Perlman's, Big Ten's stance on playoffs taking heat

[knapplc]

Beneath Big Ten's backtracking, common playoff ground exists

Stewart Mandel

The Big Ten held a conference call Monday morning, and Nebraska chancellor Harvey Perlman took the opportunity to make sure the most unflattering stereotypes about the venerable conference remain in place for many years to come.

By stating that his fellow league presidents' official preference for college football's postseason is "the status quo" just one day after his Pac-12 equivalent, Oregon State president Ed Ray, said "no one is talking about the status quo," Perlman ensured that the rest of the country will continue to view the conference of Legends and Leaders as a stodgy, out-of-touch band of cigar-smoking reactionaries.

This is an embarrassing development for Big Ten fans, the great majority of whom embrace change and couldn't view the college football world more differently than their leagues' overlords. It's also a disservice to the conference, which has actually been a leader in innovation, from popularizing the spread offense in the late '90s and early 2000s, to creating the landscape-altering Big Ten Network five years ago, to forming a forthcoming scheduling alliance with the Pac-12. The Big Ten's own athletic directors were the first to propose holding semifinal playoff games on campus sites, an idea so radical that other conferences rejected it. But thanks to comments like Perlman's, most of the country will go on viewing the Big Ten as the one conference still using dial-up modems.

Stewart is, rightly, pulling no punches in his analysis. It pains me to see Nebraska ripped like this. But frankly, Stewart is right, and Perlman and the rest of the Big Ten presidents are wrong. Dead wrong.

Playoffs are inevitable. Resisting this oncoming change will mean we are left to pick up the pieces of whatever options are left if we are not in the forefront of this movement. Hanging back will not benefit Nebraska or the Big Ten.

Playoffs are not the cure-all for the problems that ail college football. They are just the best available method for post-season play. Forget about determining a champion - the bowls are simply a farce, as are the polls and the whole process engaged therein.

We can (rightly) concern ourselves with the changes this will bring to the sport, but the worst-case-scenario of destroying the regular season, turning the college game into a farm system, or harming academics are either wildly exaggerated or wholly untrue.

Tradition is an excellent thing, and we should hold on to our traditions as tightly as possible - and as dearly as is practical. But when adhering to tradition becomes more harmful than helpful, you have to be able to cut ties and move forward.

Perlman and Osborne were visionary enough to cut ties with the Big XII, and our old Big 8 brethren. It's time to regain that visionary fervor and lead the charge into the New Age of college football. The risk of being left behind - of not being at the table when the decisions are made - is too great.

 

[Comish]

Perlman has long been a source of discomfiture on this topic and continues to be so.

Regardless of his true motivation, the perception is that it's all about holding on to power.......His and the bowls......

Ironically, you'd think that having our chancellor as the mouthpiece for a venerable institution like the Big 10 would be gratifying.......instead it's a national embarrassment.

 

[Ziggy]

My personal belief is that the playoffs for CFB is a mistake. The reason people get so excited and passionate about the sport is because every game matters, every play has the potential to radically change the outcome of the season. Is it really that exciting if a team loses twice but still gets into the playoffs. Baseball, hockey, basketball and even the NFL have over saturated their fans with too many games. March madness is madness because its one and done, CFB is fall madness, on any given Saturday a team can go from title hunt to chasing for a BCS bowl. Sure playoffs help find the best team that year, but isnt it fun fighting with Penn state and Michigan about who was the best teams in those years. My vote is no to the play offs. Please tell me the down side of continuing to have the current system or even the previous bowl system?

 

[Comish]

My personal belief is that the playoffs for CFB is a mistake. The reason people get so excited and passionate about the sport is because every game matters, every play has the potential to radically change the outcome of the season. Is it really that exciting if a team loses twice but still gets into the playoffs. Baseball, hockey, basketball and even the NFL have over saturated their fans with too many games. March madness is madness because its one and done, CFB is fall madness, on any given Saturday a team can go from title hunt to chasing for a BCS bowl. Sure playoffs help find the best team that year, but isnt it fun fighting with Penn state and Michigan about who was the best teams in those years. My vote is no to the play offs. Please tell me the down side of continuing to have the current system or even the previous bowl system?

Ask Okie St.

 

[jimk]

My personal belief is that the playoffs for CFB is a mistake. The reason people get so excited and passionate about the sport is because every game matters, every play has the potential to radically change the outcome of the season. Is it really that exciting if a team loses twice but still gets into the playoffs. Baseball, hockey, basketball and even the NFL have over saturated their fans with too many games. March madness is madness because its one and done, CFB is fall madness, on any given Saturday a team can go from title hunt to chasing for a BCS bowl. Sure playoffs help find the best team that year, but isnt it fun fighting with Penn state and Michigan about who was the best teams in those years. My vote is no to the play offs. Please tell me the down side of continuing to have the current system or even the previous bowl system?

I don't see how a four team or 6 team or even 8 team playoff makes any regular season game less meaningful. Lose one game and you might not be in. Lose two and your more than likely out. Three you shouldn't have a prayer. To me if it goes by rankings or conference champions or whatever you still have to win damn near all your games to be in contention.

 

[N Sker]

I like the way the B1G is playing this. The SEC didn't like "on campus" playoffs because they may have to play in the cold, which they think would be unfair. The SEC's idea of fair is to have playoffs in their backyards (bowl games), which gives them an advantage.

From the B1G standpoint, if there can't be compromise to truely make things fair, why change?

 

[Count 'Bility]

"We have tried to not put a stake in the ground and say, 'Over our dead bodies,'" said Perlman, which is so considerate of him given his conference's proud legacy of winning one-and-a-half national titles in the last 40 years.

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/stewart_mandel/06/04/big-ten-playoff/index.html#ixzz1wvw6hUC0

This paraphrase is hilarious to me. If youre going to tie Pearlman to the number of NC's in the last 40 years of the Big 10, then you better include our 4.5 as well. Boom, 6.

 

[RedDenver]

Guys, read the entire article. Mandel finishes by acknowledging that the B1G is just as ready for change as the other BCS conferences, and that Perlman's comments are posturing.

I'd say the B1G is saying all the right things leading up to what is going to be a huge negotiation for the CFB postseason. While the SEC has already said what's important to it, the B1G has set the table for the other conferences to "convince" them (i.e. SEC must give other concessions to the B1G to "get" a top 4 playoff). That's just good negotiating tactics.

 

[Blackshirt316]

Whenever Perlman talks about the BCS and a playoff people need to remember that he gets a paycheck from the BCS for consultation work. He's a member of the Presidential Oversight Commitee (Used to be chairman) and has also been on the NCAA board of directors (and still does consulting for them too I believe.)

He's not just speaking as Chancellor of Nebraska or as a Big Ten member he speaks as a BCS insider too.

 

[VectorVictor]

Guys, read the entire article. Mandel finishes by acknowledging that the B1G is just as ready for change as the other BCS conferences, and that Perlman's comments are posturing.

I'd say the B1G is saying all the right things leading up to what is going to be a huge negotiation for the CFB postseason. While the SEC has already said what's important to it, the B1G has set the table for the other conferences to "convince" them (i.e. SEC must give other concessions to the B1G to "get" a top 4 playoff). That's just good negotiating tactics.

Yes, but it would behoove the B1G to get all schools on the same page, saying similar things, or it just looks like you don't know what you're doing.

Pardon the slight exaggeration, but it seems that you have just as many opinions as you have schools in the B1G. Unless you gag them or get everyone educated on why they need to follow in lockstep, it's going to look like Delaney and co. don't know what they're doing.

---

Any playoff with home field play for the top seeds comes across as slap in the face to fans and takes something away from the season play, IMO. Top seeds should have home site advantage--and if you're worried about stadium size, then mandate a seat minimum for top seed hosting--if they don't have the minimum number of seats, then they're responsible for either finding a venue that can host and has the requisite number of seats, or they cede home field advantage to the opponent. Problem solved.

IMO, a solution that doesn't have the potential for paid off SEC 'student' athletes freezing their nutsacks off in Lincoln, Ann Arbor, Columbus, or Camp Randall (sorry Happy Valley) during January is a failure, bottom line.

 

[LouisianaHuskerFan]

My personal belief is that the playoffs for CFB is a mistake. The reason people get so excited and passionate about the sport is because every game matters, every play has the potential to radically change the outcome of the season. Is it really that exciting if a team loses twice but still gets into the playoffs. Baseball, hockey, basketball and even the NFL have over saturated their fans with too many games. March madness is madness because its one and done, CFB is fall madness, on any given Saturday a team can go from title hunt to chasing for a BCS bowl. Sure playoffs help find the best team that year, but isnt it fun fighting with Penn state and Michigan about who was the best teams in those years. My vote is no to the play offs. Please tell me the down side of continuing to have the current system or even the previous bowl system?

I get so sick of hearing a playoff will diminish the regular season. Uh, no it won't. If anything it will make it more exciting because more teams have a shot at a national championship at the end of the season. Right now, only 3 or 4 teams every year are vying at the end of the season for a chance to play in the BCS title game. With a playoff more teams are in contention at the end of the year which in return has more excitement and bigger ratings for games on TV. I hate that now if you lose a game then you are most likely out of contention for a championship. Lose two games and you are definitely not going to win a championship that year. The system sucks and so do bowl games. There is a reason why NFL playoffs are so exciting and get huge TV viewers just as their regular season does. Enough already.

 

[LouisianaHuskerFan]

Guys, read the entire article. Mandel finishes by acknowledging that the B1G is just as ready for change as the other BCS conferences, and that Perlman's comments are posturing.

I'd say the B1G is saying all the right things leading up to what is going to be a huge negotiation for the CFB postseason. While the SEC has already said what's important to it, the B1G has set the table for the other conferences to "convince" them (i.e. SEC must give other concessions to the B1G to "get" a top 4 playoff). That's just good negotiating tactics.

Yes, but it would behoove the B1G to get all schools on the same page, saying similar things, or it just looks like you don't know what you're doing.

Pardon the slight exaggeration, but it seems that you have just as many opinions as you have schools in the B1G. Unless you gag them or get everyone educated on why they need to follow in lockstep, it's going to look like Delaney and co. don't know what they're doing.

---

Any playoff with home field play for the top seeds comes across as slap in the face to fans and takes something away from the season play, IMO. Top seeds should have home site advantage--and if you're worried about stadium size, then mandate a seat minimum for top seed hosting--if they don't have the minimum number of seats, then they're responsible for either finding a venue that can host and has the requisite number of seats, or they cede home field advantage to the opponent. Problem solved.

IMO, a solution that doesn't have the potential for paid off SEC 'student' athletes freezing their nutsacks off in Lincoln, Ann Arbor, Columbus, or Camp Randall (sorry Happy Valley) during January is a failure, bottom line.

Exactly. I just don't understand anyone's logic of wanting to have playoff games in bowl games. Just ridiculous. These bowl games and their employees make a ton of money and who suffers? The fans and universities going to the games. Why in the hell would any fan or school not want to have playoff games at campus sites??? The home team fans don't have to spend money to travel plus the university gets an extra home game along with all the money to be made on concessions and such. It just makes more sense and these old out of touch athletic directors, university presidents and conference commissioners need to wake up.

 

[VA Husker Fan]

My personal belief is that the playoffs for CFB is a mistake. The reason people get so excited and passionate about the sport is because every game matters, every play has the potential to radically change the outcome of the season. Is it really that exciting if a team loses twice but still gets into the playoffs. Baseball, hockey, basketball and even the NFL have over saturated their fans with too many games. March madness is madness because its one and done, CFB is fall madness, on any given Saturday a team can go from title hunt to chasing for a BCS bowl. Sure playoffs help find the best team that year, but isnt it fun fighting with Penn state and Michigan about who was the best teams in those years. My vote is no to the play offs. Please tell me the down side of continuing to have the current system or even the previous bowl system?

I get so sick of hearing a playoff will diminish the regular season. Uh, no it won't. If anything it will make it more exciting because more teams have a shot at a national championship at the end of the season. Right now, only 3 or 4 teams every year are vying at the end of the season for a chance to play in the BCS title game. With a playoff more teams are in contention at the end of the year which in return has more excitement and bigger ratings for games on TV. I hate that now if you lose a game then you are most likely out of contention for a championship. Lose two games and you are definitely not going to win a championship that year. The system sucks and so do bowl games. There is a reason why NFL playoffs are so exciting and get huge TV viewers just as their regular season does. Enough already.

Exactly right. And if you think there's no penalty in losing a game, have incentives like byes and/or first round home games to make every loss hurt. Right now very few November games count for the national championship because most teams are out of it.

 

[Foppa]

Harvey and Co. are really starting to piss me off. These idiots need to stop whining and complaining about the change that IS GOING TO HAPPEN and figure out how to do what's best for Nebraska and the conference.

And here's a suggestion...play some conference night games in November so the SEC has less to b!^@h about. I could be wrong, but this sounds like a huge reason the whole campus site playoffs idea is getting shot down.

And a note to mother nature...can you please send an 9.8 magnitude earthquake to Pasadena that only affects a certain stadium? This whole 'Rose Bowl is the holy grail' mentality makes me want to throw up.

:rant

 

[LouisianaHuskerFan]

Harvey and Co. are really starting to piss me off. These idiots need to stop whining and complaining about the change that IS GOING TO HAPPEN and figure out how to do what's best for Nebraska and the conference.

And here's a suggestion...play some conference night games in November so the SEC has less to b!^@h about. I could be wrong, but this sounds like a huge reason the whole campus site playoffs idea is getting shot down.

And a note to mother nature...can you please send an 9.8 magnitude earthquake to Pasadena that only affects a certain stadium? This whole 'Rose Bowl is the holy grail' mentality makes me want to throw up.

:rant

I get so sick of hearing about the Rose Bowl, too. I just don't get why some make it out to be a game that's well above all other games. Makes me sick. Enough with that already, too!