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Is college football drifting too far off course from what made it a national phenomenon? From a business perspective, which the sport certainly is, things are going tremendously. But as revenue and ratings going up, prestige is seemingly going down. Massive conference realignment has left many fans feeling anxious about the future, and now, Alabama head coach Nick Saban is bringing up another potential concern.
The seven-time national champion explains how the expanded College Football Playoff format, which is set to triple in size starting in 2024, can negatively affect bowl games going forward.
“One of the great traditions of college football for many years was if you had a great season, you got to go to a bowl game,” Saban said, per Brett McMurphy of Action Network, ahead of the Crimson Tide's New Year's Day face-off with Michigan. “As soon as we started having playoffs, this is new and I'm not complaining about that, it started to minimize the importance of bowl games. The more we expand the playoffs, which I'm not against, I'm for, it minimizes the importance of bowl games.”
Based on Saban's remarks, it sounds like he considers the CFP to be a necessary evil. More teams vying for the title has helped the sport's brand, but the pride one takes in earning the opportunity to play in a bowl game could also be diminishing as a result. Losing that unique element could cause some fans to fall out of love with college football.
Although Nick Saban raises some interesting points, his main focus right now is figuring out how to generate a sufficient amount of offense against Michigan in the College Football Playoff Semifinals. When all the dust clears, maybe this expanded format issue can be discussed more in-depth.
