(01-05-2018 11:35 AM)ark30inf Wrote:  

(01-05-2018 11:30 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(01-05-2018 10:44 AM)ark30inf Wrote:  

(01-05-2018 10:29 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(01-05-2018 09:48 AM)ark30inf Wrote:  Yes, there is. All conference champions get playoff spots like any real sport.

So if Ark-State wins its conference with a 7-5 record and makes the playoffs, while 12-1 Clemson doesn't win its conference so doesn't make the playoffs, that's "fair"?

In real sports you generally have division champions and a couple of wildcards. This is not unusual or "unfair".

What makes it seem "unfair" in college football is that the cartel structure has stunted any potential parity between conferences and widened the gap.

LSU, Bama, and the rest of the elites have extreme institutionalized recruiting advantages, one of which is the fact that they have playoff access and others do not.

How many wild cards? Not enough to cover the disparity. The NCAA hoops tourney works because there are enough "wild cards" to let all reasonably deserving non-champs in. Football can't do that so auto-bids for champs is a no-go.

Recruiting? LSU and Bama have massive recruiting advantages over Ark-State because they have built up huge fan bases over 120 years of playing football and thus have created an extremely attractive platform - in terms of home attendance, TV, and media attention - for players to play on.

And they maintain those advantages by having a cartel that freezes those advantages in place and limits others from following and acheving the same level of success.

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Correct me if I'm wrong, but your idea of a "non-cartel" LSU or Alabama would be a system that allows Arkansas State to share in the brand value and wealth generated by LSU and Alabama (and others) over those years without having worked for it, including forcing them to play against you even if they don't want to.

Hint: That's not how LSU and Alabama built their programs. They didn't go to Notre Dame and Princeton in 1915 and say "hey you guys, you better schedule us and let us play against you for championships, or else you're running a cartel that is holding us down!".