Aptly Named “College Football Playoff” System Unveiled

Ashley Schaeffer BMW13 years ago

Called exactly what it is, college football’s new playoff format has been finalized and released to the public, following meetings between officials from respective conferences and the BCS in Pasadena, CA.

“We decided to call the playoff what it is – the College Football Playoff. We think the new playoff will be the most dynamic improvement to college football in a generation. Certainly it’s what the fans want. – Bill Hancock, Executive Director

Right off the bat, I really like the basicness of the name, which I’m sure you noticed, lacks corporate sponsorship. Purportedly, administrators wanted to maintain an element of class and tradition here, thus avoiding the sponsorship route, much like the Masters, World Series, Stanley Cup, or NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament. I totally respect this, as it seems like they’re concentrated on the roots of the game and providing the best fan experience possible, rather than all the media and advertising hoopla normally associated with NCAA football. Thanks for keeping it classy, gentlemen.

Beginning 616 days from now when the 2014-15 season commences on August 28th, the new post-season system boasts that it will create a new era of college football.

The format is simple: top four teams, two semifinals played in bowl games, and a national championship game played in a different city each year. Each semifinal will be played during the New Year’s holiday with the national championship game in prime time on a Monday night at least a week later. It will be the best of all worlds, and the biggest innovation to the sport in decades.

The bracket each year will include the three traditional BCS Bowls (Orange, Sugar, and Rose) and three more geographically placed games, yet to be named, with the National Championship again being a game in itself.

The schedule is as follows on a rotating tri-annual basis:

I’ve got to say, I love this. It’s what the fans have been praying for so intensely over the past years, and I truly feel parity-wise, this format will undoubtedly breed better competition and align the best teams that are really meant to play for the National Title.

We’ll see a selection committee meet and hopefully seed the teams in the people’s interest, a fashion similar to March Madness.

A selection committee will choose the four teams for the playoff based on their performance during the regular season, including, strength of schedule, head-to-head results, championships won, and other factors. The teams will be seeded so that #1 will play #4 in one semifinal and #2 will meet #3 in the other, with the winners advancing to the national championship game.

To be the best, you have to be the best, and hopefully this selection committee ensures there aren’t any fluke teams that make it to the championship game based purely on dumbass BCS metrics that aren’t even publicly available, solely because they play an easy schedule and have some skin-of-the-teeth wins.

In addition to creating a post-season which will make the game even more engaging for fans, directors of the College Football Playoff launched a Twitter account (@CFBPlayoff) yesterday evening to interact with the public, hopefully promoting decisions with aligned with fan interest nationwide.

Their first order of business was urging college football fans to vote on the logo that the playoff will use. Here are the four options:

It’s pretty obvious to me that the front-runner right now is probably the worst pick possible. I went stars and stripes all the way.

I’m totally baffled how Old Glory isn’t in first right now, but I’m sure we’ll see that change as the news spreads in the coming days. The vote closes Monday, April 29th at 3pm.

[via College Football Playoff]

Image via Swift Economics