NCAA Mulls Increasing Bowl Eligibility Requirement To Seven Wins In 2014
by Brian Favat on Jan 25, 2012 12:59 PM EST
in Boston College Football
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While college football's postseason format set to change, could changes also be coming to the current bowl system? Multiple sources have told CBSSports.com that there is "growing support" among conference commissioners, ADs and bowl officials to increase the difficulty of becoming bowl eligible.
"The 7-5 discussion is percolating," a bowl official said. "I don't know of many athletic directors or conference commissioners who think a 6-6 team has earned a bowl berth." Teams are now only required to finish .500 (6-6) or better to be bowl eligible. Increasing the number is expected to be discussed at the Football Bowl Association meetings in Miami in April. The university presidents would have to vote for any change as part of NCAA legislation.
While I want to see a proper college football playoff put in place, and the world can probably do without the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl, I'm not all that thrilled with this rule change. All upping the bowl eligibility requirement does is encourage athletic directors to schedule their way to seven or eight wins (two I-AA opponents) instead of six or seven.
Without making changes to the current college football incentives structure, this rule change will simply mean fewer games between marquee opponents, as programs try to schedule their way to seven wins and a trip to college football's already bloated postseason.
Bowl sources estimated up to 12 of the current 35 bowls could be "lopped off." Had this rule existed in 2010-11, 14 of the 70 bowl eligible teams would have been bowl in-eligible: Arizona State, Florida, Illinois, Iowa State, Marshall, Mississippi State, Northwestern, Ohio State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Texas A&M, U.C.L.A., Vanderbilt and Wake Forest.
For those curious, Boston College has never made a bowl game with just a .500 record.
However, this would likely only be a temporary measure, as programs slowly learn to set up the yearly football schedule for getting to seven wins instead of six. If this rule is enacted, you'd likely see fewer bowls in the short term. But my money is on the number of bowls returning to 2010-11 levels without a significant change to the college football scheduling incentives structure for athletics directors.
This rule may also be a deal-breaker as the ACC contemplates moving to a 9-game conference football schedule. The SEC has stated it has no plans to move to 9 games even with the additions of Texas A&M and Missouri, while the Big Ten has now gone back on an earlier decision to move to a 9-game conference schedule for the 2017 season due to the conference's new Pac-12 scheduling deal.
Get ready for more Boston College football games against the UMass, Rhode Island, Stony Brook, New Hampshire, Maine, the MAC, Conference USA and the Sun Belt!
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Veals on Wheels Just CRASHED!!
I just drove into the ditch!!!
Who calls Leahy to vote for rolling a HARD 6!
That raises the comeback rebuilding bar huh fellas!
Sisters of the Poor Atheltic Director on line 1 for you Gene….
Maine
At Wake Forest
At NCSU
At Army
Maryland
Miami
At Northwestern
At Georgia Tech
NEED 6 out of 8 — which should be fair.
Notre Dame
Virginia Tech
Clemson
At FSU
NEED 1 UPSET - 1-11 now versus TOP AP 25 ending teams in 3 years so maybe we eke out an upset versus one?
6+1 = 7 …..for you non-CSOM puddinheads.
GO EAGLES!!
The Double Baked Potatoe Bowl in December in Boise!!
Can you smell the oranges…. ooops……I mean bacon bits….
2014 schedule
Rule wouldn’t take effect until 2014 …
Here’s the schedule as it stands now:
Home — Rhode Island (I-AA), USC, Maryland, Clemson, North Carolina, Virginia Tech
Road — Wake Forest, N.C. State, Florida State, Virginia, Syracuse (orig. non-conference series)
Neutral — Army
Hard to see 7 wins on that schedule. Let’s hope the Syracuse and Pittsburgh adds completely remake BC’s 2014 conference schedule and make the road a bit easier for BC. Say, replace Virginia Tech with Pitt?
Editor, BC Interruption
No worries, Spaz has this team heading in the right direction and we will most certainly be heading to the Orange Bowl by 2014.
Writer at BC Interruption SBN's Boston College Eagles blog
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by A.J Black on Jan 25, 2012 1:46 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
AJ, BF and now Salzie
You are all on 74 probation for being too negative.
Please report to Father Hanrahan’s Office at 3PM.
By the way, the oranges this year and Clementines are outstanding. We need a fresh fruit, foods we love, women we love, baseball, ice fishing, yachting, needlepointing, and advice for the lovelorn forums here.
I handle the last one. You young guys don’t know nothin’!
Supply and Demand
As you note, teams will use creative scheduling to get the 7 wins needed to be bowl eligible.
In fact, shoud teams need 7 wins to get to a bowl and only 1 FCS game counts toward the 7, the price of getting a MAC or WAC team on the schedule is going to go up, up up. It will be the preserve of the BIG Boys to pay Toledo $1M+ for a game. The middle-schmiddle FBS will be priced out of the MAC/WAC market.
So, this plan to go to 7 sounds like it will not work. Less bowls are needed FER SHURE
I guess we might need to stoop to playing UConn to get the sure W. ha!
Not so fast, my friend
The supply of non-conference games against non-AQ opponents is still greater than the demand.
Consider the following.
Demand
Pac-12 (12) — 9 conference games, 1 Pac-12-B1G game, 1 I-AA = 1 game remaining, 12 total
ACC (14) — 8 conference games, 1 I-AA = 3 remaining, 42 total
Big Ten (12) — 8 conference games, 1 Pac-12-B1G game, 1 I-AA = 2 remaining, 24 total
Big 12 (10) – 9 conference games, 1 I-AA = 2 remaining, 20 total
SEC (14) – 8 conference games, 1 I-AA = 3 remaining, 42 total
Big East (11) – 8 conference games, 1 I-AA = 3 remaining, 33 total
That’s a total of 173 games needed for 73 BCS AQ programs.
Supply
MAC (14) — 8 conference games, 1 I-AA = 3 remaining, 42 total
C-USA / Mountain West (17) — 8 conference games, 1 I-AA = 3 remaining, 51 total
Sun Belt (10) – 8 conference games, 1 I-AA = 3 remaining, 30 total
WAC (7) – 6 conference games, 1 I-AA = 5 remaining, 35 total
Independents (3) – 0 conference games, 1 I-AA = 11 remaining, 33 total
That’s a total of 191 non-conference games for 51 programs.
Assumes:
- Massachusetts is jumping to the MAC, and Texas-San Antonio and Texas State are joining the WAC
- Every FBS program is going to play at least one 1 I-AA program a year (dude’s gotta eat). This more or less holds with the exception of a few programs, notably USC and UCLA, who have never played an I-AA opponent.
Does not include:
- Programs that elect to play 2 I-AA opponents a year, like N.C. State, where TOB has watered down the schedule by playing 4 I-AA programs over last season and this coming season
- Programs that get to play 13 regular season games for traveling to Hawaii to play the Warriors. That’s an extra 6-7 available dates for mostly MWC and WAC programs to play another BCS AQ
Editor, BC Interruption
Additional assumption
- South Alabama jumps to Sun Belt, giving the conference 10 total teams
Editor, BC Interruption
Impressive analysis!
Favat at his analytical best!
by eagleosprey on Jan 25, 2012 5:09 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
In view of our recruiting results of late, I’m worried just how creative/aggressive Gene will think he needs to be. I envision future match ups against the Yeshiva Maccabees or Brandeis Judges will make Stony Brook look like an attractive game.
by Fukowi on Jan 25, 2012 4:02 PM EST reply actions 2 recs
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