A football playoff for Group of 5 conferences? No thanks
There once was a college basketball event called BracketBusters, a two-day schedule of games on ESPN featuring NCAA Tournament hopefuls from nonpower conferences. It was a collection of teams seeking national exposure against other top 50 or top 100 opponents that wouldn’t otherwise be available.
It was a made-for-TV showcase meant to give those on the NCAA selection committee a closer look at midmajors with at-large dreams.
It also did more harm than good.
For every George Mason in 2006 and Virginia Commonwealth five years later, countless others eventually fell victim to an oversaturated field that didn’t create enough intrigue to draw viewers.
It also drew a clear line — as if one wasn’t already obvious — between the haves and have-nots of college athletics.
It was great at reminding everyone of such disparity in riches and influence and perceived importance.
Never was the Little Guy so exposed.
Someone now needs to remind those from the Group of 5 football conferences of such realities.
We have reached the point in a bowl season when only a national champion needs to be crowned, meaning another year has passed for non-Power teams to make what is a pointless pursuit of being included in the College Football Playoff.
But as much as the truth hurts — the odds of a non-Power 5 ever cracking a Final Four in football rank alongside those of Urban Meyer being satisfied with how Ohio State’s season concluded — a recent suggestion by officials from the not-so-major conferences is beyond ill-advised.
Northern Illinois athletic director Sean Frazier told ESPN that some within Group of 5 leagues favor adding a playoff specifically for those from the American, Conference USA, Mid-American, Mountain West and Sun Belt, along with independents Brigham Young, Army and Massachusetts.
That means it’s not just enough to be in another zip code from the game’s most prestigious club. Some want to be exiled to Kazakhstan.
Some, thankfully, not so much.
Said one Group of 5 athletic director to ESPN: “You mean compete for a junior varsity championship? No thanks.”
It’s true that as things stand now, even an undefeated non-Power 5 isn’t going to sniff an opportunity to play for the trophy Alabama and Clemson will engage in over Monday night in Tampa, Florida.
BYU was the last non-Power 5 to win a national championship. That was in 1984, or around the same time Michael Dell began selling computers to small businesses and the most popular Christmas gift for children was the Cabbage Patch Kid.
Western Michigan went 13-0 this season, and the best it managed was a national ranking of 15th and spot in a New Year’s 6 game, losing to Wisconsin in the Cotton Bowl. Six teams from Power 5 leagues with three losses were ranked ahead of the Broncos, and one (Auburn) had four defeats entering the bowl schedule.
Instead of discussing how much TV might be interested in helping create and then feature a Group of 5 playoff and, well, who outside the specific leagues would care enough to attend and watch, those within the conferences should be doing everything they can to somehow alter the course of the current format.
I know. Grayson Allen has a better chance at winning a sportsmanship award.
The current playoff contract runs through the 2025-26 season, but more and more, the push to increase the format from four to eight teams grows nationally. I assume once TV demands such a change, it will happen faster than Amanda Nunes vs. Ronda Rousey.
So instead of waving a final white flag and banishing themselves forever from even the slightest of thoughts within the game’s most powerful circles, the Group of 5 leagues need to continue hoping a miracle exists within all the inequity.
Eight teams is better than four in many ways, including at least a hint of more opportunity for a Little Guy to grab a berth.
Forget this notion about forming your own playoff. Keep fighting what might be an impossible fight, because once you officially make that break, it really is over for good.
Maybe it is anyway. Maybe the super conferences so long talked about will soon exist.
But there is a reason the Mountain West never agreed to take part in BracketBuster, which was thankfully discontinued three years ago.
The league understood the perception of such an event, which equals reality in the eyes of those watching.
Which means just because you’re a Little Guy, doesn’t mean you have to act the part.
Contact columnist Ed Graney at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be a heard on “Seat and Ed” on Fox Sports 1340 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Follow @edgraney on Twitter.
