Good-Bye Big Cash Scheme, Hello College Football Playoff

As long as the BCS v. non-BCS (or haves v. have-not's) issue in college football is dominated by money, and by the conferences, networks and sponsors that are part of the Bowl Championship Series, nothing will change to improve the system, to get rid of the favoritism and corruption, or to make college football more about football and fair competition. Instead, it will only get worse.

Welcome CFP.  Eager to turn the page from the complex and convoluted BCS era, college football's power brokers gave the most basic name imaginable to the four-team playoff that will crown the national champion starting with the 2014 season.

They announced Tuesday that the new event will be branded simply "College Football Playoff" --- a name that, for all it lacks in creativity, underscores the reality that fans are getting what they long demanded and were long denied.  

But what really changes?  Sure, four teams will be selected for a semifinal and final rounds in order to name a national champion.  But will any team not belonging to the six power conferences ever be in the Final Four of football, even if they are undefeated?  

In our dogged pursuit of "who is the best" , what really changes?  The same BCS power brokers will determine the final four teams.  More money for ....who??  Television networks will take the biggest cut.  Will the four participants get millions?  Football is an NCAA sponsored and regulated sport, yet does not sponsor or oversee a football championship at the FBS level.  Strange.  It does conduct plays offs at the FCS, Division II and Division III levels.  Hum, not nearly as much money involved at these levels.  

For some reason the NCAA is duped into approving 32 bowl games, most of which are loser bowls with teams that have 6 loses during the regular season.  Why not just have a 64 team playoff like the NCAA conducts for the FCS level?  That would be too logical and not fair to the Power conferences who would risk losing to a team in Conference USA, for instance.  After all it is partly about status, perception, and ego at the top level anyway.   Sort of the country club set versus the  community center crowd, don't you think?

Oh well, reality is that television and the" haves" are always in control.