A few weeks ago, Texas A&M made a decision that was the equivalent of the first move of a nationwide chess match between five separate players. It is as confusing as it sounds. But, amid all of the he said she said 24-hour coverage, the one thing that is very prevalent to me is that there can be a lot of positive factors that can come from this. Greater parity, more intriguing alignments and even the possibility to the end of the current format, are all very distinct and real possibilities. The winners of this giant chess match grossly outweigh the losers in a greatly positive way.
The biggest winner is the fans. Fans drive the market, whether it is buying jerseys, television packages, or tickets to the games. The fans are going to get the most out of their product from realignment. The possibilities of better match-ups, ratings, and competition are through the roof. Gone are the days of the cupcake non-conference schedule; there are simply too many opportunities to make the on-field product better. There is a way that the shuffling that is occurring can make the regular season somewhat of a playoff (oh my God did he just say the “P” word?)…but more on that later. The fans have a possibility of a USC-Texas and an Oklahoma-Oregon match-up every year in football, and on the opposite coast a Pitt-Duke and UNC-Syracuse basketball game every year. Whether you are a fan of these teams or a fan of the sport, or have a vague idea of what the Final Four is and what the BCS stands for then these games are exciting, not just for the sport, but for the schools and the kids that want to go there.
The next biggest winners are the schools themselves. Yes, I said the schools. Not just some, but all the major universities. The obvious winners are Syracuse, Pitt, Texas A&M, (and possibly UConn and Rutgers), but there are so many more opportunities for others to compete. For instance, let’s look at the now-dilapidated Big East. Teams like West Virginia, South Florida and Louisville now have to opportunity to be looked at by the SEC, and the rest of the schools have an opportunity in the Big 10. We don’t know how many the magic number is going to be. It could stop at 16 or go to as many as 20. That opens the door of possibility for all of these schools to be looked at by other, more impressive conference than their previous one. Looks at the other conference that is taking a hit, the Big 12, you see the same thing going on. Teams like Missouri, Kansas, Kansas State, and Iowa State could become attractive to the Big 10; or ever bunch with the left over Texas schools, Boise and others to create another power conference. So yes, even top “non-AQ” schools can win in this system. Basketball also has the opportunity prosper in this system. The ACC has added to its already stellar basketball brand and could have more to come, and there are many great basketball programs up for grabs that can make the conference that much more attractive. The parity within college athletics can reach a level that it has never been. There is no longer such a large disconnect between the “haves” and have “nots” because the playing field is more equal now. The top quarterback in the state of West Virginia now has a better reason to stay home and play against SEC competition instead of heading south to another school. It gives formally lower-tier teams more of a competitive advantage than they previously had. The schools will receive greater recognition through athletics and we all know what that can accomplish.
The last winners are the lower level FBS schools. Many people feel they are being left behind, and in a sense they are, but they pretty much have already been left behind long before now. This separation that will occur will do more good than harm for those schools who have never quite made it. Gone will be the days of Florida Atlantic playing Florida one week and Michigan State the next. Even though the larger schools are paying the smaller schools for these trips, there is still a great deal of money being lost, and with these games out of the way, there is a greater opportunity for these schools to operate in the green instead of the red. Travel costs can be so much greater than the stipends paid that these trips to larger universities make no sense. They are bad for both schools, television, and the fans. These weeks will be greater served for schools to have home games and make money off of those contests.
The only losers in this chess match are the NCAA and the BCS. These entities has the opportunity to be rendered obsolete. The NCAA will no longer have its stranglehold over the landscape as the conferences and its commissioners demonstrate that they indeed hold all the power. The conferences can essentially govern themselves both in football and basketball. The need for an entity like the NCAA is virtually non-existent, and with the NCAA gone the BCS is short to follow. With conferences changing there is no more basis for “automatic qualifiers” and the bowl system is blown up because older affiliations are no longer relevant. This opens the way for a (get ready)…PLAYOFF SYSTEM (dun dun dunnnnn). The conferences and their divisions act as preliminary rounds or pools where the best ones advance on to a national playoff. This is something that the fans have wanted for years and the schools can use to their advantage, and there is finally a way to get there.
We are all currently spectators to the most turbulent time in college athletics. Dominoes are falling from New Jersey to the west coast. I am not saying that every single school and fan is going to be happy when the dust settles, but there is definitely a possibility and an outcome that can be beneficial for everyone. Schools and conference are making moves, and all we can do is sit back and watch it unfold.
