We all know college football is great, but there are forces working to destroy the game, namely money. P5 schools and conferences as well as the College Football Playoff and ESPN don’t really give a shit about fans. This has been exposed time and time again. They are straight paper chasing.
And that is not in the best interest of the sport. Now, this isn’t some altruistic approach to what makes college football great that harkens back to the wishbone formation and players not being compensated. Overall, things are pretty good. Not perfect, but issues such as NIL can be worked out.
However, the aforementioned dark forces (P5 schools, conferences, the College Football Playoff and ESPN) refuse to do that without maximizing their own profits. If athletes are to be paid, this unscrupulous group has determined this will not come out of their own robust share, but from the share of others, namely G5 schools and, most likely, the lesser P5 programs.
That is utterly ridiculous. Those in financial positions of strength have more than enough money to make things work without squeezing out the little guys. And yet, the sport finds itself at a critical junction.
It can either let a select few chase money and lose what makes college football truly great. Or it can embrace those elements and opt not to destroy the sport.
What makes college football great on the surface?
The words you most hear about what makes college football great are tradition, pageantry and atmosphere. These are all true, but each one is a surface level feature of the sport. Marching bands and tailgating are notable. However, the cosmetics only really matter if they directly involve your alma mater.
People don’t tune into Ohio State games on television because their band might do something savage during halftime. Nor do fans on the east coast stay up until the wee hours of the night to watch Hawaii. The unique features of the sport, while important, are not what make it great.
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What really makes college football great?
A lack of structure and uniformity are what make college football great. It is the unpredictable nature of the sport that draws in fans. More importantly, there is no containment to this.
Chaos and unpredictability can come throughout a 60-minute contest or over the course of a 12-game season. Think about “The Prayer at Jordan–Hare” or Kansas nearly playing for a National Championship in 2007. There was Joe Burrow’s legendary 2019 season, “The Miracle at Michigan” and UCF winning their make-believe National Championship.
These are only possible due to the lack of structure and uniformity in college sports. With 130 teams spanning most of the USA, the sport’s organized chaos is unlike anything else around. And that is what makes college football great.
The need for a distinct experience vis-à-vis the NFL
Football is not football. Sure, at their core, the college and pro games are more or less the same. There are some differences to the rules and such. But the on-field product is similar enough.
Off the field, the NFL and college games could not be more different. The former is extremely rigid. It’s 32 teams with literally nothing open to interpretation. The playoff field is set a certain way, player movement is structured and everything is highly regulated.
This isn’t a bad thing. Far from it. The NFL is the most popular sport in America because of this regulation. The issue is that all attempts to duplicate its success haven’t worked. From the first XFL to the second version of the XFL and, undoubtedly, the third iteration of it, nothing has lasted.
College football’s lack of structure and uniformity allows for objectivity, which makes it a distinct experience from the NFL. There is no real subjectivity. Rankings, polls and the like are all based on opinion. Everyone gets to have their say.
Reducing the number of teams eligible to play in the CFP, making the playoff more in line with the pro game and taking away college football’s objectivity will ruin the distinct experience. No one really wants an NFL lite.
If we did, then the USFL would have made it and the AAF wouldn’t have shut down after five weeks. Playing on Saturdays and having pageantry and tradition won’t save college football from extinction if it chooses to go down this route and pursue money.
College football compared to travel
Perhaps the simplest way to understand what makes college football great is comparing to it travel. Namely, the difference between traveling to well-known destinations versus those in lesser developed locations. While visiting London and Bangkok are both awesome, there is a massive contrast that makes them uniquely loved.
Much like the NFL, London has comfort in its structure. You know exactly what you are getting into. Traversing the city is easy, the sights are all there and the unknowns are minimal.
On the other hand, Bangkok is the opposite. There is no structure. People are drawn to its organized chaos and, similarly to college football, the unpredictability is what makes it special. Let’s flesh out this comparison further.
People often say they like visiting Thailand for the food or culture or some other surface level reason. This is just like college football when people say they like it for the tradition or pageantry. In reality, tourists are actually drawn in by how it comes together within a complete package. If you didn’t eat on a street or dangerously ride motorbikes without a helmet, the allure of Bangkok would be much less.
Of course, local officials have tried to remove the organized chaos elements from the city by cleaning it up or adding restrictions. And these have universally failed because, at the end of the day, the lack of structure is integral to the experience.
Bangkok can’t and shouldn’t try to be more like London. The surface level draws aren’t strong enough on their own. People either opt to go somewhere that does structure better or they find a different location with organized chaos. College football would be wise to learn this lesson.
What will destroy the game?
The most pressing issue facing college football is P5 hegemony and, in particular, decisions being made by those in a position of financial strength. This group only has their own bank accounts in mind and refuses to see the long-term ramifications of their actions. Hell, Texas and Oklahoma already opted for money over success by moving to the SEC.
These moves to create a small, closed group of schools will destroy what people love about college football and probably kill the sport as a whole. Removing its unpredictable nature takes away what people love best, even if this isn’t always articulated.
That doesn’t factor in how insanely stupid it is to say this moment in time is where we defined what schools are Grade 1, Grade 2 and so on. Seriously, if this happened in the mid-2000s, Alabama and Clemson are afterthoughts. If it happened in the early 2010s, Northern Illinois is a player.
But that’s not what this is about. Ultimately, the inability of those from within the sport to understand what makes college football great will destroy it. Taking away hope and joy from schools across the USA to support arbitrarily selected programs in creating a truly minor league version of the NFL in search of a few extra dollars isn’t worth it. Trust me, I know.
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Idaho and the loss of FBS football
Idaho is the only school to have moved down, going from FBS to FCS. It remains a soul crushing experience that has depressed the fanbase, led to a budget shortfall and done irreparable harm to attendance.
Here’s the deal. Idaho was regularly one of the worse teams in the FBS. Every once and a while, we would get a moment in the sun though and that made the 1-10 seasons worth it. Well, that and simply being part of the conversation. Without it, we have nothing. You’re playing meaningless games in a meaningless classification. It is a state of suspended animation I wouldn’t wish upon any school.
And yet, this is the fate those dark forces want to consign 50, 60, 70 schools to. How is this good for college football? Spoiler Alert…it’s not.
Conclusion
Money doesn’t make college football great. If the game’s power brokers insist on turning it into a junior version of the NFL, they might as well fold. No one is asking for that.
Look, protecting unpredictability and controlled chaos aren’t always palatable, especially in this day and age. But these traits are truly what makes college football great. Failing to protect them will ruin the sport forever. And that would be the worst possible outcome.
