College Game Is Dying/How do we save it [RIP NCAA Catchall Thread]

It's getting so much more exposure now, especially in the regions of this country where it was less popular. In the South, CFB has always been king. It used to be people from NE, for example, didn't really pay attention to the sport. Now, everyone follows. But that doesn't mean moving towards this NFL model is actually helping the sport one bit.
 
The uptick in viewership this year was clearly due to the fact that there were more TV networks carrying prime time games (NBC, CBS) vs just ESPN / ABC and Fox. Also, we had new teams fighting for the CFP (Washington, Oregon, FSU, Texas) vs the status quo Alabama, Clemson, tOSU, etc already being locked in before Championship week. Add in 2 very good CFP semifinals games and no sec in the CFP MNC probably helped get the people to watch who haven’t recently.

This was the first CFP MNC game I’ve watched since Clemson destroyed Bama. The Portal + COVID additional year sort of leveled the playing field, allowing more programs to join the party. This will be the case in 2024 too. 2025 will sort of be the first year the chaos of NIL may narrow the gap back down. I just hope between now and August of 2025, something is put in place to regulate everything.

Right now tOSU, Texas, TAMU, etc don’t want guardrails. They have the largest collectives and can continually outbid the competition. CFB still has a chance to fix this before it’s too late.
 
The answer is simple - it’s not falling apart. Just because some stupid homer media types are acting like chicken little doesn’t make it so. The expanded playoffs will give more fanbases hope and is death to the stupid idea that 1 or 2 losses should end a season. The 12 team playoffs will lead to more interest nationwide and will prove which teams can actually get better over a 4 month period. And when it expands to 24 plus teams we’ll finally have a real sport and not this garbage we‘ve been fed for 100 years.

The portal is absolutely awesome and the fact that the big boys hate it should tell you all you need to know. The days of lying to 17 year olds and bait and switching them are over with the portal. NIL is awesome because it allows bagmen for everyone not just the few. That’s why the big boys are whining about it. The sport is finally about to take off nationwide and the cow colleges realize their hold onto power is going to slowly widdle away as the NIL dollars pour into schools that are really wealthy.
 
People like watching train wrecks.

All of this stuff does created drama and drive engagement but IMO it is at the loss of pure sport.
 
It's a misleading graph. Basically 6 flat years then all of the sudden it starts ramping last year.

More games on, more total viewers.
More games in prime time, more viewers (see non-Saturday night games).
What's the average viewership per game? What's the CFB share comparison in each timeslot vs. other programs?
If I'm watching the 4 game split on YTTV do I get counted as watching 4 games at once?
It's 140M more "viewers" spread out over how many games televised?
 
Walton said:
People like watching train wrecks.

All of this stuff does created drama and drive engagement but IMO it is at the loss of pure sport.
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Pure sport?

Dear Nick and Kirby,
You can put money in Burger King bags and get all the 5 and 4 stars you want and then even if you lose a game we’ll make sure you get invited, and if anyone becomes a threat to you we’ll be sure to put them on probation.
Signed,
The NCAA

Dear Georgia Tech,
You have screwed up our little party by fielding a competitive team and somehow being the lone undefeated team. But I regret to inform you that instead of having a matchup with you and the chosen Colorado Buffalos, we have already entered into an agreement with Notre Dame because everyone in the Midwest and Northeast likes to visit relatives in Miami and they have the rocket while you have no one anyone has heard of even though you beat the #1 team in the country.
Signed,
The Orange Bowl, with permission from your own conference leadership
 
Washington is being decimated .


Who the hell is financing Ole Miss anyway? They are always in the running for any good player in the portal.
Screenshot_20240205-082429~2.png


And leaving Washington AND taking players with him to Alabama? I hate today's college football
 
Treating these players like both students and professional athletes just does not work. I am all for the players making NIL money and being able to change schools for legitimate educational or hardship reasons. There are many transfers that fall into these legitimate categories, but there is also a class of player that is simply a mercenary looking to get paid to play football until they qualify for the NFL draft and have no genuine interest in education or allegiance to any school. These players should not be in college. They should be in a professional football league.
 
JJacket said:
Washington is being decimated .


Who the hell is financing Ole Miss anyway? They are always in the running for any good player in the portal.
Screenshot_20240205-082429~2.png


And leaving Washington AND taking players with him to Alabama? I hate today's college football
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i see several of them left Alabama for.. Alabama?
 
It may not be a train wreck, but it doesn’t have a predictable outcome. There are a lot of things changing rapidly. I don’t know why people watch college football, but I think some of the reasons are being eroded.
 
gtleviathan said:
I misread it at first, too. He's saying those are players leaving Washington.
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Almost every player of any talent at Washington has now transferred out. I don't get it, unless it is purely NIL. It could be that or the cloud Deion put over college football last season when he showed up, got the "hip hip hooray" greeting from the players in a player meeting for the cameras, then ghosted all of them and told them to GTFO. I think now ANY coaching change will be met with mass defections. You really need to find a spot, not wait for the next coaching hire to come in and "Prime Time" you.
 
College FB is evolving into a totally different sport. It is not amateur anymore but semi-pro. The old rah-rah for your alma mater and previous school rivalries are passe, old cherished memories. SADLY!
 
BEEFENSE said:
College FB is evolving into a totally different sport. It is not amateur anymore but semi-pro. The old rah-rah for your alma mater and previous school rivalries are passe, old cherished memories. SADLY!
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It’s possible, having not experienced college FB any other way, the younger generation embraces it in their own way and FB remains vastly popular.

It’s also possible the younger generation is only interested in watching a 30 second highlight and maybe tune in for the championship game (which is the interest level I see from most of today’s teenagers)
 
More viewers - more people in general and more attending college

More options for watching games. It is much easier to see games on tv now. It used to be nearly impossible to watch lower tier games. Now nearly everything is televised.
 
The real problem today is that you old guys have your view in your mind of what college football should be even though it’s all a fairytale of your own making. College football is awesome to watch and attend like always which is why the numbers are up. Just because you have nostalgia for a bygone era doesn’t mean everyone feels the same way. Bama was dominant and buying players in the 70’s and they are dominant and buying players today. Players didn’t attend classes or had work done for them 40 years ago and it’s the same today.

Next season, there will be 11 players on the field wearing GT uniforms playing a football game, just like as always. I’ll be rooting them on whether they are a true 18 year old freshman or a 12th year 30 year old, 8 time transfer. It’s all entertainment and I could care less if any one of them become a future CEO or homeless, no different than how I cared about the player I sat next to in class in the late 80’s/early 90’s or how he cared about me. If in your mind you can’t stand the sport then just stop. I use to love the NBA and watch and attend. Haven’t for 20 years now. But that’s not the sports fault, that’s a me issue and I’m happy and they are obviously continuing to be a successful sport.
 
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