3-5k traveling, unless you get a UNC in Greensboro scenario. Football economics for this needs 35-40k traveling fans - in back-to-back weeks.

Also, capping at large bids at one means no Stanford in a playoff last year. Think that would have drawn any complaints?

 

[Michael_ Gee]

This system, a vast improvement on the BCS, already contains the seeds of its own destruction. It won't take long before teams 1-4 in the polls and in the consensus of fans don't all get invited so some conference champ does. And then the fun will start.

 

[JRoyal]

FCS fans

I can't see the SEC and Big 12 signing off if there was a rule that required all four teams to be conference champs. Maybe three champs and one at-large that could go to a conference runner-up.

And I think this sucks for fans who want to go to games. Travel to one bowl can be expensive; now you're asking people to pony up for two sites.

Of course, this wasn't done for fans. It was done for money.

I don't see how two games will inconvenience fans more than any other tournament, especially compared to every other NCAA football playoff.

At least with other tournaments, it's a larger field and you have several sites for early rounds so you have a better chance of catching your team, esp. if they get a higher seed. With this set-up, if you're an OU fan, for example, you could end up in the Rose Bowl for one game and a title game in Miami depending on how the rotation gets set up and where you're seeded.

And every other NCAA football playoff sucks for half the teams; the other half host home games. So while some fans are inconvenienced, others get to watch a game in their home stadium. I would love to see that done here. Instead, a lot of fans (unless they're wealthy) will be forced into the choice of a semifinal game or holding out hope for the title game.

 

[Armchair_QB]

I am curious how they will make the Championship game work - the bowls are used to "offering" millions on the condition that teams spend much of that loot locally.
Are the bowl organizations going to bid on these things? Civic groups? Figure the game sponsors won't have a say in where it is played and I can count on one hand the number metro areas with DI schools and/or existing organizational structure that might have the desire to go for it: Atlanta, Dallas, Phoenix, Miami, New Orleans and maybe Indianapolis.
The NFL has an advantage in that the Super Bowl is always held in an NFL city, the local team can lobby fellow owners and rally local support.
And that said, I also wouldn't be surprised if the "bids" end up being underwhelming.

I suspect they'll have as much trouble finding a host for the championship game as the NCAA does finding a host for the Final Four.

 

[Armchair_QB]

Reading the ESPN story only the Champions Bowl (which will be the Cotton Bowl), Rose Bowl & Orange Bowl are already confirmed as part of the semifinal rotation. The other three bowls are TBD:

There will be three contract bowls -- the Champions Bowl, which is a partnership between the Big 12 and SEC, the Rose Bowl, which has a longstanding tradition between the Big Ten and Pac 12, and a bowl to be determined for the ACC, which is likely to continue its partnership with the Orange Bowl.

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/8099187/ncaa-presidents-approve-four-team-college-football-playoff-beginning-2014

 

[kickoff-time]

For men's basketball, you are talking a fan base of 3-5k traveling, unless you get a UNC in Greensboro scenario. Football economics for this needs 35-40k traveling fans - in back-to-back weeks.

Also, capping at large bids at one means no Stanford in a playoff last year. Think that would have drawn any complaints?

This is why I had hoped local sites could be used for the semifinals, giving teams who actually finish perfect a chance to host a semifinal as a reward. The BCS bowls had to be satisfied and the six-bowl rotation seems to be key.

I think this is a start but I can see it expanded once powerful but stubborn dopes like Jim Delany retire. That this much progress has been made in 3-4 years is like a couple of Ice Ages. It will evolve, just give it a few decades.

 

[Armchair_QB]

If they pair the semi sites they can probably have one eastern game & one western game every year.

West
Rose
Fiesta
Cotton/Champions

East
Orange
Sugar
Citrus/Chik-Fil-A

I also expect they'll take local support into consideration when choosing the final three teams for the rotation. If your game sells out regularly you've probably got a better chance to be selected.

 

[Stitch]

What type of renovations is the Citrus Bowl getting? Are the bleachers going to be replaced by individual seats?

 

[Armchair_QB]

What type of renovations is the Citrus Bowl getting? Are the bleachers going to be replaced by individual seats?

Here are some pics. Looks like a pretty serious rebuild.

http://www.floridacitrussports.com/photos/tabid/362/AlbumID/1360-69/Default.aspx

Love the fact they used Tennessee's checkerboard end zones in the rendering. I guess Steve Spurrier did the drawings...

"You can't spell Citrus without UT."

 

[Mark2010]

Just make it like the FCS playoffs and be done with it. Somehow that playoff system works wonders.

Actually, there are major problems, chief among them, as several coaches and ADs have told me, is too many games. If you get all the way to the final, you may have to play 16 games. That's too many. Season stretches from late August until the second week in January. That's always been a concern.

We've got to remember the majority of the players are students first. I've heard stories of having to take final exams in a hotel room, on an airplane or after you arrived back home, dead tired from jet lag and on 3 hours of sleep. I used to be in favor of a real playoff system, until I saw and heard the chaos it caused.

If they can substitute a national semifinal for a bowl game and then play one more game for a title, I guess that is OK. It's only one more game for just two schools. But we've got to find a way to shorten the schedule.

 

[Mark2010]

For the sake of the Big Ten, let's get at least one non-Southern site in the rotation. Why not Indianapolis? Good stadium, central location, lots of hotels, NCAA headquarters, etc. Detroit could also be considered with Ford Field.

I'd be in favor of Pasadena, Arizona, Dallas, New Orleans, Miami and Indianapolis in the rotation and then allowing those cities to bid (along with others) for the title game in years when they DO NOT host the semifinals.

 

[Armchair_QB]

For the sake of the Big Ten, let's get at least one non-Southern site in the rotation. Why not Indianapolis? Good stadium, central location, lots of hotels, NCAA headquarters, etc. Detroit could also be considered with Ford Field.

I'd be in favor of Pasadena, Arizona, Dallas, New Orleans, Miami and Indianapolis in the rotation and then allowing those cities to bid (along with others) for the title game in years when they DO NOT host the semifinals.

Semifinals will be held at existing bowl sites so Indy is not an option. Detroit would be though.

Indy could host the championship game though.

 

[HanSenSE]

Just make it like the FCS playoffs and be done with it. Somehow that playoff system works wonders.

Actually, there are major problems, chief among them, as several coaches and ADs have told me, is too many games. If you get all the way to the final, you may have to play 16 games. That's too many. Season stretches from late August until the second week in January. That's always been a concern.

We've got to remember the majority of the players are students first. I've heard stories of having to take final exams in a hotel room, on an airplane or after you arrived back home, dead tired from jet lag and on 3 hours of sleep. I used to be in favor of a real playoff system, until I saw and heard the chaos it caused.

If they can substitute a national semifinal for a bowl game and then play one more game for a title, I guess that is OK. It's only one more game for just two schools. But we've got to find a way to shorten the schedule.

There's probably no hope of putting water back in the bottle by reducing the regular season, is there?

At the least, I could see everyone starting Labor Day weekend and wrapping up by Thanksgiving, with the conference titles game the next weekend. Just one exception: Army-Navy.

I can hear the screaming about the traditionals already, but that's already been done ... just ask Stanford and Cal fans why the Big Game is in October this year!

 

[Mark2010]

If conferences are going to continue to hold championship games, those games HAVE to mean something. No losing a conference championship game (heaven forbid, not even qualifying for one) and sneaking into the playoff by the backdoor. A conference championship is and should be an elimination game for any team serious about a national championship.

I'm worried the way it might be set up, a team (you know who you are) is better off not winning its division and getting to skip a conference championship game altogether instead of risking a loss to another decent team. None of this "well, we went 11-1 and played a hard schedule". You lost the one that mattered, Stanford and Alabama. No playoff spot for that.

I've always HATED that about the basketball. Blow off your conference tournament because you're guaranteed an NCAA bid anyway. Bad method.

 

[cjericho]

Will the bowl system apologists still use the 'It cheapens the regular season argument.' That was a favorite with a few tools I used to work with. 'Every regular season game is so important, if you lose one you're probably out of the national championship picture. In the NFL you can lose 6 or 7 games and make the playoffs.' I never got an answer to, How can the regular season be so important if 3 teams from BCS conferences happen to go undefeated. In that case the regular season was so important for 2 but meant **** for 1.

 

[kickoff-time]

If conferences are going to continue to hold championship games, those games HAVE to mean something. No losing a conference championship game (heaven forbid, not even qualifying for one) and sneaking into the playoff by the backdoor. A conference championship is and should be an elimination game for any team serious about a national championship.

I'm worried the way it might be set up, a team (you know who you are) is better off not winning its division and getting to skip a conference championship game altogether instead of risking a loss to another decent team. None of this "well, we went 11-1 and played a hard schedule". You lost the one that mattered, Stanford and Alabama. No playoff spot for that.

I've always HATED that about the basketball. Blow off your conference tournament because you're guaranteed an NCAA bid anyway. Bad method.

Take the best teams period. Some were touting LSU as not only the best team last year but one of the best SEC teams of all time.