There had been so much progress towards a four-team playoff in college football, and then the Big 12 and SEC made an agreement to have their champions meet in a bowl game, beginning with the 2014 season.
And that re-opened the idea of a “plus one” college playoff system.
“The SEC-Big 12 agreement has changed perceptions,” Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson said.
Now Thompson doesn’t know what will happen. First was the idea of a four-team playoff, which was a bit frustrating for Thompson, who has long pushed for playoffs in college football. Thompson said the Mountain West champion would have been among the four teams in that playoff three of the past five years, and the opportunity for those teams to play for a national title has obviously passed. But still, a four-team playoff was better than the old way of doing things.
“It’s better than it was,” Thompson said of a four-team playoff. “It’s an improvement.”
The “plus one” model wouldn’t be beneficial to the Mountain West. Then again, a four-team playoff likely would exclude the MW champions most years anyway. An eight-team playoff would have given more teams and leagues an opportunity to play for a championship, but Thompson sees no chance of that happening anytime soon.
“I still think an eight-team playoff is doable and feasible and more fair,” Thompson said. “It’s just not going to happen while I’m in this chair.”
Thompson figured that any television rights contract for a playoff would be 8-10 years – or a minimum of at least six years. Thompson said if Congress was bothered before by the Bowl Championship Series, the move from a four-team playoff back to a “plus one” could reignite some concern.
“It’s going to get interesting,” Thompson said.
The Mountain West is becoming more and more of a non-factor in the world of big time college football. And I’m not saying The Big East is any better. The Pac 12, Big 12, Big 10 and SEC now more than ever control the world of big time college football. The Big 12 is about to deplete the ACC and then SEC will likely grab a North Carolina.
I believe these four power conferences will ultimately work together and become just as powerful as Major League Baseball, with only the NFL being more powerful. Those conferences have so many fans, alumni and TV dollars to be made, it’s POWER. The sky’s the limit if they work together. College Football is king and they own that world.
The Mountain West will be a nice conference to play “real college sports”, but it will never be a part of any of the big time happenings in college football. Another reason The Mountain TV channel failed.
That move by CC Hockey to form a National Hockey League is looking pretty smart to protect its investment in big time college hockey. I can see The Big East, Atlantic 10, Missouri Valley’s of the world making sure they protect themselves in the world of college basketball. The next year or two or three will be very interesting for the Mountain West……and Air Force Athletics!
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