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re: Will parity ever return to college football?
Posted on 1/13/21 at 2:36 pm to Billy Mays
Posted on 1/13/21 at 2:36 pm to Billy Mays
quote:
I would normally say "things are cyclical" but in this instance the interest and money are so heavily-weighted in the South and to a lesser extent, the Midwest. The new SEC TV deal with ESPN is only going to exacerbate the disparity. NIL may end up following the interest, which has a chance to widen the gap.
CFB desperately needs USCw (or Oregon as a lesser substitute) to be contenders, to at least maintain a semblance of national interest.
Agreed. I think parity within the SEC will get a little better once Saban retires. Even right now with LSU, UF, UGA, A&M all recruiting great classes, it still doesn't make a difference most of the time.
However, the bigger issue is nationally. The landscape has changed so much since the 80s/90s/early 2000s where some conferences (SEC) and schools (OSU, Clemson) have gone all in to win. While many of the old traditional powers like a USC or Miami, have an administration and student body that doesn't care.
While normally I would say, let the market sort itself out, the issue is by doing nothing and having Bama play Clemson every year for the title, completely chips away at overall national interest. And in the long run, sooner or later, everyone is going to lose because when interest dwindles, people care less, spend less, ad dollars become less.
So - I do think something has to be done. I agree with the scholarship reductions as that will help. I'm torn on the playoff expansion because right now, do I really think teams 5-8 have a shot? Not really. But - if it helps provide a glimmer of hope and helps interest, I'm for it.
And to anyone who says it doesn't matter, fan interest will be there, etc. I think you're wrong. Title game ratings were the lowest ever for the BCS era. Virtually the entire West Coast could give two shits about college ball. Attendance was already an issue pre-covid with tickets, concessions, parking all getting out of control. And I can't imagine post-covid is going to be much better.
So if the people in charge want parity to return, then actions need to be taken. And just waiting for Saban to retire and Dabo to move on to the NFL isn't a plan.
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Posted on 1/13/21 at 2:36 pm to RollTide1987
The gap between schools in terms of recruiting and just overall resources is only getting bigger between the big name schools compared to everyone else. Rating were down big time for the Natty. I asked a couple of my buddies who are big NFL guys that also used to love CFB why they weren't watching the national championship this year and the answer was "Oh Alabama or some SEC school is just gonna win it again this year" and that's exactly what happened 
If the Chiefs won the Super Bowl last year and got the first 10 picks in the following draft, nobody would give a shite about the NFL either.
If the Chiefs won the Super Bowl last year and got the first 10 picks in the following draft, nobody would give a shite about the NFL either.
This post was edited on 1/13/21 at 2:41 pm
Posted on 1/13/21 at 2:41 pm to RollTide1987
I said this on the rant, but scholarship reductions is needed, and on the horizon. 85 is too much. When the next TV contracts are sign and the B10 sees what the SEC gets, they will be screaming for a balance to competition.
Posted on 1/13/21 at 2:47 pm to AUCE05
quote:
scholarship reductions is needed, and on the horizon.
I think so too. What's interesting is that I've seen more articles in the mainstream media the last two days about rebalancing the power in college ball than I've ever seen.
When the national media and particularly ESPN are done watching Bama win it every year, you know change is likely on the horizon.
It still won't stop Saban and Bama from winning 3-4 more titles, but that's fine. Change is needed now to start rebalancing the power for 5 years from now.
Posted on 1/13/21 at 2:49 pm to SerenityNow
It will. You won't be able to lie about playing time. 65 is more than enough for 2 deep and practice squad.
Posted on 1/13/21 at 2:52 pm to sugar71
quote:
Open up the playoffs to more schools and there would eventually be a modest amount of parity
I’m not explicitly opposed to expansion but where does this narrative come from? Going from 2 to 4 either made it worse or had no impact.
Of FCS and Division III have large playoffs and have even less parity than FBS. I don’t think a big playoff accomplishes anything on the parity front.
Posted on 1/13/21 at 2:55 pm to AUCE05
quote:
I said this on the rant, but scholarship reductions is needed, and on the horizon. 85 is too much
I’m not a big fan of taking away from the players now, and I think that’d go over terribly. I also don’t think it’d really make much of a difference the way guys can transfer now. It’s not hard to replace depth fast now.
I prefer scholarship tiers. Top 20 players get the best scholarship paid like a student worker, can do ads and so forth. Next 40 get cost of attendance. Last 25 the classic athletic scholarship.
This post was edited on 1/13/21 at 2:58 pm
Posted on 1/13/21 at 3:02 pm to crazyLSUstudent
quote:
A better question is has there ever been parity in the sport outside of the time period you highlighted?
The sport has never had much, but this is the first time you have the combination of a singular focus on the national championship and no parity.
Diminished bowls, scrapped rivalries, large conferences and the sole focus on the national title is a bad combo for 2nd tier and below P5 teams.
Posted on 1/13/21 at 3:05 pm to RollTide1987
Hmmm right around the time ESPN started to have a boner for the SEC.... interesting how that works
Posted on 1/13/21 at 3:14 pm to Paul Allen
quote:
AP title
Posted on 1/13/21 at 3:16 pm to RidiculousHype
Something has to change. There is no draft for crappy teams to get 5 star players. An idea would be to have the National Title winner lose a certain amount of scholarship.
Posted on 1/13/21 at 3:17 pm to CatfishJohn
quote:
We have to drastically reduce scholarship numbers allowed on each team. Force the talent to be spread around more.
I'm talking major drop - like 85 to 65 or something.
And do it gradually like 5 a year
Except FCS has 65 and there’s even less parity.
Posted on 1/13/21 at 3:25 pm to MetroAtlantaGatorFan
That’s a different sport altogether
Posted on 1/13/21 at 3:27 pm to CatfishJohn
?
Posted on 1/13/21 at 3:28 pm to CatfishJohn
quote:
That’s a different sport altogether
It doesn't matter how many scholarships you give or don't give a school, if a generational head coach is at a power school like Alabama or Ohio State they will continue to win at a similar level.
Posted on 1/13/21 at 3:32 pm to RollTide1987
With the onset of virtual learning, I’m concerned that we see a deep drop of the traditional university period and that ultimately enrollment declines. That, in turn, sinks college budgets further, the NFL sees what’s happening, realizes that it’s free farm/development system is dwindling, and resorts to starting its own minor league.
Posted on 1/13/21 at 3:33 pm to Eighteen
USC with the right coach can do it
Texas should be able to do as much or more than Oklahoma with right coach
Michigan should be able to compete with OSU
The bigger concern is the decline in those participating out west and up north as they turn to other sports at lower age levels
The south is still a football hotbed that I don't see slowing down, that's where the top players come from and have no reason to leave with the facilities the SEC has spent money on.
As long as the NFL is paying the salaries they are paying, there will be interest out west and up north from a collegiate standpoint.
Texas should be able to do as much or more than Oklahoma with right coach
Michigan should be able to compete with OSU
The bigger concern is the decline in those participating out west and up north as they turn to other sports at lower age levels
The south is still a football hotbed that I don't see slowing down, that's where the top players come from and have no reason to leave with the facilities the SEC has spent money on.
As long as the NFL is paying the salaries they are paying, there will be interest out west and up north from a collegiate standpoint.
This post was edited on 1/13/21 at 3:34 pm
Posted on 1/13/21 at 3:35 pm to RollTide1987
The only way to create parity is to create one national league instead of having 5 or 6 regional leagues with their own interests in mind.
Everything else is crybaby shite.
And FYI, we've never had parity in college football. And the way it's designed, the sport is a war of attrition over time.
Everything else is crybaby shite.
And FYI, we've never had parity in college football. And the way it's designed, the sport is a war of attrition over time.
Posted on 1/13/21 at 3:36 pm to MetroAtlantaGatorFan
P5 and FCS are totally different business models. Them having a lack of parity is largely because only a few schools really throw money at their programs the way FBS teams do. They don't generate school revenue like an FBS schools, much less a P5 school which has a shared conference pot of money.
Then you get into lack of talent after the top kids are pilfered by FBS schools. There just isn't as many good players left and those that are left go to the handful of schools I mentioned. Honestly, reducing it to 65 in FBS will likely help FCS a good bit too.
Imagine in 200 kids were pushed down the line from the top 10 teams.
Also, imagine what FCS would look like if they made it 85 scholarships per? It would be even worse.
TL;DR - there isn't a ton of talent left over after FBS gets who they want and then there are only a few schools financially committed to being elite at that level. Neither of those things is the case in P5 football.
Then you get into lack of talent after the top kids are pilfered by FBS schools. There just isn't as many good players left and those that are left go to the handful of schools I mentioned. Honestly, reducing it to 65 in FBS will likely help FCS a good bit too.
Imagine in 200 kids were pushed down the line from the top 10 teams.
Also, imagine what FCS would look like if they made it 85 scholarships per? It would be even worse.
TL;DR - there isn't a ton of talent left over after FBS gets who they want and then there are only a few schools financially committed to being elite at that level. Neither of those things is the case in P5 football.
This post was edited on 1/13/21 at 3:46 pm
Posted on 1/13/21 at 3:39 pm to RollTide1987
quote:
It doesn't matter how many scholarships you give or don't give a school, if a generational head coach is at a power school like Alabama or Ohio State they will continue to win at a similar level.
To some extent I agree. Where I disagree is that generational coaches don't grow on trees. In the last 20 years, I'd say there have been two. Saban and Meyer. Before them, it was basically Osborne, Bowden, Spurrier.
Up until recently, even the generational coaches I listed off in the 80s and 90s lost games. While they had a major leg up, it wasn't a complete shoe in.
What's happened is you have a present day scenario where there are generational coaches (good for those schools, you can't fault them), programs/conferences that are willing to invest, other programs not willing to invest that used to be powerhouses and waning interest on a major section of the country.
You can't fault the coaches. I mean, what do you do, ask them to stop trying so hard? But something has to be done to level out the field.
For me, it's not about leveling the field for some humanitarian reason. But if something isn't done, sooner or later, the money tree that has kept growing the last 20 years is going to dry up.
Right now just sort of feels like the NFL before the salary cap got instituted. Prior to that, you pretty much knew who the dominant teams were. But for as much shite the NFL has gotten (and deserved in many cases), they've managed to make most teams fans believe they have a shot. And it's been proven that you can in fact improve your situation if you even give a shite in the slightest.
The tradition and fandom of college football makes it better than the NFL, in general. But the NFL's postseason at this point is far, far superior to that of college. Particularly with any bowl game outside of the two playoff games in college not meaning jack shite any longer.
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