Mark Cuban to start a college football playoff?Posted on: December 16, 2010 3:36 amPosted by Adam JacobiThe BCS cannot catch a break these days. It's been only days since it finally shed the label of "most reviled aspect of collegiate sports" (the new winner being the Big Ten's "Legends" and "Leaders" division name change, of course), and already the BCS faces its toughest obstacle yet: Mark Cuban.Cuban, the irascible and opinionated owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks and various other holdings, proposed funding a playoff system during an interview earlier today:Before Wednesday's game, [Cuban] talked openly about how he'd like to pitch a playoff system to select college presidents in BCS conferences. But he admits it's a long, long way from becoming reality."I'm actively pursuing it, but it's in only in the exploratory stage,'' he said.Cuban has been reading the book "Death to the BCS'' and it has gotten him thinking about how a lucrative playoff system could change colleges, and perhaps even lower tuitions that have skyrocketed in recent years.And how, precisely, would Cuban make these changes? Why, throw an unholy amount of money at the problem, of course:The bowl games could still exist under Cuban's plan, but he said he would make it more profitable for programs to make the playoffs than a bowl."Put $500 million in the bank and go to all the schools and pay them money as an option," Cuban said. "Say, 'Look, I'm going to give you X amount every five years. In exchange, you say if you're picked for the playoff system, you'll go.' "One way to push school presidents toward approving the idea would be to lobby major donors of college athletic programs, Cuban said. He suggested convincing the donors to cut off their donations until their presidents approved a playoff system.Our colleague Ben Golliver expressed doubt that Cuban would be able to make any headway in spite of a theoretical playoff's overwhelming popularity, but I'm not so pessimistic. The one thing the BCS has always been able to (literally) capitalize upon was that it operates essentially out of the purview of the NCAA. Sure, the bowl game committees don't break any NCAA rules when it comes to giving players gifts or anything, but that's likely due in some part to the fact that paying players doesn't advance the bowls' financial agenda nearly as much as paying the schools and conferences, which they do in insane amounts. In return, the bowl system -- which is ludicrously tilted in the financial favor of the six BCS member conferences -- gets to hand-select its participants with only the most basic of guidelines. People complain, but it's what works because it's what makes the most money.But if Cuban comes along and suggests a playoff system that makes more money for the NCAA and its schools and conferences, well, the BCS finds itself in a spot of trouble, because it can't exactly come running to the NCAA to enforce any pro-BCS rules; again, the BCS is a separate institution, and one that generally relies on a postseason monopoly -- you either go to a bowl or you don't. There is very little to suggest that conferences like the Mountain West would pass on an opportunity to play for an opt-in title when its teams are going 12-0 in the regular season, only to be told those teams aren't allowed to play for the BCS Championship. Efforts by the power conferences to shame and intimidate the non-AQ conferences only serve to deepen the divide, and that's a power play that could backfire hilariously if the BCS isn't the only postseason game in town anymore.Obviously, Cuban's plan isn't fully cooked yet, so it's impossible to judge the plan on its merits until we know what they specifically are. Further, opting out of the BCS entirely has never been attempted by a school or a conference (and really, why would anybody do that without a viable alternative?), so it's going to take a lot of contractual research to figure out exactly what that would entail. It may very well be the case that this playoff idea never gets off the ground for whatever reason. You really think Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany and SEC commissioner Mike Slive are going to let their BCS baby roll over at the first sign of a fight? Please.Nonetheless, Cuban's insertion of himself into the BCS debate isn't a gamechanger; it's even better. That's because the game's always going to be the same, and that game is money. If Cuban can bring more money to the table and win the PR debate to boot, then it won't matter how many rich men in blazers the BCS bowls send to top schools; Cuban's going to win that game every time.
Ultimately, though, Cuban would have to convince university presidents. To do that, he said, don't go to the presidents. Go to major donors at the most powerful schools and convince them to cut off their donations unless the president gets behind a playoff. "That's the big missing piece that other folks who have considered this haven't done," Cuban said. "Most of them have gone to the presidents and have gone to the athletic directors and kind of taken the sports path. In reality, you go to the stakeholders."Would that work? Maybe. Maybe not. Boosters love their bowl trips, too. But they love championships more. Cuban might start by explaining to the big-money boosters at Big Ten schools that the BCS actually is keeping their football teams from playing for the national title. Why? Because Ohio State lost two consecutive BCS title games, and now poll voters are unfairly painting the entire conference with a broad brush. A one-loss SEC team can play for the title, but a one-loss Big Ten team is a lock for the Rose Bowl.
Sorry, drunk, fat, and stupid really is no way to go through life.Admins, want to take this down?
whoa! someone will get to flex their e-penis.
My e-penis is huge...I merge for you.
for the holidays. hot dog!
9 Replies
1236 Views