Changes to playoff seeding under consideration

Football
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Personally, i think this makes sense. Seeding should be based on a fair and transparent ranking algorithm, not on whether you won your conference.

https://x.com/Brett_McMurphy/status/1873733071012557118

There will be “in-depth discussions” about not guaranteeing conference champs the top 4 seeds in 2025, sources said. Top 5 conference champs still would get in playoff but rankings would determine seeds, sources said. This would require unanimous approval by all stake holders to change in 2025 but conference commissioners “open to getting (the seeding) right,” source said

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They should expand to 16 teams and have top 8 seeds host first round playoff games. The top 4 seeds have very little benefit in current structure despite arguably having more time off. The ability to host a playoff game at home field is significantly more appealing for a team IMO.

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In any case, we don’t have that right now. We have a committee making opaque decisions with inconsistent logic from team to team and week to week, subject to their own financial interests and those of the various entities in charge of the CFP. Taking away the criterion for byes to be awarded to conference champions virtually guarantees that the byes will only go to the SEC, B1G, and Notre Dame going forward, and turns the first round into a play-in round for non-P2 teams.

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Since SOS and perception are corrupted by the same data that results in poor pre-season rankings (which then colors the rest of the season), I think this is a terrible idea. It simply lets bad data be used to do what ESPN wants and what ESPN wants is as many SEC teams it can get into the championship game.

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There isn’t anything more transparent than the “eye test”.

Yes, I’m joking…

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Seeding shouldnt be based on an algorithm at all. Algorithm is the gateway to bias.

Conference championships should matter and the top ranked champions should get byes. Just like now, huh… Imagine that. That’s what the NFL does… And isn’t that where ESPN/fox/SEC/BIG want to take the sport?

Funny how SEC/BIG set up the system and now want to whine about it. Funnier still how the peons aid and enable the powers that be to further discriminate against those deemed less worthy.

And in case Coogfans need to be reminded, UH is deemed less worthy. But hey, don’t let that stop you from pimping SEC/BIG propaganda to permanently bias the seeding of “playoff” teams.

After the SEC/BIG force this change to benefit themselves, I’m sure they’ll sign the agreement to play non-conference games against each other, ensuring that they only lose to “worthy” teams and further ensuring the rankings of their respective conference schools above the peons.

It seems to me so many here debate/discuss issues set up against UH interest by using talking points pimped by the elites. The powers that be frame the issue and the facts of the debate and the peons actually help them along instead of rejecting both the issues and the facts in favor of something more fair and inclusive like that of every other sport.

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The NFL has the playoff structure. Winning a division (or conference in college) comes with an earned benefit. @T-Moar has it right. Do you want all the seedings and first round byes to go to B1G/SEC schools? Let’s say you’re in third place in the SEC. Should you deserve a bye? You couldn’t finish first or second in your conference and you deserve a bye?

I would advocate opening it up to 16 schools. P4 first and second place qualify. G6 champions get a spot, the other two spots are open to ND and other schools. Conference champions host first round.

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What kind of bs is this?
Say it, just say it that you want most p4’s er…p2’s as your top dogs. This bs has been going on even before the bcs. The only viable option for a true National Champion is to have:
10 DIV I FBS conferences champions making the playoff. You want seedings?
Top conference to lowest conference get the seeds from 1 to 1.
Highest independent gets in with season ranking but their SOS plays a major factor in it.
ie: Notre Dame finishes regular season at #6 they are the sixth seed.
This leaves us with five other cfp participants.
I am already reading complaints that that the outside p conferences should not get in?
Here is my answer to this. The p teams complaining about it. Why don’t pack your bags and realign yourself with a non p conference?
They won’t because they want media money. When is it in life that you can have your “cake and eat it too”?
Only realignment has created this. The fans sure did not. We will never have a National Champion until then. Furthermore just go ahead cfp, ncaa and tell all g5 schools that they can g.t…hemselves. This is exactly what this is.
Some bring up a Football errr soccer style playoff with relegation and promotion. Do you actually think the p2 cartel will ever accept this? I have some amazing beach property for sale in Aguascalientes.

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I think the CFP committee needs to somehow do what college basketball does and implement like a quad 1, quad 2 type of formula.

Their has to be a separation for the types of wins below

Win at home vs top 10 ranked opponent
Win on road vs top 10 ranked opponent
Neutral site games
Wins vs team with winnning record
Wins vs P4
Wins vs G5
Wins vs FCS
Points scored away from home
Points scored at home
Points scored at neutral site

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AKA, Espin wants more $EC-$EC-$EC teams is all it is.

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No, a relegation system will not work because football programs still rely on alumni for NIL/donations.

Athletic programs at the granular scale need a consistent budget in order to plan for the future, which is why linear TV revenue contracts are vital to college sports because they know how much money they’re going to get.

The other issue with CFB becoming minor league is that ACTUAL minor league leagues such as MiLB and NBA-G League still have drafts to establish balance. The worst teams get the best picks, and the best teams get the worst picks.

College football programs, even if they go undefeated the previous year, want to be able to get the best players year after year to continue going undefeated.

Alabama and Ohio State will self destruct if a draft was implemented, which is why college football will always be college football and not NFL, and it’s why leagues such as the XFL will never take off

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I think the top four seeds have a big advantage in that they get to skip an entire round of playoffs, thus avoiding any risk at all. There is an incentive to avoid a potential, if unlikely, upset in round one.

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Disagree. A conference champ ranked 14 should not get a bye over a team ranked 5, even if the team ranked 5 was no 2 or 3 in its conference.

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A relegation/promotion system will not work because no media network will be willing to sign multi year media deals if they can’t be sure what the membership will be each year.

Imagine a year, in which 2 blue bloods get relegated, that will materially negatively impact the media value of the top tier league the following year. So either the networks negotiate new deals every year, or there is no relegation.

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The NFL also has only 32 teams! It has a draft, trades, in-season free agency signings etc. the revenue, market size, fanbase size gap between the 32 teams is tiny compared to FBS members.

Comparing NFL to FBS with 130 teams, makes no sense!

If anything the NFL model will breakdown if the NFL grows to 130 teams!

Also guaranteeing all G6 champs a spot doesn’t make it any fairer, as that will ensure that P4 teams that are more deserving will be left out.

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Why would ESPN want as many SEC teams and maybe two ACC teams in the CFP, which they own?

CFP: ESPN $1.3B per year
BIG: FOX/CBS/NBC/Big Ten Network $1.15B per year
SEC: ESPN $740m per year
Big 12: FOX/ESPN $380m per year
ACC: ESPN $240m per year

College Footbal Playoff:
ESPN $1,300,000,000 per year through 2031/2
(includes broadcast shoulder programming - regular Top 25 ranking shows & CFP selection show)

Big12:
Fox/ESPN $380,000,000 per year through 2030/31
ESPN: the top 4 football picks each season, 6 of the top 8 picks, 8 of the top 12 picks and 12 of the top 20 picks
Fox/FS1: 26 football games per season

Big Ten:
Fox/CBS/NBC/BigTen Network (61% Fox / 39%BigTen) $1,150,000,000 per year througn 2029/30
Fox/FS1 will broadcast up to 27 games in 2023, then up to 32 games per season from 2024 on (noon window)
CBS will broadcast 7 games in 2023, then 14-15 games per season starting in 2024 (3:30pm ET window and streaming on Paramount+); CBS will also carry an afternoon game on Black Friday starting in 2024
NBC will broadcast 16 games in 2023, then 15 games per year from 2024 on (primetime window, simultaneously streaming on Peacock); NBC will also carry a primetime game on Black Friday
Big Ten Network will broadcast up to 41 games in 2023 and a maximum of 50 games in later years
Peacock will exclusively stream four conference football games per season and four nonconference games
Football championship game:
Fox will broadcast in 2023, 2025, 2027, and 2029
CBS will broadcast in 2024 and 2028
NBC will broadcast in 2026

SEC:
ESPN $740,000,000 per year
SEC Network is wholly owned by ESPN
ESPN/ABC: Beginning in 2024, ESPN/ABC has the first pick for the SEC’s game of the week and can shift from the 3:30 p.m. timeslot (previously held by CBS) to primetime.
ESPN+: Rights to stream 1 non-conference football game per SEC school each season
Football championship game: ABC

ACC:
ESPN $240,000,000 per year
Sublicensed rights: CW Network (through 2026-27; acquired from Raycom Sports, which sublicenses from ESPN)
ACC Network is wholly owned by ESPN
ESPN: all regular season football games except the 50 sublicensed to Raycom/CW
CW: 13 football games per season in the afternoon and in primetime from 2023 through 2026-27
Football championship game: ESPN/ABC

  • Why do they have paid PR propaganda spreaders on their daytime shows as well as announcers promoting SEC teams? $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

As NIL eats away at teams stockpiling depth creating more parity, ESPN will look to own the narrative more to protect their large investments.

You can look at the ACC two ways. 1. It is a relatively cheap investment for ESPN for the time being, why would they want it to go away? or 2. That’s a few hundred million they no longer have to pay if it dissolves.

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ACC is a cheap investment because of 3, maybe 4 schools.

FSU, Clemson, Miami and UNC.

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Any Big 12 champ thats undefeated or has only 1 loss is going to get a bye in first round.
Ask Tennessee how fair it was to go on the road and play 4th place Ohio State. Tennessee finished in a tie for 2nd, and should have gotten to play on THEIR home field. But committee bends over backwards to kiss Ohio St’s ass…Thats what i am sick of…and BYU should have gotten a spot over Indiana or SMU. We’ll see what happens next year…

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SEC is the best and deserves 6 playoff spots!

Checks notes as Iowa has already scored more at the half on “ranked” Missouri than they did in 5 games.

And Tennessee got drilled.

And OU lost a virtual home game to a service academy.

And Aggy lost to 6-6 USC who also beat LSU.

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My thinking is do you REALLY want to see 4-6 SEC teams in the playoff every year? My thinking is to have conference champions IN. That way ESPN/ABC can’t fill the playoff up with teams they like and that would be SEC

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