Do We Need a College Football Playoff?

Why do university presidents prevent a playoff in 1A football and what can be done about it?

by Bill Smith

Who's in the Smith's frying pan this week? College presidents—and forget the non-stick spray, these folks have enough fat to prevent burning.

President-elect Obama won a lot of votes from college football fans when he said that he would push for a playoff in college football during a Monday night football interview. But he is going to find that he will have more resistance from college presidents on that issue than he will face in the Congress. The question is why do the presidents refuse to allow a playoff in this single sport when playoffs and national championships have existed for years in every other sport at every level?

The excuses the powers that be claim that a playoff will cause football players to miss too much school. WHAT? In case the ivy covered presidents were not noticing, football is played once a week. A college basketball player misses 5 times the number of classes that the average football player does. And that doesn't include those teams that are included in March Madness. Sorry, but that excuse doesn't work.

Then there is the “tradition” of the bowl system. WHAT? Is that the same bowl system that is so focused on tradition that the names of the bowls every time one of the sponsoring companies folds up like paper submarine. How attached can we be to the Poulan/Weed Eater Bowl? Oh, that's right, its gone.

So what is the problem? The simple answer is politics. Not the Red State vs. Blue State politics that we are used to but inter-departmental office politics of the lowest and sleaziest kind. The simple fact is that ivy covered professors and presidents hate football. The egg heads believe that big boy football is far too powerful as it is in major colleges. A national championship in women's tiddlywinks its no big deal. The tiddlywinks coach won't be a threat for stealing attention away from self important authors of books that will never be read. But a head football coach that wins a national championship becomes a potential drain on donations. Besides the coach gets paid a lot more than a professor.

So is there anything we can do? Oh YEA! Every school has boosters. The boosters need to put the school administration in the frying pan. If you vote against at least a plus one playoff, we will take you off our Christmas card/donation list. Get it guys? No playoffs no money! I would be willing to bet that if enough key boosters made that call to enough school presidents, we would have a playoff next season.

Money talks and...well, you get the idea. Make it happen now!

That's what I think. Tell us what you think.

Bill Smith is a former coach of several semi-pro teams, has officiated both football and basketball, done color on radio for college football and basketball and has scouted talent. He has also published several novels on http://ebooks-library.com/index.cfm and edits http://fryingpanpolitics.blog.com