The Consolidation of Power in College Football

Did you know that it has been 23 years since a college football team won their first ever national championship? Ever since the 1996 Florida Gators, every team that has won a consensus national championship at the FBS level already had at least one national title to their credit. Teams winning their first national championship used to happen more frequently, especially in the 1980s, but that trend has fallen off over the last two decades:

1996 - Florida Gators
1993 - Florida State Seminoles
1991 - Washington Huskies
1990 - Colorado Buffaloes & Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
1984 - BYU Cougars
1983 - Miami Hurricanes
1982 - Penn State Nittany Lions
1981 - Clemson Tigers
1980 - Georgia Bulldogs

I feel like in the last 20 or so years, especially with the advent of the BCS, a consolidation of power has happened in the FBS - aided by the machinations of corporate media giants like ESPN. For a time there was a rise in parity, but only because the talent was becoming more evenly spread between the "have" schools. The "have nots" continued to get sloppy seconds in the talent department.

I also feel like college football is further consolidating its power between a handful of schools that have controlled the sport for decades, edging the little guys further and further away from the conversation.

I feel as if the reason for this is the fact that there are just too many schools at the FBS level. Of the 130 teams that currently compete in major college football, less than a dozen of them have a chance to compete for a national championship in any given year.