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Obama Coy on 60 Minutes

Posted by JERRY REMMERS, Columnist in At TMV, Media, Society.
Nov 17th, 2008 | Comments

President-elect Barack Obama drew the highest ratings in years on Sunday night’s telecast on CBS’s “60 Minutes.” He didn’t say much we already haven’t heard. The only real news between now and his inauguration Jan. 20 will be announcements of his cabinet. There isn’t much he could say although the show’s producers afforded him the entire broadcast. He’s sticking to his “one president at a time” mantra.

But, hold on sports fans. He reiterated what he said during a recent Monday Night Football game that he wanted a playoff series to determine the NCAA football championship. Even as President of the United States, that’s a tough call, falling short, perhaps, of solving the nation’s economic meltdown. Speaking for the legions of college football fans clamoring for an 8-team playoff system, Barack’s beacon will fall on deaf ears. The reason: Money.

The BCS, college presidents, television and the groupie bowl game sponsors of which there were a zillion at last count hold the current post-season format. There’s a ton of money spread through all the conferences from the bowl games right down to the worst and oftentimes winless klutz in those leagues.

A playoff system would take three weeks to carry out. One way of accomplishing that is to shorten the college regular season to 11 games, ending no later than Thanksgiving Day. Hold the next two weeks for the lesser bowl games with all the runners-up and wannabes playing one game for glory and the dollars that come with it. The next three weeks set aside for the playoffs with the larger bowls such as the Rose, Fiesta and Orange, et. al., for the championship runoffs. Like March Madness in college basketball, the ratings should go through the roof.

But, no. College presidents resist the idea for a number of reasons, none of which apply to the academic side of the equation. However, corporate sponsorship could be in jeopardy with the downturn in the economy. Television networks may have problems luring the advertising bucks to pay for their broadcasts. Who knows?

Perhaps, Obama’s impeccable timing to win the presidency continues with his support for a college football championship series. The guy’s on a roll. Maybe his influence as prez will be the stimulus this idea conceived in football fan heaven requires.

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DLS

1. It's idiotic for him to become involved or be "drafted" into becoming involved in this.

2. The media have finally caught on to the fat pay packages and other goodies the college presidents get. Sports (with their corruption and big money) helps boost the revenues of many a college or university. Why would anyone enjoying or desiring a lavish living as a president of a college or university press hard against reform of the bowl system and the silly ratings and "power rankings" and other arguments (which is, at core, what they are at most)?

Tube

1. It's the Southern vote. The current BCS contract expires in 2010, so the first time a playoff could legitimately be considered would be 2011, and a successful playoff would be something to point to in Tennessee, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, and Florida, and it shores him up in Pennsylvania and Ohio. These are all red or swing states with major college football presences.

2. I recall reading an article in Sports Business Journal last year that only 14 of 120ish D-1A football schools make money from their football teams. The value of a major college team isn't in the money, it's in maintaining alumni networks. Or do you really expect the University of Alabama to have the same level of alumni support as Harvard based solely on academics?

superdestroyer

Several points.

1. Football makes zero money for a university. At about 20% of the Div 1A (yes I know they are now called the FBS) the football team makes enough money to fund the entire athletic department. At the rest of the schools, the university subsidizes a money losing athletic department.

2. Most Athletic Departments are really separate, not-for-profit corporations from the university. coaches are not considered employees of the university for most purposes. Alumni and hangers on donate money to the sports foundations, not to the university. There is little relationship between alumni giving to the university and sports achievement. There is also little relationship between football success and getting better applicants. Does anyone give up applying to Vanderbilt, Tulane, Rice, or Northwestern because their football teams are not very good. Do better students apply to Memphis because they were in the Final Four?

3. There are 11 Div 1 conferences. An 8 team playoff probably leaves five conferences looking in from the outside.
The best possible arrangements would be that only conferences champions shouldbe in the playoff. It you want wildcards, it will require a 16 team four week playoff.

4. Alumni and fans probably do not have the money to follow the final two years from Los Angeles to New Orleans to Miami or Phoenix.

5. In a 16 team playoff, there fir round round occur around DC 5. That is finals week. The second round would occur around Dec 12 after the universities have closed for Chirstmas. There atmosphere would not be the same as regular season games.

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