Good news, have-nots

[sufan]

Good news, have-nots: by Jerry Hinnen at CBS Sports

"based on the best information we currently have, the playoff/Big Six system would have offered non-AQs more access in previous seasons, not the same, and not less. Per Murphy, the other three Big Six bowls (most likely to be the Sugar or Cotton, Fiesta, and Chick-Fil-A) are expected to be preserved as non-contracted "access" bowls.

And per Bill Hancock's comments on Thursday's Tim Brando Show, those access points likely won't be filled by the bowls themselves--they'll be filled by playoff selection committee fiat, with the open slots awarded to the corresponding highest-ranked teams in the committee's rankings. (That's Murphy's understanding as well.) If that's the case, the days of the Sugar deciding to take No. 11 Virginia Tech and No. 13 Michigan over higher-rated teams are over."


"The bottom line: guarantee or no guarantee, a mid-major team that puts together a top-10 season under the playoff system is far more likely to see that season justly rewarded than it was under the BCS.

That's all hypothetical, of course. We don't know exactly how the selection committee will rank teams." (It could use "strength of schedule" as a cudgel against mid-majors and avoid using the "conference champions" clause to give them a boost.) We don't know for certain they'll use those rankings assign open bowl slots based on rather than creating a pool for the bowls to choose from. We can't say for certain that more contracts won't cut the number of open slots further.

But at this stage, equal or lesser access for the have-nots is even more hypothetical"

 

[texasorange]

So those 3 bowls will be forced to take a higher ranked team, even if their fans don't travel & they are a tv ratings bust? I wonder how long that lasts.

 

[Moontan]

Either way it'll be better than being stuck with an unranked team* whose fans don't travel.

* Yukon

 

[omniorange]

Not only is the system slightly different but the landscape is now different now as well.

TCU and Utah have been absorbed by the power 5 conferences, while the most consistent Big East program (WVU) also went to a power 5 conference. That basically leaves Boise, Cincy, Louisville, UConn, and Hawaii as the equivalent of non-AQ teams now who went to BCS Bowls in the past, 4 of which are in the same conference and the other no longer has June Jones as their coach.

So the Big East champion could more than likely get its best team to one of the Event Bowls more often than not, but it won't be every year like it has been in the past.

No matter how you look at it, that is less access, not equal or more. Supposedly the other non-AQ conferences (not the Big East) traded access for the promise of more money than they get now. The league that got screwed in all of this appears to be the Big East now.

Cheers,
Neil

 

[sufan]

Not only is the system slightly different but the landscape is now different now as well.

TCU and Utah have been absorbed by the power 5 conferences, while the most consistent Big East program (WVU) also went to a power 5 conference. That basically leaves Boise, Cincy, Louisville, UConn, and Hawaii as the equivalent of non-AQ teams now who went to BCS Bowls in the past, 4 of which are in the same conference and the other no longer has June Jones as their coach.

So the Big East champion could more than likely get its best team to one of the Event Bowls more often than not, but it won't be every year like it has been in the past.

No matter how you look at it, that is less access, not equal or more. Supposedly the other non-AQ conferences (not the Big East) traded access for the promise of more money than they get now. The league that got screwed in all of this appears to be the Big East now.

Cheers,
Neil

Good points:

1) One major new obstacle, that is unrelated to the new playoff agreement, is that the major conferences will be playing 9 conference games, except for the SEC. (The PAC plays 9 plus a Big 10 game and the Big 10 will be playing 8 plus a PAC game).

The Big East is going to have even fewer opportunities to play OOC and demonstrate competitive strength. In contrast, ACC teams will have annual games against UF, UGA, South Carolina, ND for starters.



2) A second major obstacle: although the new TV payout at this point is unknown, the Big East will be at a comparitive disadvantage with respect to sharing the playoff revenues as well as bowl revenues.

3) Loss of guaranteed access to a major big 6 bowl will no doubt affect recruiting.


4) Regardless, I would be surprised if long term, schools such as USF and UCF, with 31,000 and 47,000 students respectively, located in their own very strong regional markets in a talent rich area, don't become nationally competitive programs over the next number of years.

I believe they have far more potential than TCU, Boise, Utah or WVU.

If the "selection committee" selects schools beyond the playoff bowls based on the "corresponding highest-ranked teams in the committee's rankings. "(That's Murphy's understanding as well.) ... the days of the Sugar deciding to take No. 11 Virginia Tech and No. 13 Michigan over higher-rated teams are over."



In conclusion: the only original Big East football member is RU.
At this point, they don't deserve an equal standing anymore than the Big 12 would if UT and OK went to the PAC.

However, the Big East has an opportunity to rejoin the Big 5 over the next 12 years, but it will be based on performance.

 

[All4SU]

When SU and Pitt first left the BE, the BE should have gone running to the Big 12, and begged to merge the football schools into the B12. I don't think the B12 would have gone for it, but if they had, they could have set up and East/Midwest thing, and never had to go to Boise, et al.

WVU Texas
UConn Texas Tech
L'Ville TCU
Cincy Baylor
USF Kansas
Rutgers Kansas St.
Iowa State Oklahoma State