(10-30-2016 06:42 PM)pono Wrote:  it's really a no brainer for 85% (or whatever, I just randomly inserted that %) of the FBS schools to go back to what worked. play football on saturdays. consider shortening the season so games aren't played around or after thanksgiving (unless that's a final game tradition or bowl). take the tv delays out of games. take the big money control out of most games. this is a paper chase for all but the huge programs. none of the 85% are making money for their school. have a real 8 or 16 team playoff at the end. let, the huge programs play their december and january tv games, with replays and dozens of commercial breaks, in huge stadiums usually away from campuses. there will still be good money to primarily benefit the programs and conferences that play the extra games.

Agree for the most part. I for one am willing to play some weeknight games in exchange for TV exposure, and while there's an attendance hit, at the end of the day a November Saturday in the midwest is going to have less-than-stellar weather. The good teams on a roll may take a bit of a loss, but the bad teams will still draw peanuts whether or not they're playing on a Tuesday or Saturday. I'm willing to make that tradeoff, there's still at least three or four other Saturdays in September or October that fans can go to if they're willing and able.

Part of the decline has to do with the disconnect between college and athletics imo. All of the scandals with law-breaking athletes, shady boosters, immoral coaches, massive student subsidies, etc. drain the fan base and student support over time, it's hard to turn a blind eye to all of that. And because sports media basically treats the big programs like the Dallas Cowboys and everyone else like the a nuisance to appease, it takes away from the amateur aspect of college athletics that has contributed so much to the emotional connection that makes college football what it is.