G5 "playoff" thoughts

[vwfalcon]

Saw this article posted today, a little surprised that it hasn't been talked about yet. My personal thought, until the G5 has a legit shot at playing for the "real" national championship, might as well since we never truly have a legitimate chance at the playoff as it exists currently.

Group of 5 officials considering playoff for non-Power 5 teams http://es.pn/2iHWOHg" target="_blank
via @ESPN App http://es.pn/app" target="_blank

[gmartin]

Well many of the Group of 5 schools have stated they want a National Championship game for their conference because they will never be included into the real National Championship. They are correct. WMU finished 13-0 and could not get any higher than 15th.

I know I have thrown out several ideas over the past two years but I think this my best idea to date and I'm seriously thinking of sending this to the NCAA.

First let's go back a few years ago and Baylor and TCU was left out of the final 4 because they didn't play in a Conference Championship. This year Oklahoma was left out because it didn't play in a Conference Championship and then add to that Ohio State jumped over conference champ Penn State. So the committee can't even agree from one year to the next on requirements. So let's fix this. Break up the Big 12 conference and add those members to the other 4 power conferences. You will now have 4 16-team power conferences. On the G5 side, get rid of the MAC or C-USA and have 4 16-team G5 conferences.

Now for the college playoff. The playoffs will consist of 12 teams. You will have the 4 champions of each of the power conference. So whomever wins each of the P5 Conference Championship is in the playoff. You then take each champion from each of the G5 conference. That will then give you a total of 8 teams. You now then pick 4 at-large teams (one from each Power Conference). That then gives you 12 teams. The 4 Conference Champs from the P5 get a bye. The 4 At-large teams play the G5 Champs. You then get down to 8 teams. You can also set it up with the 4 At-large teams play amongst themselves and the G5 play amongst themselves this way 2 G5 teams are in the final 8.

My scenario, once the P5 go to 4 conferences you get the conference champ in the playoff. Each P5 also gets one at-large team into the playoff. And one team from each G5 conference is in the playoffs.

[Schadenfreude]

Well many of the Group of 5 schools have stated they want a National Championship game for their conference because they will never be included into the real National Championship.

I stopped reading here. Many? Are you serious?

Can you even name three?

**EDITED***

The obvious solution is to expand the FBS playoff beyond four teams, to the point where there is room for Cinderellas like Western Michigan or Northern Illinois (2012) to play their way in. My guess is that this is the solution G5 conference commissioners actually advocate, to the extent that they agree on any particular reform.

[gmartin]

I can name 11 schools that have been listed in recent articles about how they feel they will never reach a National Championship under the current process. You obviously haven't been reading the same articles.

If you are in Division 1 you should be treated fairly and with the exception of a few schools from American Conference and possibly Boise St and Notre Dame the other 58 non power schools are not treated fairly. So yes, many schools have expressed it's displeasure and want to have their own Group of 5 National Championship

[jpfalcon09]

The G5 will never get a seat at the CFP no matter what format they decide to go with. WMU finished 13-0 and still ended up 15th in the playoff rankings, even in an expanded format they'd be excluded. They need to realize that their own viability lies within carving out space in the college football world and this is a good start.

Face it, the G5 is in college football purgatory. Not quite big enough to eat at the same table with the big dogs, but better than a majority of FCS schools. If they aren't proactive the P5 will easily make this decision for them.

[Schadenfreude]

I can name 11 schools that have been listed in recent articles about how they feel they will never reach a National Championship under the current process.

That doesn't surprise me. It's hard to see how a G5 school could achieve a top four ranking, no matter what they do on the field. Access to the very top of the national rankings has always been a challenge for schools in G5 conferences. This is a problem that dates back decades, and in today's era, it raises some questions about the legitimacy of the current playoff system.

But here's what you are claiming:

So yes, many schools ... want to have their own Group of 5 National Championship

That's a much different claim, and it is news to me.

**EDITED***

Let's quote from the article that started this thread:

While [NIU's] Frazier and several other Group of 5 officials, who wished not be identified, support adding a Group of 5 playoff, plenty of Group of 5 officials oppose a separate playoff.

"Absolutely would not want a separate playoff," said a Group of 5 AD, "and I can't put enough exclamation points behind that."

So we've got one guy willing to go public and several others who are so ashamed of this idea they won't even put their names on it?

That doesn't sound like "many" to me.

Some officials are concerned a separate national title would perpetuate the perception of the haves and have-nots between the Power 5 and Group of 5.
"You mean compete for a junior varsity championship?" one Group of 5 AD said. "No thanks."

I'm with that guy. Hell no to a JV championship. If NIU wants to play for a JV championship, they should join the Missouri Valley.

[FalconTurf]

Currently 900 schools sponsor college football and 7 national championships exist best I can tell from this data http://scholarshipstats.com/football.html

I guess it could be argued more divisions are needed or others would argue that it would only water down the sport to have a division for every 50-60 schools. I would suggest the POWER 5 need to have their membership divided as well because the reality is that less than half of those schools can realistically compete for the crown.

[gmartin]

Most of the schools AD's that favor a separate G5 playoff are schools in the MAC, C-USA and Sun Belt and actually I can name 9 schools, I had a couple duplicates because I noticed some were the same school as each it's coach and AD were in favor of a playoff. So I guess many was the wrong word. 9 teams our of 64 is a few.

I'm not in favor of a separate P5/G5 playoff system. As I mentioned I would prefer getting rid of the MAC or C-USA and go to 4 large conferences and getting rid of the Big 12 and go with 4 power conferences and have a 12 team playoff. Even if they expand to 8 teams a G5 school will never make the top 8.

[Flipper]

I'm all for a small school playoff..its the National Title we own in football. The P5 is them...we aren't them. We don't decide if are them....they do and theyve already decided. We arent them. Chasing the notion we can be them is..to be charitable..Quixotic.

[jpfalcon09]

Most of the schools AD's that favor a separate G5 playoff are schools in the MAC, C-USA and Sun Belt and actually I can name 9 schools, I had a couple duplicates because I noticed some were the same school as each it's coach and AD were in favor of a playoff. So I guess many was the wrong word. 9 teams our of 64 is a few.

I'm not in favor of a separate P5/G5 playoff system. As I mentioned I would prefer getting rid of the MAC or C-USA and go to 4 large conferences and getting rid of the Big 12 and go with 4 power conferences and have a 12 team playoff. Even if they expand to 8 teams a G5 school will never make the top 8.

A G5 school will never make the playoff under any format. The BCS was scrapped because it gave computers too much control over who went where. Giving the influence over to humans with built-in biases and interests to serve the powers that be means there will always be a reason to exclude little brother from getting a seat. I'm glad some ADs are realizing that their school will never come close to sniffing a college football national championship under this system.

[It's the Journey...]

The NCAA needs to show some leadership here and finally recognize that the football in the P5 is driving the bus right now. Let them go and have their own playoff with only P5 teams. Make it their own. Then take the G5 teams and FCS and make a single Division 1. Some schools will drop to D2 but the playing field would be leveled (65 scholarships, salary caps, etc.). Hell, negotiate with the P5 to have them play up to 2 G5 teams per year and not damage their precious playoff chances so they still have "warm up" games and we can still have the chance at a "money" game. This allows the P5 to keep the loins share of the money and the G5 teams to actually compete for a National Championship. Work the bowls in if you can but honestly I don't care about them either way.

But my first sentence makes this nothing more than a dream..........

[MarkL]

Bad idea and here's why. Without looking it up, who is playing in the FCS National Championship? Who did NDSU beat last year in the championship? The year before?

Now again without looking it up. Who are the four FBS playoff teams? How about last year and who won? The previous year? Who won the national championship each season from January 2006 until now and who did they beat?

I'm guessing you struggled if you were even able to answer the FCS questions. FBS questions you probably got right or at least 90% right without putting much thought into it.

A "small" playoff would make Bowling Green football irrelevant and an afterthought. You would see our scores come up on ESPN's ticker once every ten minutes the way you do right now with FCS and in between the ticker would show all major conference scores at least twice along with highlighted mentions of major upsets.

In short, say goodbye to those days when Big Ten teams feared playing certain MAC teams, us included. Instead, Purdue is playing who? Bowling Green? Aren't they Division II? BG and the whole MAC would matter as much as Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils football.

And I even say this knowing that if such a playoff existed in recent years, we probably would have been champions in both 2013 and 2015.

[Flipper]

We already are irrelevant nationally...WMU went 13-0 and they never went above #15. They've locked us out of their club. Let's make our own and celebrate the fact that we aren't them.

[Schadenfreude]

I'm all for a small school playoff..

There are several to choose from, including the FCS, Division II, and Division III playoffs. We play at a higher level than that now.

its the National Title we own in football.

Not really. The 1959 national title is the equivalent of a Division II title. We are two levels beyond that point now.

[Flipper]

In name only...

Why are you so invested in your alma mater being a part of "major college" football? I'd wager that the majority of the students shelling out the $$$ to make that happen for you could not care less