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.

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?

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)?