Entirely predictable

[How_did_this_happen?]

https://washingtonstate.rivals.com/news/ncaa-will-examine-feasibility-of-14-week-season

Next up in several years...the 15 week schedule. Just wait.

We've seen this before (NFL).

It's all about money and the insatiable appetite for ever more revenue. It never ends.

 

[BleedCrimsonandGray]

https://washingtonstate.rivals.com/news/ncaa-will-examine-feasibility-of-14-week-season

Next up in several years...the 15 week schedule. Just wait.

We've seen this before (NFL).

It's all about money and the insatiable appetite for ever more revenue. It never ends.

Not to mention they might as well just hand the big boys a perennial trophy - smaller programs can't keep up with the depth and attrition that injuries cause every year, and an extra week would just magnify that disparity even more.

 

[BiggsCoug]

No one is deep now. I say cut the scholarships from 85 to 80. Add another game and it'll force guys to coach better. More kids will have to play. Redshirts will be gone. Talent will spread across the country. You'll see a more competitive product throughout the nation.

 

[Coug95man2]

I honestly can't wait to hear CML's non-PC retort to this. I think he'll like it. I betcha he'll say they are making room for the 64 team playoffs...

 

[kayak15]

If an extended season adds another bye week then I am fine with it. But if, as your suspicions indicate, this merely results in a 13 game schedule then no, not a good idea. It is difficult enough keeping the guys academically eligible under the current system without resorting to a watering down of the academics via "Mickey Mouse" level classes. Some fan bases and athletic departments forget or ignore that the players are student-athletes. The tendency to add another game will result and the conflict between academics and money will reappear. One would wish that the school presidents would step up here but I wouldn't hold my breath. The concerns expressed are well founded.

 

[Fab5Coug]

MORE college football? Those greedy bastards. I won't stand for this!

 

[How_did_this_happen?]

MORE college football? Those greedy bastards. I won't stand for this!

Good one...but we do all understand this is all about generating more revenue...and it never ends (which is the main concern).

 

[Flatlandcoug]

I was under the impression that the extra week was to guarantee that all teams had a chance for a true bye week and most would get two bye weeks, not to add a 13th game for everyone.

 

[kayak15]

I was under the impression that the extra week was to guarantee that all teams had a chance for a true bye week and most would get two bye weeks, not to add a 13th game for everyone.

My impression too but the opening is there for another game and the revenue from same. That is the problem. Some, if not most or all, of the AD's will regard the open week not as an opportunity for rest and recuperation but as a lost opportunity for revenue.

 

[Slowmotionjones]

Some, if not most or all, of the AD's will regard the open week not as an opportunity for rest and recuperation but as a lost opportunity for revenue.

ADs can't throw in a thirteenth game whenever the want, the are limited to 12 unless playing @ Hawai'i.

 

[kayak15]

ADs can't throw in a thirteenth game whenever the want, the are limited to 12 unless playing @ Hawai'i.

Under the current set of rules, yes. My point is that some will see the prospect of increased income and lobby for a 13th game.

 

[Slowmotionjones]

Gotcha.

I think there would have to be a consensus regarding scheduling to go to a 13 game season. One stipulation would likely be mandatory nine games against conference opponents and I don't think the SEC would go for that.

Then there are the worries about CTE that aren't going away making extending seasons a bad look.

I believe (and hope) a fourteenth week gets added, along with four more games for a eight team playoff. That could raise revenue significantly, but 13 reg. season games is unlikely IMO.

 

[Coug95man2]

Gotcha.

I think there would have to be a consensus regarding scheduling to go to a 13 game season. One stipulation would likely be mandatory nine games against conference opponents and I don't think the SEC would go for that.

Then there are the worries about CTE that aren't going away making extending seasons a bad look.

I believe (and hope) a fourteenth week gets added, along with four more games for a eight team playoff. That could raise revenue significantly, but 13 reg. season games is unlikely IMO.

Yep. And that is what I was alluding to with CML's comments. This is the slow gears grinding. They have to make room for a playoff that would extend the season beyond what it is now. They've counted the weeks, they have a pre-conceived master plan and they are now slowly implementing it. Gotta get the fans/the players/etc. accustomed to an extended season.

Even if they somehow make a 13 reg. season... they are extending the season. I can see them move backwards in a few years and going back to 12 reg season games in order to make room for a playoff... But either way... It's making room on the calendar for movement. That is the first step. Next step will be behind the scenes and that will be arranging the marketing aspect, getting the sponsors (money), etc. That will take several years. The politics of the bowls will start interfering so it'll take time. Then it's all about unveiling the big plan to the public.

 

[Flatlandcoug]

I believe that the playoffs will expand long before they add more regular season games. Down the road, I fully expect a 16 team playoff. I expect that the majority of bowl games will survive as well even though they will mean even less than they do now.

 

[SaveFerris]

I believe that the playoffs will expand long before they add more regular season games. Down the road, I fully expect a 16 team playoff. I expect that the majority of bowl games will survive as well even though they will mean even less than they do now.

Even if nobody watches or shows up Bowl games continuing is important just for the extra practices. I'm not sure of the long-term viability of some bowl games as they continue to lose relevance.

Someone "here or there" squashed going beyond an 8 team playoff. I can't remember the argument but it did make sense at the time.

 

[Flatlandcoug]

The NIT and CBI are proof that bowl games will survive. As far as going beyond 8 teams, it won't happen soon, but I believe it will happen. An 8 team playoff is coming soon though. When the time comes when the SEC or B1G isn't represented, there will be an outcry from their fanbases on the unfairness of the system and you will see expansion happen almost immediately after that. An 8 team playoff will get the Power 5 champs, the top Group of 5 team and two at-large teams.

It will take a big shakeup to expand beyond 8 teams but I think money and another SEC/B1G snub of some kind will both eventually push it that way. It won't happen soon though.