OT - Group of 5 officials considering own football playoff

[GoldenWarrior11]

The G5 is living in a fantasy world if they truly believe they have (or will eventually have) access to the same opportunities and resources as the P5. The P5 consolidated from the P6 (and old Big East) because they wanted more exclusivity and regulation with how they wanted to govern and manage collegiate football - not to mention making more money. They spend more money, have more resources, have larger fan bases, have experienced more success, and have firmly established themselves as premier college football group in the country.

I may have a minority opinion, but I do not see any further call-ups from the G5 into the P5 for a very long time, if ever again. If you think about it, only select schools have been called up into the power conference structure (Louisville - to an extent, TCU and Utah). Rutgers, Maryland, Colorado, Nebraska, Missouri, Texas A&M, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, West Virginia and Notre Dame (albeit in a part-time position) all shifted within the power conference structure. Louisville, while a member of the Big East, made the jump into the ACC all the way from the Big East, Conference USA, and D-1 Independence. Schools like UConn, Houston, Memphis, Cincinnati, Boise State, et al., can spend whatever they want to try and buy their way into the club, but the reality is the the P5 does not need them, nor would any school provide any boost in revenue or exposure. Would ECU honestly ever be invited into the ACC? Would San Diego State ever get an invite to the PAC-12? Will Memphis ever get into the SEC? Personally, I love the argument that UConn is a legitimate contender for the B1G/ACC - which is yet another false hope that continues to be pushed by fans. The answer to all is no.

Years from now, I truly believe that the money, resources and time spent on this deceit will end up setting back these athletic programs (especially in the AAC, where all of the programs are desperately trying to get into the P5) back decades. The TV money is simply not there to sustain the athletic budgets, and the budgets themselves today are being funded majorly on donors, boosters and/or state funding to help shorten the gap and buy time. The G5 needs to seriously consider their own playoff. The P5 will eventually become the P4, and the conference championships will effectively become CFP semifinals in themselves. They need to get get as much revenue as they can to help sustain their football programs, and establish themselves as the in-between of P5 football and FCS.

The AAC/G5 pursuit of power status is fool's gold. They are in pursuit of a false belief that they can earn their way in. The P5 won't let that happen. They need to recognize that and begin alternative plans for the future of their athletic programs. The G5 is not entitled to a position in the CFP, nor are they entitled to an opportunity to the same resources and exposure as the P5. They divide was established and created long ago, way before the realignment craze from 2010-2013. It is a cold harsh reality for those schools to accept, but not recognizing that this is the likely scenario and probable path for the future, the cost would be even greater in not considering and/or discussing methods to form their own playoff in order to establish their own division within college football, and secure their future with participating in college football.

[Bill Marsh]

Rutgers was in the American when they were tapped by the B1G. Their history is hardly different than Louisville's before Louisville joined the Big East. They were never a power program as an independent and before 2005 when Louisville joined, they were one of the worst programs in the conference year in and year out.

Going to a 4 conference set up from the present 5 is purely speculative. But if it does, it will mean the collapse of one of the current P5 conferences. When that happens, it will open the door for current G5 members to make their case to move up. The Big XII is the most likely candidate for collapse. If that happens, the future of schools like Iowa State, K State, OK State, Baylor, TCU, and Texas Tech will all be up in the air. No one will automatically adopt these orphans. Their small, overcrowded markets are why the conference is in trouble in the first place.

Although Norte Dame fans will object, it is likely that their football program will eventually join the ACC. They are simply in a transition phase now. When that happens, the ACC will need a 16th member. It is very difficult to run a football conference with an odd number of teams.

[GoldenWarrior11]

Rutgers was in the American when they were tapped by the B1G. Their history is hardly different than Louisville's before Louisville joined the Big East. They were never a power program as an independent and before 2005 when Louisville joined, they were one of the worst programs in the conference year in and year out.

Going to a 4 conference set up from the present 5 is purely speculative. But if it does, it will mean the collapse of one of the current P5 conferences. When that happens, it will open the door for current G5 members to make their case to move up. The Big XII is the most likely candidate for collapse. If that happens, the future of schools like Iowa State, K State, OK State, Baylor, TCU, and Texas Tech will all be up in the air. No one will automatically adopt these orphans. Their small, overcrowded markets are why the conference is in trouble in the first place.

Although Norte Dame fans will object, it is likely that their football program will eventually join the ACC. They are simply in a transition phase now. When that happens, the ACC will need a 16th member. It is very difficult to run a football conference with an odd number of teams.

I see what what you are saying, but Rutgers was tapped for entry into the Big Ten while still a member of the Big East. While they spent a single season in the American (like Louisville), they had their ticket punched before the split - so, technically, they were not deregulated (maybe perhaps for a single season).

While I do see condensing the P5 into the P4, the only way this works is if the members of the destroyed conference (Big 12) all/majority have a life raft off into another power conference (not unlike the Old Big East, where only UConn/Cincinnati/USF were stranded).

Let's say that Oklahoma/Oklahoma State get invites to the SEC in the next few years (like Greg Swaim is predicting and reporting). That could be the final blow to the Big 12, which would have then lost OU, OSU, Missouri, Nebraska, Texas A&M, and Colorado in a span of ten years. Kansas would fit in in the PAC-12, B1G, ACC or SEC, considering their academics and basketball profile. TCU, Baylor,Texas Tech and West Virginia could fit in with the ACC, and Texas Tech, Iowa State and Kansas State could all certainly fit in with the PAC-12. Texas would most certainly aim to get an ND-like deal somewhere, most likely the ACC.

Bottom line, there would be no need to call up programs/schools from the G5 to fill the spots. Even if, in such a hypothetical scenario, where the leftovers try to re-establish the Big 12, the TV deal would most certainly be terminated and/or re-negotiated with ESPN and get no where near the $20 million per school payout that it currently is. The end result in any situation is the same: no new schools can be added to the power conference structure and no new schools will get a payout comparable to what is currently being made by P5 schools.