Can Obama's support lead to a college football playoff?

Student Lounge College Life
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<p>"Twice this month, President-elect Barack Obama unflinchingly took sides in one of this country's most contentious debates — whether there should be a college football playoff. Absolutely, he said.</p>

<p>"I don't know any serious fan of college football who has disagreed with me on this, so I'm going to throw my weight around a little bit. I think it's the right thing to do," Obama said on CBS' 60 Minutes Sunday.</p>

<p>Will presidential weight be enough to change a much maligned, albeit lucrative college football system?"</p>

<p>Roundtable:</a> Obama Jumps In College Football Fray : NPR</p>

<p>"President-elect Barack Obama may not be able to convince John Swofford or Gordon Gee on the subject of a college football playoff, but he certainly has Steve Spurrier’s ear.</p>

<p>“A lot of people don’t think it’s going to happen, but I sort of believe it will happen if President-elect Obama pushes it hard enough,” Spurrier said during the SEC coaches teleconference this week, according to The Associated Press. “Maybe it’ll take four years or so, but I think there’s a chance.”</p>

<p>Obama</a> and the Ol’ Ball Coach - The Quad Blog - NYTimes.com</p>

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<p>I would love for it to happen, but I don't think it will..</p>

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<p>Most likely, Obama knows it's not going to happen either. But he knows politics, and presumably he's playing politics with the commissioners.</p>

<p>For example, there's no way that the NCAA (==college presidents) will ever, ever agree to cutting back on the regular season - it would mean significantly cutting off revenue for the 119 - 8 = 111 teams that do NOT get to participate in the playoff.</p>

<p>Same reason the bowl games aren't going anywhere. Bowl games are big money for the schools.</p>

<p>But the prospect of political pressure might be enough to get some kind of lesser compromise, like picking the 2 teams for the national championship after the bowls are played (with either the traditional bowl tie-ins, or the more unlikely "plus one" model which is more like a 4-team playoff)</p>

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<p>ESPN's new deal with the BCS isn't promising.</p>

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<p>I think he'll have more important things to put into order upon inauguration...</p>

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<p>It's not like he could do anything about it right now, anyways. As SaveOnUndergrad pointed out, contracts are signed and deals are settled for at least the near future.</p>

<p>But the issue isn't going to go away, and sooner or later there will be enough controversy to bring the debate back - and the political winds might be different then.</p>

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I think he'll have more important things to put into order upon inauguration

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<p>No kidding. Why is the media even prompting such questions in the face of the financial meltdown of our country?</p>

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<p>President-Elect Obama's support may help create a playoff system for college football, but his specifics--mandatory inclusion each year of Occidental, Columbia & Harvard Law School's teams--need to be worked on. Especially since HLS's team is a flag football team.</p>

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<p>Current contracts go through 2014, so the answer is NO and anyone who voted for him on that basis is misguided.</p>