Auburn Coach Calls For I-A Playoff....

[Cap'n Cat]

Next in a growing line of coaches looking for a real champion.........

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2612789


"The problem we have is you have 120 universities that are I-A and probably 25 would say they have a legitimate chance each year," he said. "And you have presidents that for some reason look at it more as for the money than having a national championship on the field. They keep coming up with lame excuses about academics. Football players miss fewer classes than anybody."

"Presidents take the money and go spend it, but they don't worry about the business of making it better," Tuberville said. "They keep coming up with excuses, yet we're playing [the national championship game] Jan. 8. It's hypocritical."

Former Florida coach Steve Spurrier, long a playoff proponent, said he can't worry about it as much now that he's at South Carolina. But, he acknowledged, "The people that run college football don't listen to the coaches anyway."

:)

[dbackjon]

I-A is a joke without a playoff.

[ucdtim17]

Lllloyd at Michigan changed his stance earlier this year so he's also in favor

[AppGuy04]

I don't see it happening anytime soon

[ucdtim17]

Nope but it will eventually

[m_olslund - NDSU]

A I-A playoff system would be be incredible if done properly. They could do a 16 team playoff and still have a big bucket of bowl games for teams that don't make the playoffs.

[eaglesrthe1]

It's frustrating. Any idiot could see that if the top bowls were incorporated into a playoff structure, the television audiences (and money) would grow simply because more people would be interested in them.

Of course you are going to watch a bowl game if a team that you follow is in it, but wouldn't you be more likely to watch another if you knew that it had potential implications on an opponent that you might face later in the playoffs?:confused:

[ucdtim17]

It makes too much sense for it not to happen eventually. As it is, the basketball tourney is the biggest event in college sports, which is not right because college football on the whole is a much bigger deal and much more popular than college basketball. Something needs to happen at some point

[PaladinFan]

If Auburn goes 13-0 again and doesn't get a shot at the national championship, there will be a coming to Jesus. Certainly the NCAA wouldn't screw the Tigers twice, would they?

AU was very admirable two years ago. 13-0, undefeated in the very tough SEC, only to watch OU get annhiliated by USC. Took it about as well as you could. Tubberville is a good guy, has a classy team. A team not in a mass media market needs at least a shot.

[smallcollegefbfan]

I-A is a joke without a playoff.

I would not say I-A is a joke. I would say the presidents hypocritical way of thinking is. I believe there are ways to make more money with playoffs. I think playoffs would receive a record TV rating in the first year. People who normally don't care about some of the lower bowls would tune in to see every game knowing that the winner of it could be the eventual champ. Every level, including the NFL, does it right. It is time I-A at least tries it IMO.

[smallcollegefbfan]

It's frustrating. Any idiot could see that if the top bowls were incorporated into a playoff structure, the television audiences (and money) would grow simply because more people would be interested in them.

Of course you are going to watch a bowl game if a team that you follow is in it, but wouldn't you be more likely to watch another if you knew that it had potential implications on an opponent that you might face later in the playoffs?:confused:

I totally agree. I think I-AA might suffer if this happened though because then some of the top teams might go I-A because they know all they have to do is perform on the field and they have a shot. Whereas now many teams in I-A know they do not have a legit shot and many teams have stayed in I-AA because they just want a legit shot at a title. I am still all for it. If a team in I-AA wants to move up and they can compete then I am ALL for it!

[Cap'n Cat]

If Auburn goes 13-0 again and doesn't get a shot at the national championship, there will be a coming to Jesus. Certainly the NCAA wouldn't screw the Tigers twice, would they?

AU was very admirable two years ago. 13-0, undefeated in the very tough SEC, only to watch OU get annhiliated by USC. Took it about as well as you could. Tubberville is a good guy, has a classy team. A team not in a mass media market needs at least a shot.


Agreed.

[MplsBison]

The NFL does quite well with a 12 team playoff.

[Cap'n Cat]

The NFL does quite well with a 12 team playoff.


...............with 9-7 teams gettin' in, though.............

:eyebrow: :eyebrow:

[poly51]

Nope but it will eventually
People were saying it would happen eventually in the 1960s so it may not in our lifetime.

[dbackjon]

I would not say I-A is a joke. I would say the presidents hypocritical way of thinking is. I believe there are ways to make more money with playoffs. I think playoffs would receive a record TV rating in the first year. People who normally don't care about some of the lower bowls would tune in to see every game knowing that the winner of it could be the eventual champ. Every level, including the NFL, does it right. It is time I-A at least tries it IMO.

No - to play a season with no TRUE way of crowning a champion is a joke. I love I-A football too - went to a BCS I-A school for awhile, so I follow it closely.

[goasu984Life]

There is no reason — except for greed — that a I-A playoff couldn't work. If it works for every other division, it can work for I-A. Money talks and BS walks, so don't expect it anytime soon.

[ucdtim17]

If Auburn goes 13-0 again and doesn't get a shot at the national championship, there will be a coming to Jesus. Certainly the NCAA wouldn't screw the Tigers twice, would they?

AU was very admirable two years ago. 13-0, undefeated in the very tough SEC, only to watch OU get annhiliated by USC. Took it about as well as you could. Tubberville is a good guy, has a classy team. A team not in a mass media market needs at least a shot.

No, maybe they should take that as a painful lesson that they need to schedule real OOC opponents and beat them. They play a home game with WSU and won't give them a return. They play a home and home with SC and get whooped both times. This year they have Arkansas State, Tulane, Buffalo and WSU - all at home, obviously. They already have 3 OOC home games for next year and they want another - they deserved to get screwed with that kind of scheduling.

[ASU Kep]

I personally hope that I-A never gets a play-off. It's what makes us so special.

[AppGuy04]

I personally hope that I-A never gets a play-off. It's what makes us so special.

I think its inevitable Kep

[bluehenbillk]

AAARRRGGGHHH!! I just get worked up at the mention of these stupid 3-letter systems. The BCS or anything that mimics it make me want to pound my head against a brick wall. :bang: :bang:

Someone just needs to make a business presentation to the Presidents, who are all about the Benjamins, and show them how much MORE money a playoff can bring them. Look, I know they're greedy & don't want to share with the non-BCS schools, but I'd think it's something that could be worked out.

One day all of us will have to explain to our grandchildren why there wasn't always a 1-A playoff.

[Cap'n Cat]

AAARRRGGGHHH!! I just get worked up at the mention of these stupid 3-letter systems. The BCS or anything that mimics it make me want to pound my head against a brick wall. :bang: :bang:

Someone just needs to make a business presentation to the Presidents, who are all about the Benjamins, and show them how much MORE money a playoff can bring them. Look, I know they're greedy & don't want to share with the non-BCS schools, but I'd think it's something that could be worked out.

One day all of us will have to explain to our grandchildren why there wasn't always a 1-A playoff.


How goes the GPI fight these days, Bill?

















:D

[PaladinFan]

No, maybe they should take that as a painful lesson that they need to schedule real OOC opponents and beat them. They play a home game with WSU and won't give them a return. They play a home and home with SC and get whooped both times. This year they have Arkansas State, Tulane, Buffalo and WSU - all at home, obviously. They already have 3 OOC home games for next year and they want another - they deserved to get screwed with that kind of scheduling.

There are four SEC schools in the top 10. Auburn plays all of them. This isn't a Pac10 team or Big East school. This is an SEC team. Does Florida, Georgia, Alabama, LSU, and South Carolina not qualify as a tough schedule? They play Tennessee about every other year (who laid the wood to Cal). Not only that, then they have to win the SEC championship by beating one of those teams twice! Get real.

Those USC games were four years ago. Wasu is in no place to demand a home game from Auburn.

[ucdtim17]

There are four SEC schools in the top 10. Auburn plays all of them. This isn't a Pac10 team or Big East school. This is an SEC team. Does Florida, Georgia, Alabama, LSU, and South Carolina not qualify as a tough schedule? They play Tennessee about every other year (who laid the wood to Cal). Not only that, then they have to win the SEC championship by beating one of those teams twice! Get real.

Those USC games were four years ago. Wasu is in no place to demand a home game from Auburn.

Another reason the conference championship games are bull**** and nothing more than a cash grab - what a waste of time. Whine whine whine all you want Auburn fans, but every conference has top teams and in the Pac-10 you play everyone, not another OOC home patsy. There should be some backlash against the damn SEC echo chamber. The Cal-Tenn was a good marker, but I think it's clear it'd be very different if it were played today (we'll also see if Cal can return the favor next year in Berkeley). Yes Tennessee actually schedules home and homes with other legit opponents - if they can do it why can't Auburn (or Georgia for that matter)?

[bluehenbillk]

You can't say that a 1-loss SEC team is any better or worse than a 1-loss Big 10 team or a 1-loss Big 12 team or a 1-loss Pac 10 team or a 1-loss Big East team or a 1-loss ACC team & so on.

Thus pick 4, pick 8, pick 16 teams, whatever the # is, play them at the major bowl sites but just play the games.

The 5th place team in whatever conference it is can still play in the Meineke Car Bowl & make a trip to exotic Boise, Idaho. Alums will still go & gamblers will still bet.

[CSUBUCDAD]

My solution is to take the 11 1A conferences and have an automatic bid to the conference champs. Then have 5 at large bids open for the independents and a couple of the strong conference runner ups. Seed these teams according to a standardized strength rating similar to the current BCS ranking system and the bracket them up like normal. That would give you 3 rounds of games on each side of the bracket and a championship game. You cannot tell me that more money would not be generated using this system couple with a bowl system for the remaining worthy teams. Hell, put the sponsorship for each game in each round up to the highest bidder. Imagine how much that would cost someone in a true championship game between the two unquestionable best teams in the country.

[GannonFan]

My solution is to take the 11 1A conferences and have an automatic bid to the conference champs. Then have 5 at large bids open for the independents and a couple of the strong conference runner ups. Seed these teams according to a standardized strength rating similar to the current BCS ranking system and the bracket them up like normal. That would give you 3 rounds of games on each side of the bracket and a championship game. You cannot tell me that more money would not be generated using this system couple with a bowl system for the remaining worthy teams. Hell, put the sponsorship for each game in each round up to the highest bidder. Imagine how much that would cost someone in a true championship game between the two unquestionable best teams in the country.

I'm against any playoff system that awards an automatic bid to the Sun Belt champion. What's the point?

[Golden Eagle]

A I-A playoff would hurt I-AA.

[PaladinFan]

There are 12 SEC schools. The A10 doesn't play everyone, do they? Cal is a legit opponent, they've earned a home game. Wasu was good with Ryan Leaf, but why should Auburn fly to Pullman do show everyone they can beat a team they would beat 10 out of 10 times?

This isn't meant to be a "which conference is tougher" thread. That can be argued all day. Fact remains, if Auburn goes 13-0 (again!) they deserve a shot at a NC over teams like Notre Dame and USC who have the big media markets and the majority of people around the country would rather see. Is it about who is the better football team, or who brings in the most money? (that question is totally rhetorical. I think we all know the an$wer)

AU could have found a better opponent closer to home if Wasu wanted out. I'm sure the Cougars entered that contract knowing Auburn wouldn't return the trip.

[Golden Eagle]

If Auburn goes 13-0 and isn't in the title game I'll eat my hat. Ain't no way they let that happen again.

[bluehenbillk]

A I-A playoff would hurt I-AA.

I'm sorry, but that may be the stupidest thing I've ever read on here.

[PaladinFan]

I'm sorry, but that may be the stupidest thing I've ever read on here.

That's quite a statement.

[arkstfan]

OK, I'm a bit of a luddite so I'd just as soon they quit voting on the polls at the conclusion of the regular season like it used to be. :D

Greed isn't why there is no I-A playoff. Everyone involved has seen the numbers and they know that if they wanted to they could add a playoff, us part of the money to guarantee the survival of enough bowls that no post-season opportunities are lost, and still cut checks at the end of the year that are significantly larger than the ones received currently and no one would get less than they receive now.

I suspect if you could talk freely and openly off the record with the 11 I-A conference commissioners each would tell you they favor a playoff.

If you talked to the AD's it would be a mixed bag. Teams that would contend would be in favor, those who usually stay home would favor it, those at the top of the non-BCS leagues would favor it. Opposed would be mid-pack teams in every league.

Presidents are generally going to be opposed because they don't want Football, Inc., to be any more powerful and they've got to create the image of being academics even though they are running multi-million (or even billion) dollar entities. Last thing they want is blame for making college athletics even more commercial than they already are (try getting that genie back in the bottle).

The serious plans that have been assembled have pretty much ignored the idea of early round neutral site games deeming the idea not economically viable (Oregon State vs. Colorado State in Phoenix in the first round isn't going to be a huge seller most likely).

It was widely believed by many in I-A that the new BCS agreement would be the first crack in the anti-playoff thoughts. There was a very serious effort to gain approval of a plus-one bowl/playoff that would pit the two highest ranked teams after the regular bowl games concluded.

[arkstfan]

I'm against any playoff system that awards an automatic bid to the Sun Belt champion. What's the point?
Same point as all auto berths.

[ucdtim17]

Fact remains, if Auburn goes 13-0 (again!) they deserve a shot at a NC over teams like Notre Dame and USC who have the big media markets and the majority of people around the country would rather see.

It is unlikely that it happens again, especially with the way everyone loves the SEC whether they beat anyone or not. Not many years will have multiple undefeateds from BCS conferences, but when there is, someone's gonna lose out. OU played Oregon (who in '01 got screwed at least as bad as Auburn) OOC that year; Auburn didn't play anyone. If you start lower in the polls and don't play well enough to jump, you're gonna miss out. It sucks but that's the way it is right now.

As far as this year goes, SC probably plays the toughest schedule in the country (Arkansas, Nebraska and ND - now THAT'S an OOC schedule) and if they go undefeated again, there will be no arguments about whether they deserve to be in the championship game.

[ErkPeterson]

I don't see 1-A playoffs ever happening. The bowls and their sponsors would fight this tooth and nail, and the amount of $ they have holds allot of clout. The school board just care about the $ it brings in, they could care less if there is or isn't an undisputed champ. Its going to take some serious "unionizing" by the coachces.

[goasu984Life]

I'm sorry, but that may be the stupidest thing I've ever read on here.

I can think of a few things that I have said that are more stupid than that.

[foghorn]

I'm sorry, but that may be the stupidest thing I've ever read on here.
Make the championship a double-header. I-AA first, in same stadium, followed by Div. I-A game. Might give us better exposure and recognition.:twocents:

[GeauxColonels]

If Auburn goes 13-0 again and doesn't get a shot at the national championship, there will be a coming to Jesus. Certainly the NCAA wouldn't screw the Tigers twice, would they?

AU was very admirable two years ago. 13-0, undefeated in the very tough SEC, only to watch OU get annhiliated by USC. Took it about as well as you could. Tubberville is a good guy, has a classy team. A team not in a mass media market needs at least a shot.
The NCAA didn't screw Auburn....they don't sanction any championship in I-A.:D

[mtgrizfan4life]

There are millions of ways to come up with a playoff system to have a true 1A champion. I think it is retarded that 1A football is the only sport at any level that I can think of that does not have a true championship. I very seldom watch the small bowls unless it is a regional team or a compelling match up. If there were something on the line in a smaller bowl, I would definately watch every game that had a baring on a true champion. I watch every game of the BIG DANCE that I can regardless of what teams are playing. I agree with Foghorn regarding a championship double header, and think it 1AA game would draw interest out of curiosity, and they could sweeten it by offering promotions rewarding viewers. I am also thinking with as popular as college football and basketball are at every level would it not make sense to create their own NCAA network with multiple stations? The interest is there, look at ESPNU, CSN, FOX. With all the $ in collegiate athletics there is no reason why they cannot afford to do what the NFL has. It is just a matter of time before the NFL will expand their programming and be the sole provider of nfl games. They will be at the point where they will not have to accommodate networks and control their own destiny as league 100%. Is it too outlandish to think the NCAA cannot do something similar to this? Nobody can tell me the demand for the games is not there. College sports packages are popular, even with regular cable or satellite tv on most saturdays there are games on regional FOX, CBS, ABC, NBC, CSN, ESPN, ESPN II, ESPNU, Altitude, WTBS or TNT. I have that kind of access and I am in Montana!!! I cannot even imagine how much more access there is in bigger markets or how much more demand there is in bigger markets? For the coaches calling for a 1A playoff, well I become any team's fan that calls for it. My hats off to Tubberville, Carr, and any other coach wanting a true playoff. Also we have to consider technology also accommodates travel and classes more now. Are all the other athletes in all the other levels and sports getting killed academically? The majority of athletes at all collegiate levels still manage the class room well. All this is BS regarding 1A football, as time goes on the excuses/reasons are less and less believable. If it is all about the $, I have news for them there is always more money to be made and I feel a playoff with a true champion would enhance that too. To all the decision makers at these 1A schools pony up and have some Kahunas. Have you heared of compromise? It is necessary for any successful relationship personally and professionally!!!!

[ASU Kep]

I think its inevitable Kep

I dunno 'bout that. :nod:

I-A has a history of doing stupid things in the name of $$$.

[mtgrizfan4life]

Will it take a stand by college fans to get something done about this? College football is the business and the fans are the consumers. If we fans stand united something can happen positively. Anyone for a 1 or 2 weekend strike on viewing 1a games? I would do it and am sure many others would too just to make a point and hurt them where it counts, the pocketbook.

[*****]

... Anyone for a 1 or 2 weekend strike on viewing 1a games?...I'm with ya! (though I don't view I-A games unless they are playing I-AA)

[LacesOut]

I like it the way it is. No playoffs are needed for me to be a fan or to remain a fan. I love the bowls and they represent big time college football, not playoffs. This is what makes I-A football unique, the fact that they don't have playoffs. Why change it? If they ever do get a playoff system, well, then, that takes away from their uniqueness, imo, and renders them just like every other league and division, the NFL, I-AA, D-II, and D-III.

NO PLAYOFFS!!!!!!!!!

[bluehenbillk]

Without a playoff we as college football fans are deprived from seeing the best teams in the country go head-to-head, simple as that.

[dbackjon]

Without a playoff we as college football fans are deprived from seeing the best teams in the country go head-to-head, simple as that.

:hurray: :hurray:

[Golden Eagle]

I'm sorry, but that may be the stupidest thing I've ever read on here.

The best I-AA teams will move up, because they will have a shot (at least a small one) at the title up there, too. The I-AA playoffs, currently attracting a small amount of attention due to the fact that it is the only college football going at the time, would instantly fall off the radar in favor of Oregon-Boston College or whatever. ESPN would likely still show the I-AA title game, but other than that I doubt they would bother. The players, knowing that by going to lower level I-A schools they would not be giving up an opportunity for a national title, would not choose the top level I-AAs as they may have in the past.

Currently I-AA is different from I-A. It has a playoff system, full of suspense and excitement and good football. When I-A gets its own playoff, I-AA simply becomes a less talented version of I-A, a minor league with nothing to offer that I-A doesn't.

[bluehenbillk]

The best I-AA teams will move up, because they will have a shot (at least a small one) at the title up there, too. The I-AA playoffs, currently attracting a small amount of attention due to the fact that it is the only college football going at the time, would instantly fall off the radar in favor of Oregon-Boston College or whatever. ESPN would likely still show the I-AA title game, but other than that I doubt they would bother. The players, knowing that by going to lower level I-A schools they would not be giving up an opportunity for a national title, would not choose the top level I-AAs as they may have in the past.

Currently I-AA is different from I-A. It has a playoff system, full of suspense and excitement and good football. When I-A gets its own playoff, I-AA simply becomes a less talented version of I-A, a minor league with nothing to offer that I-A doesn't.

There's nothing wrong with 1-AA football, as there is nothing wrong with D-2 or D-3. To say that each is less talented than the other is obvious, let's not try to fool people here. Let's get real, kids don't go to non-BCS 1-A leagues with visions of national titles, it's more like the Motor City Bowl, which no one is advocating getting rid of. The minor bowl games would still stay the same. Would 1-A get more attention with a true NC? Abso-freakin-lutely, which is the whole point of the thread, it's not a trectch to say it'd be on par with the Super Bowl, that's why I wanna see it.

[Golden Eagle]

Let's get real, kids don't go to non-BCS 1-A leagues with visions of national titles, it's more like the Motor City Bowl, which no one is advocating getting rid of.

I believe that upper-level I-AAs have an advantage in recruiting over lower-level I-A teams because they can promise the chance to compete for a National Championship, a distinction that would disappear should I-A get a playoff.

[GannonFan]

I believe that upper-level I-AAs have an advantage in recruiting over lower-level I-A teams because they can promise the chance to compete for a National Championship, a distinction that would disappear should I-A get a playoff.

All that would depend on how open the I-A playoffs would be - if it's just an 8 team playoff like what's being discussed in this thread, then it wouldn't be any more inclusive than the BCS system is now and lower tier DI-A schools would still have no chance to win the national title. You can say that they would have a small sliver of a chance, but in reality they would have no chance. Trying to sell that to potential recruits would not make much, if any, difference. And as each year goes on and it becomes obvious year after year then that difference would amount to absolutely nothing.

[AZGrizFan]

I believe that upper-level I-AAs have an advantage in recruiting over lower-level I-A teams because they can promise the chance to compete for a National Championship, a distinction that would disappear should I-A get a playoff.

If you're recruiting kids away from the Utah States, Idahos and Miami (Ohio)s of the world, those kids aren't going to get a shot at a national title even in I-A.

I have a hard time believing many kids chose I-AA over I-A because of a shot at a national title. I would bet it has much more to do with perceived chances at playing time, and being a bigger fish in a smaller pond.

Now, as a I-AA power school, if you're recruiting kids away from I-AA mid-majors or perennial cellar dwellers in respective conferences, THEN you might have a legitimate argument for being able to offer them a chance at a national title. If a kid is being recruited by Cal Poly, and also by Sac State, where do you think they're going to go?

[Cap'n Cat]

If a kid is being recruited by Cal Poly, and also by Sac State, where do you think they're going to go?


Simple:

Northern Iowa!


:bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :hurray: :hurray: :hurray: :hurray: :hurray: :hurray: :hurray: :hurray: :hurray:

[GeauxColonels]

It is unlikely that it happens again, especially with the way everyone loves the SEC whether they beat anyone or not. Not many years will have multiple undefeateds from BCS conferences, but when there is, someone's gonna lose out. OU played Oregon (who in '01 got screwed at least as bad as Auburn) OOC that year; Auburn didn't play anyone. If you start lower in the polls and don't play well enough to jump, you're gonna miss out. It sucks but that's the way it is right now.

As far as this year goes, SC probably plays the toughest schedule in the country (Arkansas, Nebraska and ND - now THAT'S an OOC schedule) and if they go undefeated again, there will be no arguments about whether they deserve to be in the championship game.
True.....but Auburn would have played a MUCH BETTER game against USC than Oklahoma's pitiful excuse for a football game.

[GeauxColonels]

Tubberville is a good guy...
WOW. :eek: :eek:
I NEVER thought I would ever see that written or hear it spoken in my lifetime.

[bluehenbillk]

Too bad Tommy forgot to coach on Saturday.

Rooting for 4 undefeated teams now, UM-OSU, WVU-UL, USC & Florida.

[AppGuy04]

Bet he's really jonesing for a playoff now

[dbackjon]

Bet he's really jonesing for a playoff now

Yup - only way Auburn sniffs a title now. Which illustrates all the more why you need a playoff. In I-AA, the NFL, etc, you can have a bad game, and still make the playoffs. For the Bowlboys, you have to either lose early, or not at all.