Frank the Tank
Hall of Famer
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I Root For: Illinois/DePaul
Location: Chicago
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RE: College Football "Champions League"
(07-15-2022 09:26 AM)jacksfan29! Wrote: (08-22-2020 08:17 AM)Fighting Muskie Wrote: P/R is a nonstarter in American sports.
Which is too bad. It is why you have teams like Rutgers, Vanderbilt, Kansas, CAL, CU, etc. pulling in cash from being worthless every single year. Put promotion/relegation in, suddenly those schools will feel enough heat to improve or be sent down.
Not even the power schools like Ohio State and Alabama want promotion/relegation. At least a school like Rutgers or Vandy provides a trip into a key recruiting area or brings in TV revenue for a conference network. Academia is also about being with peer institutions. I'm always bemused when people are surprised that the most elitist industry in America - academia - acts elitist in matters such as conference realignment.
Even when it's about the money, it's still about elitism in terms of defining who is an "elite" brand. UT/OU and USC/UCLA will make a lot of money for the SEC and Big Ten, respectively, but they're also elite brands and everyone other than OU is a legitimately elite academic institution in a massive market. The problem is that many fans think/hope that merely being a "good" brand that plays better on-the-field football than Rutgers or Vandy moves the needle at all for the powers that be in the leagues that have choices and it simply doesn't.
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07-15-2022 11:45 AM |
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schmolik
CSNBB's Big 10 Cheerleader
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I Root For: UIUC, PSU, Nova
Location: Philadelphia Suburbs
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RE: College Football "Champions League"
One reason why fans desire a "Champions League" or that schools not in the Big 10 or SEC is the simple fact that if you're a fan of a school not in the "inner circle" and you feel your school is better than "insert name of school in the inner circle" you feel cheated that they are or will be making way more money than your school is. Yes I'm an Illinois and Penn State alum but I also live in the Philadelphia area and feel bad for Temple (and Villanova who while the Big East is a great men's basketball conference from a competitive standpoint financially is way behind even the ACC).
In college sports, you're not paid by who you are but "who you know". Vanderbilt got their golden ticket years ago, before many of us on this board were born. Yes, Alabama and Georgia need cupcakes but there are plenty of other FBS schools that will gladly take their place as Alabama/Georgia's punching bag. Also, if you're not a Big Ten fan, you'd rather Ohio State play Alabama than Rutgers, it's a better quality game. Reverse it with Alabama. If it's based on football, there are plenty of FBS schools that deserve to make more money than Rutgers and Vanderbilt and yes I'll say it, Illinois. I think Illinois has other qualities that make it more valuable than other schools that are better in football though. But the idea that the 32 schools in the SEC and Big Ten (counting UT, OU, USC, and UCLA) are the 32 "best" FBS schools in the country is ridiculous (and I'm saying this as an alum of two of them).
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07-15-2022 01:30 PM |
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