Normally, this wouldn’t attract my attention for a blog post, but…well exactly why I’m making an exception is left as an exercise for the reader.
Seen in the AJC, a letter from University of Georgia president Michael Adams to the NCAA:
“For some twenty years, I have opposed a football playoff system, largely for academic reasons. We at the University of Georgia have one of the few institutions in the country with both a top-20 public academic program and a top-20 athletic program, and I want to keep it that way. For that reason, I remain concerned about any move to lengthen the football season into a second semester. I believe the season already is too long and demands too much of athletes and the universities that serve them.
[...However...]
“This year’s experience leads me to believe the only equitable solution is to have an NCAA selection committee place the top eight teams in the four major bowls. The winners of those four games will play in two playoff games on the first Saturday at least a week past the New Year’s bowls, with the national championship game between the two winners the following Saturday.
“My concern about extending the season into the second semester still exists, but this would involve only four schools, and only two into the second week. To answer concerns about the wear-and-tear on the student-athletes, I would consider returning the regular season to an 11-game schedule.
There is something to be said for the old tradition of big bowl games, and reveling in the success (or mourning in the failure) of your alma matter’s team. However, considering how society and society’s views on sports have change…I agree; it’s time to transition to some form of playoffs in the NCAA.
Props to Michael Adams too for recognizing that the primary purpose to attend university is to further one’s education, and therefore giving serious thought to the risks involved with football season leaking too far into the new year.