2025 College Football Season

[Roadgeekteen]

Feel bad for OSU and WSU. Likely headed for a merger with the MWC using the Pac name.

[KeithE4Phx]

Arizona State and Utah have applied to the Big XII.

and the Big XII schools unanimously accepted them.  Now the Pac 4.

Cal and Stanford may yet join the Big Ten.  Academically, they're the most qualified of all the (soon to be defunct) Pac-12 schools.  In the Big Ten, that matters as much as athletics.

What happens to Oregon State and Washington State is anybody's guess.  From what I read, they were trying to save the Pac-12, but now that it's the Pac-4, and maybe the Pac-2, that will be impossible.  Join the Mountain West?  I won't rule it out.

Instead of chasing a media marketing deal that the Big 10 offers that may blow up in people's faces in 10 years, if I were Cal-Berkeley and Stanford, I'd stay independent in football and join the West Coast Conference for all other sports. In doing so, Gonzaga would get better competition for their men's and women's basketball teams, and Cal+Stanford would keep to their own West Coast insular culture.

All good points.  The entire "big media megabucks funding college athletics" business model may blow up in the next decade if not sooner, along with the similar model for pro sports.  It depends, first, on what Disney does with the ESPN gravy train.  Right now that doesn't look good. 

ESPN and the other TV networks fund the very existence of sports in the United States, and subscriber fees are what fuel it.  But with cable and satellite TV in the process of crashing and burning, and the OTA networks and stations watching their bottom lines because they're losing those subscriber fees as well, the $Billion media contracts may be about to come to an end.  Yeah, Big Tech thinks they can take their place, but computer and engineering nerds trying to be businessmen are notoriously clueless about the real world.  The Pac-12/Apple TV deal is what's about to kill the Pac-12.  If that conference dies, none of the others will take a risk on Big Tech-as-broadcasters. 

The pro leagues will follow in their rejection.  Their problem is player salaries.  If the networks give them the middle finger, and Big Tech can't take their place, those (overbloated) salaries will not be met, and the leagues will end up in bankruptcy.  They have iron-clad contracts with unions, but if the money is not there...

[Ted$8roadFan]

More on the seismic changes affecting college football:

https://www.theringer.com/college-football/2023/8/4/23820686/death-of-pac-12-conference-realignment-college-football-oregon-washington-big-ten

[thspfc]

The only sustainable endgame there is for college football is all the power schools consolidating into one superconference, and from there, breaking off into seperate divisions within that superconference. There has to be a strong central governing body and the NCAA is not it. TV money is killing the sport. If they're all in the same conference then they (theoretically) won't be fighting with each other for TV money because everyone will be under the same contracts.

This would spell the end of the CFP and bowl games, because all the contenders would be in the same conference. And you know what? Good. Arbitrary selection committees suck and bowl games suck. Instead we would get a real playoff system similar to those in professional sports. While this would bear a lot of resembelance to the NFL, I think it would still be different enough to be its own product because the divisions would restore the traditional rivalries that are so much of CFB's appeal.

But what I described above is not going to happen for two reasons: 1) $$$ and 2) $$$. 1), instead of all ~64 power conference teams getting in on the superconference, the biggest programs will decide it's more profitable to form a conference with half or a third that number of teams. That would straight up be Walmart NFL and it would suck. All the schools that got left out would suffer massively because they would essentially be recruiting at an FCS level. The superconference would rake in all the money and anyone outside of it would see their revenue plummet. 2), even if they did manage to include all power teams, the Ohio States and Texases would want a larger cut of the TV revenue. If their demands were met, they would use that money to dominate the less rich schools. If their demands were not met, the top dogs would break away and form their own conference; see #1.


In any case, I don't see the current structure (or lack thereof) of the sport existing for much longer. Geography means basically nothing anymore; the Big Ten and Big 12 have teams in all four quadrants of the country, and the SEC is pretty close. The next time TV contracts come back up for negotiation, the big programs are going to be even more aggressive in getting their way, and if they don't, see #1.

I don't doubt that the Walmart NFL could survive just on the fanbases of those teams, but I really don't see the appeal of a lower-quality league in which players can only stick around for a maxmimum of four years, and I suspect many agree.

Arizona State and Utah have applied to the Big XII.

and the Big XII schools unanimously accepted them.  Now the Pac 4.

Cal and Stanford may yet join the Big Ten.  Academically, they're the most qualified of all the (soon to be defunct) Pac-12 schools.  In the Big Ten, that matters as much as athletics.

What happens to Oregon State and Washington State is anybody's guess.  From what I read, they were trying to save the Pac-12, but now that it's the Pac-4, and maybe the Pac-2, that will be impossible.  Join the Mountain West?  I won't rule it out.

Instead of chasing a media marketing deal that the Big 10 offers that may blow up in people's faces in 10 years, if I were Cal-Berkeley and Stanford, I'd stay independent in football and join the West Coast Conference for all other sports. In doing so, Gonzaga would get better competition for their men's and women's basketball teams, and Cal+Stanford would keep to their own West Coast insular culture.

All good points.  The entire "big media megabucks funding college athletics" business model may blow up in the next decade if not sooner, along with the similar model for pro sports.  It depends, first, on what Disney does with the ESPN gravy train.  Right now that doesn't look good. 

ESPN and the other TV networks fund the very existence of sports in the United States, and subscriber fees are what fuel it.  But with cable and satellite TV in the process of crashing and burning, and the OTA networks and stations watching their bottom lines because they're losing those subscriber fees as well, the $Billion media contracts may be about to come to an end.  Yeah, Big Tech thinks they can take their place, but computer and engineering nerds trying to be businessmen are notoriously clueless about the real world.  The Pac-12/Apple TV deal is what's about to kill the Pac-12.  If that conference dies, none of the others will take a risk on Big Tech-as-broadcasters. 

The pro leagues will follow in their rejection.  Their problem is player salaries.  If the networks give them the middle finger, and Big Tech can't take their place, those (overbloated) salaries will not be met, and the leagues will end up in bankruptcy.  They have iron-clad contracts with unions, but if the money is not there...

As long as the NFL is the #1 entity in television, they will rake in huge money until the media industry collapses. And even on the off chance the bubble bursts? The league's salary cap dropped by 11.2% entering the 2021 season due to the effects of Covid, and you couldn't even tell the difference.

[bugo]

The number of bandwagon Alabama fans around here amazes me. Even diehard Kentucky fans root for the Tide. And they like to throw off on Ohio State.

The SEC fanbase has this weird fetish of "if not my team, better another SEC team than someone else" even if it's a bitter rival of their school. I don't understand it at all. You'll never catch me dead rooting for Wisconsin (in any sport), Ohio State (football), or Michigan (football).

I don't understand it, either. Or the "SEC, SEC" chants. I am a fan of one football team in the SEC, the Arkansas Razorbacks. I consider the rest of the conference teams to be rivals and enemies and I don't automatically root for them because of the conference they are in. That's silly. I guess fans of lower tier SEC teams do this because their team never wins, so they can vicariously live through the eyes of an Alabama fan. That's all I can figure out.

[bugo]

That's because the rest of the country hates us. In particular, fans of Big Ten teams love to hate SEC teams, despite the fact that the Big Ten conference has a lot more influence on college football in general than the SEC does.

LOL why do you reckon that? The SEC has won more championships and produced more NFL players than any conference since the turn of the century. The Big 10 is Ohio State.

[NWI_Irish96]

That's because the rest of the country hates us. In particular, fans of Big Ten teams love to hate SEC teams, despite the fact that the Big Ten conference has a lot more influence on college football in general than the SEC does.

LOL why do you reckon that? The SEC has won more championships and produced more NFL players than any conference since the turn of the century. The Big 10 is Ohio State.

The BIG's influence comes as much for the population bases it covers as the quality of play.

[JayhawkCO]

That's because the rest of the country hates us. In particular, fans of Big Ten teams love to hate SEC teams, despite the fact that the Big Ten conference has a lot more influence on college football in general than the SEC does.

LOL why do you reckon that? The SEC has won more championships and produced more NFL players than any conference since the turn of the century. The Big 10 is Ohio State.

The BIG's influence comes as much for the population bases it covers as the quality of play.

As well as the alumni base. Most Big 10 schools are quite a bit larger than Ole Miss.

[NWI_Irish96]

This is what should happen (but won't):

The top 70ish football programs should break away from the NCAA and form their own organization. Organize back into six conferences that more or less look like what the conferences looked like around 2000. Agree to an even split of regular season TV revenues with the conferences getting bonuses for getting teams into an 8-team playoff. Allow only one opponent outside this division.

BIG: Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Northwestern, Michigan State, Michigan, Indiana, Purdue, Ohio State, Penn State
SEC: Arkansas, LSU, Mississippi, Mississippi St, Alabama, Auburn, Kentucky, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida
Big 12: Iowa State, Missouri, Kansas State, Kansas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma St, Texas, Texas A&M, Baylor, Texas Tech, TCU, West Virginia
PAC 12: Washington, Washington St, Oregon, Oregon St, Cal, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Arizona, Arizona St, Utah, Colorado
ACC: Florida St, Miami, Georgia Tech, Clemson, North Carolina, NC State, Wake Forest, Duke, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Maryland, Pittsburgh
Big East: Boston College, Syracuse, Louisville, Cincinnati, Central Florida, Tulane, Navy, Army, Memphis, App State, Coastal Carolina, Troy
Moutain West: SMU, BYU, Air Force, San Diego St, Hawaii, Wyoming, Nevada, New Mexico, Boise St, UNLV, Fresno St, Utah St

[Bruce]

The realignment is going to destroy a lot of the non-football/basketball sports for these schools. Regional pairings make far more sense for teams that can't afford to charter a flight for a mid-week game across the country. Wish we could just divest the football programs and keep Pac-12 together for other sports that have been strung along for the ride.

[NWI_Irish96]

The realignment is going to destroy a lot of the non-football/basketball sports for these schools. Regional pairings make far more sense for teams that can't afford to charter a flight for a mid-week game across the country. Wish we could just divest the football programs and keep Pac-12 together for other sports that have been strung along for the ride.

That's essentially my idea from above. When TV money became such a big thing, the PAC 12 was doomed because of time zones. They can't play Noon ET games when all of the other conferences can.

Hearing that Cal and Stanford might go to the ACC. Would be a very good fit academically.

[thspfc]

The realignment is going to destroy a lot of the non-football/basketball sports for these schools. Regional pairings make far more sense for teams that can't afford to charter a flight for a mid-week game across the country. Wish we could just divest the football programs and keep Pac-12 together for other sports that have been strung along for the ride.

That's essentially my idea from above. When TV money became such a big thing, the PAC 12 was doomed because of time zones. They can't play Noon ET games when all of the other conferences can.

Hearing that Cal and Stanford might go to the ACC. Would be a very good fit academically.

The Atlantic Coast Conference would have a team where you could see the Pacific Ocean from the top of their stadium.

What's the point anymore? These conferences started out decades ago as regional groups and now the regions mean nothing, yet the conferences still exist as seperate entites, and because geography doesn't matter, schools can just jump ship whenever they feel like it to whichever other conference's TV deal is going to give them more money.

I was bored so I came up with the new structure that I think would be best for the sport. Quite similar to NWI_Irish96's idea, which is funny because I wrote this out this morning. A 70-team Super League with 14 divisions of 5 teams each, broken into two conferences.

Super League East

Delta: LSU, Ole Miss, Miss State, Alabama, Auburn

Mid-Atlantic: NC State, Wake Forest, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Maryland

Northeast: BC, Syracuse, Rutgers, Pitt, West Virginia

Mideast: Penn State, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Michigan, Michigan State

Near South: Kentucky, Louisville, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Arkansas

South Atlantic: North Carolina, Duke, South Carolina, Clemson, Georgia Tech

Southeast: UCF, Florida, Florida State, Miami, Georgia

Super League West

Pacific Northwest: Washington, Washington State, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford

Pacific Southwest: USC, UCLA, San Diego State, Arizona, Arizona State

Mountain: Cal, Utah, BYU, Colorado, Houston

Texas: Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, TCU, Baylor

Great Plains: Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri

Midwest: Purdue, Indiana, Cincinnati, Illinois, Northwestern

Heartland: Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Iowa State, Nebraska


Each team plays their 4 divisional rivals every year, with the remaining 8 games being rotating opponents from the other divisions. The top 8 in each conference (by straight up W/L record since nonconference games wouldn't be a thing) make the playoffs.

This keeps the appeal of the sport alive - 1) 70 teams is more than double the NFL, and 2) everyone would be playing their rivals every year. There are obviously a few I couldn't make work, such as OU/Texas, Georgia/GT, and Houston getting thrown in with a bunch of teams they have no connection with. But those rivalries could be incorporated as annual or biennial protected games, and there are also several old rivalries that are restored in this format such as Texas/Texas A&M, Missouri/Kansas, and Pitt/WVU.

[1995hoo]

The Atlantic Coast Conference would have a team where you could see the Pacific Ocean from the top of their stadium.

The East Coast Hockey League used to have a team in Anchorage.

[Bruce]

The Atlantic Coast Conference would have a team where you could see the Pacific Ocean from the top of their stadium.

The East Coast Hockey League used to have a team in Anchorage.

And the Pacific Coast League has a team near the Gulf of Mexico.

[NWI_Irish96]

The Atlantic Coast Conference would have a team where you could see the Pacific Ocean from the top of their stadium.

The East Coast Hockey League used to have a team in Anchorage.

And the Pacific Coast League has a team near the Gulf of Mexico.

The International League no longer has any teams outside the US.

[hobsini2]

The realignment is going to destroy a lot of the non-football/basketball sports for these schools. Regional pairings make far more sense for teams that can't afford to charter a flight for a mid-week game across the country. Wish we could just divest the football programs and keep Pac-12 together for other sports that have been strung along for the ride.

That's essentially my idea from above. When TV money became such a big thing, the PAC 12 was doomed because of time zones. They can't play Noon ET games when all of the other conferences can.

Hearing that Cal and Stanford might go to the ACC. Would be a very good fit academically.

The Atlantic Coast Conference would have a team where you could see the Pacific Ocean from the top of their stadium.

What's the point anymore? These conferences started out decades ago as regional groups and now the regions mean nothing, yet the conferences still exist as seperate entites, and because geography doesn't matter, schools can just jump ship whenever they feel like it to whichever other conference's TV deal is going to give them more money.

I was bored so I came up with the new structure that I think would be best for the sport. Quite similar to NWI_Irish96's idea, which is funny because I wrote this out this morning. A 70-team Super League with 14 divisions of 5 teams each, broken into two conferences.

Super League East

Delta: LSU, Ole Miss, Miss State, Alabama, Auburn

Mid-Atlantic: NC State, Wake Forest, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Maryland

Northeast: BC, Syracuse, Rutgers, Pitt, West Virginia

Mideast: Penn State, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Michigan, Michigan State

Near South: Kentucky, Louisville, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Arkansas

South Atlantic: North Carolina, Duke, South Carolina, Clemson, Georgia Tech

Southeast: UCF, Florida, Florida State, Miami, Georgia

Super League West

Pacific Northwest: Washington, Washington State, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford

Pacific Southwest: USC, UCLA, San Diego State, Arizona, Arizona State

Mountain: Cal, Utah, BYU, Colorado, Houston

Texas: Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, TCU, Baylor

Great Plains: Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri

Midwest: Purdue, Indiana, Cincinnati, Illinois, Northwestern

Heartland: Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Iowa State, Nebraska


Each team plays their 4 divisional rivals every year, with the remaining 8 games being rotating opponents from the other divisions. The top 8 in each conference (by straight up W/L record since nonconference games wouldn't be a thing) make the playoffs.

This keeps the appeal of the sport alive - 1) 70 teams is more than double the NFL, and 2) everyone would be playing their rivals every year. There are obviously a few I couldn't make work, such as OU/Texas, Georgia/GT, and Houston getting thrown in with a bunch of teams they have no connection with. But those rivalries could be incorporated as annual or biennial protected games, and there are also several old rivalries that are restored in this format such as Texas/Texas A&M, Missouri/Kansas, and Pitt/WVU.

I like this idea in theory. But just some of the divisions are going to be a killer. For example, the Mideast is a beast.

[ET21]

Time for the G5 to make their own playoff system

[Henry]

Few sports leagues have met their demise worse than the Pac-12, and the genesis of it all is when UCLA (my alma mater) and USC bolted for the B1G. While I'm sad to see them go away, at least they will get more chances to play against Midwestern schools such as Northwestern (the one based in Chicagoland). Additionally, it's now very clear that the days of geographically specific conferences are long gone, but I'm glad that the ACC will not expand to the West Coast because it would no longer make any sense, and kudos to its members who voted against the proposal.

[Ted$8roadFan]

With the demise of geographic-based leagues and the coming superleagues, I wonder how schools that may have won their old leagues/divisions will deal with possibly ending up in the middle of the pack in their new digs. Kind of like a high school valedictorian who becomes one of many valedictorians just three months after graduating. Especially if you have to face the likes of Ohio State and Michigan each year.

[mgk920]

Or an in-conference roadtrip for games between teams from California and New Jersey.   And some people are wondering why I'm seriously losing interest in following university level sports . . . .

Mike

[Alps]

With the demise of geographic-based leagues and the coming superleagues, I wonder how schools that may have won their old leagues/divisions will deal with possibly ending up in the middle of the pack in their new digs. Kind of like a high school valedictorian who becomes one of many valedictorians just three months after graduating. Especially if you have to face the likes of Ohio State and Michigan each year.

The right approach in a school full of valedictorians is to swallow pride and realize you're all there for each other, and there is no reason to play superior.

Somehow that doesn't work so well for sports.

[NWI_Irish96]

With the demise of geographic-based leagues and the coming superleagues, I wonder how schools that may have won their old leagues/divisions will deal with possibly ending up in the middle of the pack in their new digs. Kind of like a high school valedictorian who becomes one of many valedictorians just three months after graduating. Especially if you have to face the likes of Ohio State and Michigan each year.

They'll be too busy counting their money to think about that.

[hobsini2]

With the demise of geographic-based leagues and the coming superleagues, I wonder how schools that may have won their old leagues/divisions will deal with possibly ending up in the middle of the pack in their new digs. Kind of like a high school valedictorian who becomes one of many valedictorians just three months after graduating. Especially if you have to face the likes of Ohio State and Michigan each year.

The right approach in a school full of valedictorians is to swallow pride and realize you're all there for each other, and there is no reason to play superior.

Somehow that doesn't work so well for sports.

Tell that to the pricks who insist on calling OSU "THE" Ohio State University. Sit down and shut up you pretentious clowns (the OSU idiots I mean).

[NWI_Irish96]

Current win totals:

Notre Dame 1
Everybody else 0

[Ted$8roadFan]

Somewhat astonishingly, the University of Massachusetts Minutemen defeated the New Mexico State Aggies for their first win against an FBS team in nearly 40 years, and their first road win season opener in nearly 50 years.