College football didn't have to reach this point -- but here we are

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In America, choice often consists of the 2 options with the most money that smother all rivals.
 

Two thoughts coming out of the read...

First, any time the University of Texas can be blamed for something I can usually support. I know that my Nebbie Fan family member saw the Texas Network as a primary reason for Nebraska to say asta la vista...

Second, probably need to cherish these next couple of seasons as the way it used to be.

It will be a grand experiment long-term as to whether whatever replaces this "version" of structure of institutional and athletic participation in the collegiate game of football...that has been essentially stable for over 100 years...will actually get the clicks and eyeballs to pay for all this. The trend away from butts in the seats as an economic factor is continuing to advance as actual attendance goes by the wayside.

I think that merits a tribute to a native Minnesotan who may have captured my emotion...

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That offered down to a couple of months till gameday...
 
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Great article.

While I'd still prefer the old style, if we get fully to the old-school baseball style that could be a lot of fun too. I'm imagining both conferences with 24 teams, 2 divisions of 12 each, play 11 conference teams a season (maybe in groups of 4, play your group every year, the other group in your division every 2 years, the group in the other division once every 3 years) and 1 non-conference game to either play a team from a minor conference as a warm up or a few SEC vs Big Ten games a year. Each group would play the same 8 conference teams and each other each year so there wouldn't be situations where a bad team with an easy schedule makes the playoffs over a more deserving one. Each conference could have playoffs with the 6 group winners and 2 wild cards. We'd go back to 1 championship game between the Big Ten champ and the SEC champ. We'd still have rivalries within the conference but the overall rivalry between the Big Ten and SEC would grow and unless your rival was in it, you'd almost always be rooting for the Big Ten team.

Unfortunately I'm not sure it will ever get there and if so it will probably take decades, adding a couple of teams every few years and the other conferences slowly dying instead of quickly becoming minor leagues.
 



Speaking of minor leagues...some say that life and even football is part of a great cycle...

Might a future schedule look something like this...
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Switch it to TCF-Huntington Stadium and we're right in there...

BTW, although undefeated the Year 1900 squad did not claim to be National Champions...the first Natty came in 1904...
 

Article does a great job of articulating what many of us think about this. These selections in particular capture my thoughts:

Whether it takes a couple years or a whole decade, the end is nigh for the little guys in college sports. And even many of the mid-sized guys. That’s the biggest tragedy in this situation, because the little and middle guys are what differentiate college athletics from the rest of the American sporting landscape.
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If you’ve loved and cared about college sports, this will be a depressing balkanization to witness. Emotional appeal will erode. At some point, rooting for your alma mater won’t feel too different from rooting for a hedge fund.

Fans don’t watch college football because it’s played at a higher caliber than the NFL. They watch because it’s more fun. And much of the fun is in the variety. Air Force has to play football in a different style in order to compete. So does Texas Tech. And so on.
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Passion is what drives college football. For many, that passion will drive away. All to make room for a bigger Brinks truck.
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stocker08 said:
Article does a great job of articulating what many of us think about this. These selections in particular capture my thoughts:
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These are the Good 'Ole Days.

Interesting to actually see significant change happening in real time.

Cherish the moment while it lasts.
 

change is the only constant in life.

and, in general, most change is positive.

in my 66+ years on the planet, I have seen advances in almost every aspect of daily life.

for those pining for the "good old days" of college FB - when I was in HS, the only way to follow Gopher FB was on the radio. There might be one or two FB games on TV for the entire weekend.
(BTW - in my home town, we got 3 TV stations from a rooftop antenna.)

if you couldn't get the Gophers on the radio, you had to wait for the TV newscast at 6 or 10pm to find out the score - or wait for the newspaper to hit the porch the next day.

so, college football is going to be different. Well, it's been different for almost every generation. we'll get used to it.

But, if we could go back to 25-cents a gallon for gas, that would be nice.......
 



Reusse's article pretty much captures this too SON. Change is the only thing that is constant.

I'm 63 and will go to games as long as I can do so and be completely content.

Since only a Gopher fan for only 25 of those years to date, my only regret will be not being in Pasadena on New Years Day for the traditional reason in the Big Ten...our conference champion vs the Pacific Athletic Conference champion for Rose Bowl honors. I knew that ship had sailed with the Bowl Championship Series came forward.

I still want to go to Pasadena so I guess the Billds need to go to the first Gophers/UCLA match-up if another opportunity does not arise before then.

Ironically, if I were still a Georgia fan first I could have gone to the RB in 2018 to watch them against Okie State...but I am a Gopher now so that's the cards on the table as of now...

Cyndie Lauper said it best...

 

True that the only constant is change. I am the second of three generations to go and graduate from the U. My Dad, brother and sons all had a different experience than me, but our connection is the same. It is the institution that bonds that connection, and following its sports teams is a benefit that connects all of those generations together. Watching Gophs football at Memorial with my Dad and brother generates the same bond, connection, anticipation and excitement as watching them at the Bank with my brother and my sons.

Hopefully, I get to experience the same with my sons and grandkids.
 

BilldGopher said:
Speaking of minor leagues...some say that life and even football is part of a great cycle...

Might a future schedule look something like this...
View attachment 19174
Switch it to TCF-Huntington Stadium and we're right in there...

BTW, although undefeated the Year 1900 squad did not claim to be National Champions...the first Natty came in 1904...
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Minneapolis Central HS with the stellar D!
 

short ornery norwegian said:
change is the only constant in life.

and, in general, most change is positive.

in my 66+ years on the planet, I have seen advances in almost every aspect of daily life.

for those pining for the "good old days" of college FB - when I was in HS, the only way to follow Gopher FB was on the radio. There might be one or two FB games on TV for the entire weekend.
(BTW - in my home town, we got 3 TV stations from a rooftop antenna.)

if you couldn't get the Gophers on the radio, you had to wait for the TV newscast at 6 or 10pm to find out the score - or wait for the newspaper to hit the porch the next day.

so, college football is going to be different. Well, it's been different for almost every generation. we'll get used to it.

But, if we could go back to 25-cents a gallon for gas, that would be nice.......
Click to expand...
I thought we were close to the same age until you mentioned? $.25 per gallon gas. The lowest I recall is $0.79
 

It's a well written article and has some good points.

But this isn't 100% assured it's going to be worse for the average fan. That has to play out.
There is the comparison to soccer and how it's a wide open system of players being bought. Sure, but soccer is also the most popular sport in the world. So is being more like soccer a bad thing in that case?

If the Big Ten and SEC separate from the teams 41-128 or whatever it is, there will be fans watching to see who are the best of teams 41-128. Whether it's Kansas playing West Virginia, or Cincinnati appearing to be the dominant team trying to hold off an Arizona or Arizona State, it will still get viewership and there will still be fans.

With these large conferences however with 20 teams in the Big Ten, the Big Ten will need to take measures to ensure the Rutgers and Northwestern's still compete with the Penn State's and OSU's.

This is why I think pay-for-play will come into effect with a "salary cap floor".
 

Cedar Rapids Gopher said:
I thought we were close to the same age until you mentioned? $.25 per gallon gas. The lowest I recall is $0.79
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I'm a couple of years older than SON, but I can recall (although I was a wee tad of a lad) gas hitting $0.19.9 at my cousin's Mobil station in the early 1960s.

To the gist of the article, money chases money and that works until money stops running. As others have said above, society is much more mobile and that erodes regional/Alma Mater connections to some extent making the allure of mega-conferences and television money all the more understandable. The television contracts for these conferences is going to be astronomical.
 
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In Atlanta when the Arab Oil Embargo hit the price went from around $0.35 to $0.99 in a flash.

I was just a teenager then and Dad had bought a very nice Pontiac LeMans 6 mos earlier. Decided he needed something more gas efficient and the dealer offered him a trade-in of 50 cents on the outstanding loan balance dollar. My Mom almost had to physically restrain him from attacking the business manager. Granted, the car depreciates 25% or more percent just driving it off the lot, but the market had collapsed. Needless to say no more Pontiacs in his car portfolio...
 

50PoundHead said:
I'm a couple of years older than SON, but I can recall (although I was a wee tad of a lad) gas hitting $0.19.9 at my cousin's Mobil station in the early 1960s.

To the gist of the article, money chases money and that works until money stops running. As others have said above, society is much more mobile and that erodes regional/Alma Mater connections to some extent making the allure of mega-conferences and television money all the more understandable. The television contracts for these conferences is going to be astronomical.
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A brand-new Cadillac used to cost $3,750.00. Gas was close to $0.20+ a gallon. Many people were making under $2.00 per hour. The lucky ones are those that worked in manufacturing for the summer. They didn't need to borrow money because a manufacturing job earned enough to pay for a big chunk of their schooling.
 
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Great article. Change is constant. Every program needs to adapt to the changes. PJ Fleck is quite adept at doing that. I am sure there are pluses and minuses. In the end, everything will work out.
 

Fans of about 115 of the 120 FBS schools (including Minnesota) go into every season currently knowing it's very, very unlikely that they will win the ultimate national championship prize. Their season is about winning significant games, being at least a little better than last year, and perhaps stitching enough good games together that they make a run for a conference title or go to a "good" bowl.

The journey is the destination, it's not life or death, and we all realize that NCAA football is minor league even when Bama and Georgia are playing. I'm not sure if any of that changes for schools who are left out of the top CFB leagues/conferences to come. In fact, for some schools near the cut line, it could make the game more fun by moving them into a place where they can compete for a championship.
 

BilldGopher said:
In Atlanta when the Arab Oil Embargo hit the price went from around $0.35 to $0.99 in a flash.

I was just a teenager then and Dad had bought a very nice Pontiac LeMans 6 mos earlier. Decided he needed something more gas efficient and the dealer offered him a trade-in of 50 cents on the outstanding loan balance dollar. My Mom almost had to physically restrain him from attacking the business manager. Granted, the car depreciates 25% or more percent just driving it off the lot, but the market had collapsed. Needless to say no more Pontiacs in his car portfolio...
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My dad did an 80-mile car pool round-trip daily and when the first oil shock hit in the early-1970s, he was religious about filling up the tank even when it was 3/4 full. I had a daily 12-mile round trip for my summer job, so I was pretty much agnostic on the whole thing, but I heard the nightly lectures. My father never talked much about his politics (except the part about "blistering the a$$e$ of those dirty hippies" with rock salt fired from a 12-gauge, but on reflection, his rhetoric was pretty much in line with that of the John Birch Society.

As an aside, our local postmaster was named John Burch. Saved by a vowel!
 

BilldGopher said:
I still want to go to Pasadena so I guess the Billds need to go to the first Gophers/UCLA match-up if another opportunity does not arise before then.
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Not to pile on but there is a solid chance that the UCLA Bruins move to SoFi Stadium if the right offer presents itself. Closer to Westwood and it's new.
 

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