CFP director 8-team playoff requires unanimous vote

This is why another organization needs to step up and challenge with a different format. The CFP would first just point to the contract through 2025. That is when the NCAA, Title IX or Congress could step in and say that contract is not legal because it doesn’t give equal access or that all the public schools can not take part in that format or they will lose federal dollars and tax exemptions.

It would have to be Congress…problem is that all of the conferences agreed to the current deal. While the P5 have the votes, all 5 of the other conferences agreed to it in fear that the P5 would separate from the rest of D1.

NCAA really can’t get involved because they don’t award a national championship in FBS football and they are at the mercy of the schools and conferences.

However, until someone gets left out that most of the country feels is worthy…nothing will happen. UCF wasn’t that team last year even going undefeated. Now, if they go undefeated again (which they probably won’t), maybe someone will start making noise.

Honestly, it will probably take an SEC or B1G Champion getting left out before real change is made. Those conferences rule over the rest right now and wouldn’t like being embarrassed like that.

Where do you draw the line? Move it to 8, the ones left out will complain and demand Congressional intervention. There is no end to this. Someone will always be left out.

The playoff system is not discriminating based on race, age, or gender. It’s a group of schools coming together to form an alliance. This alliance keeps other schools out and could potentially have anti-trust implications, but then maybe legally anti-trust is not an issue here. Maybe someone with a legal background can comment on any anti-trust issues.

Is there any legal reason why the CFP needs to include G5 schools? Will the expansion to 8 solve those legal issues?

How is the current P5/G5 system any different from the old Div I, I-AA, II, III system? That system too seperated schools.

The problem with Congress is that the very schools that are in the P5, also have the alumni and supporters in powerful positions, and can prevent any congressional action.

I am just playing devils advocate. The current P5 programs are not likely to support an playoffs expansion without a massive increase in money, and/or threat of legal consequences from Congress.

Each P5 got $54 million from playoff money last season. The B12 and ACC got $6 million more because each had a team in the playoffs, and the SEC got $12 million more because they had 2 teams in. The 6 G5 conferences got a total of $81.32 million. Not sure how that was split between the 6.

No program knows in advance it will or will not make the playoffs. So there can no advance plan on playing 11 or 12 regular season games. An expansion of the playoffs to 8 or 16 or 32 teams will only work if the regular season is fixed at a certain length. It could be 11 games or 12.

If you fix it at 11, that works in favor of the teams making the playoffs, but against the ones that don’t. Voluntary reduction in scheduling will only create uncertainty, and no program/conference/media provider will like or support that.

G5 schools complaining about being left out will not change anything. Money talks! Unless it’s worth it to them, no P5 will support a playoff expansion.

https://twitter.com/therealBeede/status/1019644484311814144
https://twitter.com/therealBeede/status/1019645412058324995

Of course, Saban also reiterated during the interview that he wishes P5’s only played P5’s.

If he can say that, and schedule Arkansas State, La-Laf, and the Citadel, we can say we prefer to play only national title contenders.

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https://twitter.com/Brett_McMurphy/status/1021443648943284224

Jim Harbaugh supports a 16 Team playoffs with no conference championship game, and at least 2 G5 teams.

The logistics of making an 8 or 16 team playoffs make it highly unlikely that the current system changes anytime soon. The only thing that will change the system is some media provider dangling a ton of money in front of the P5. Currently each P5 gets a guaranteed $54 million from the playoffs, for the SEC/Big10 this comes to just over $3 million per program. Then there is $6 each million for every program that a conference places in the playoffs.

To make the P5 agree to it, any playoff expansion would have to increase the payout significantly, probably at least $5 million a program. That would require a rise from the current $54 million per P5 to more than $120 million per P5, plus what the G5’s will get.

If you take into account the fact that the regular season will probably have to be lowered by at least 1 week (or if Harbaughs proposal is adopted, the conferences give up highly lucrative championship games), the guaranteed payout would have to significantly higher than $120 million.

Also, I don’t see anyway that the P5 will agree to the G5 getting an equal share of the playoff money. It will remain an unequal system. The G5 will see a rise in their playoff payout of course, but the lions share will go to the P5. The G5 will continue to subsidize the P5!

This wasn’t a big admission by Gundy. Having the potential of 1 G5 team in the playoff is way different than inviting that team into a power conference, having to share millions of dollars and adding recruiting competition. This was Gundy throwing us G5 wags a bone that can’t do much damage to the P5 structure. Nothing else.

The G5 must be guaranteed a place in the playoff or it will be 5 p5 champs and 3 p5 wildcards.

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How do you force the P5 to include the G5? Ultimately it comes down to money. If G5 inclusion adds more money to the pockets of the P5, they’ll include the G5, otherwise no.

Wait until a couple more teams join fbs in order to make the g5 a stronger majority in the NCAA then add a sanctioned NCAA playoff.

Extremely unlikely but one way to stand up to the P5 who Can then choose to leave the NCAA altogether and face those repercusssions, or work with the G5 programs.

Because D1 schools could compete for a national championship. It was flawed, but all D1 were eligible. Then 50+ schools were forced out by business entities. Those divisions you mentioned were based on standards and specifications. The P5 is arbitrary and devised by businesses and ESPN. As it stands now a G5 school can’t compete for a Natty (on paper they can but it’s all but impossible). A 4 team playoff is really just an Alabama invitational. People want sports to be competitive, not a rigged system that favors the fortunate few.

College football is the only major sport decided by votes and rankings instead of on the field. And only 8-10 teams really have a chance to even make it to the national championship - and it’s always the same teams.

Convoluted and silly.

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I don’t think we need more than 8. I mean the whole season is already a playoff. Usually single elimination, sometimes double. It makes every week like a playoff game. And at some schools it is.

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That’s what I mean about rankings. Can’t ever have an off game. Should be 11 conference champions plus 5 at large. 16 teams out of 130. That would be fair.

What if ESPN got its wish and the G5 got their own playoffs? Didn’t ESPN offer a G5 playoffs, but G5 turned them down?

A G5 playoffs would make it more like the old Div I, I-AA, II, III.

that would suck

G5 playoff is just what the P5s want. “Ya’ll go play in that sandbox over there while the big boy, big dollar programs play for the real championship”. It would strike a severe blow to the aspirations of all G5 programs and the quality of play and facilities would diminish over time. Not for me.

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F that. Get the lawyers.

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ESPN never offered a G5 playoffs; that was just a solution offered up by the Northern Illinois AD that some in the media ran with. American and MWC shut it down immediately and it never gained serious traction beyond that.

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