http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1994-...ob-huggins

Prophetic:

"The NCAA, within years, will restructure, and all indications are the major, football-driven conferences either (1) will break away from that organization or (2) set up their own fiefdom within it. This group then will control the money that will come, as it will, from a football playoff, which finally will be disbursed only among major, football-driven conferences."

This guy was spot on almost 20 years ago.

Indeed he was.

interesting that DEPAUL was gunning for the A10. i never knew they were considering that

How is it prophetic? It hasn't happened.

(03-06-2014 10:23 AM)NIU007 Wrote:  How is it prophetic? It hasn't happened.

They did not need to break off to form a playoff and control nearly all of the postseason football money.

(03-06-2014 10:46 AM)CougarRed Wrote:  

(03-06-2014 10:23 AM)NIU007 Wrote:  How is it prophetic? It hasn't happened.

They did not need to break off to form a playoff and control nearly all of the postseason football money.

They've controlled most of it for a long time, e.g. the proposal that schools needed to have a stadium of 30,000 or attendance of X (which was even before this prophecy), I'm sure was not pushed by the G5 conferences like the MAC. And 4 teams isn't much of a playoff though technically they did get that part right. But there isn't much surprising about the P5 continuing to pull most of the levers as they've done in the past.

The Great Midwest was the best league SLU played in.

That hasn't changed, and may not change.

What I found most interesting about that article is how Xavier ended up in the Atlantic 10 before Dayton and DePaul was very close to stealing Dayton's spot in the A10 had they not selected to move to CUSA.

Dayton in that case is left out in the cold and politics for an MVC bid? Dayton joined the Horizon (MCC) briefly before the Great Midwest and the year after they left the Horizon added Wright State so going back was a non-starter.

He predicted the P5 and subsequently the playoffs......in 1994.

I thought the DePaul situation was interesting as well considering the A10 was actually Atlantic based at the time. Xavier would have been the Blue Demons closest opponent. UMass was rising at the time and Temple was already a perennial top 25 program, so the A10 did have some cache.

(03-08-2014 09:32 AM)esayem Wrote:  He predicted the P5 and subsequently the playoffs......in 1994.

Stating that in 1994 wasn't exactly a bold prediction. The Big East and Big 12 had formed and PSU, USC, and FSU had given up independence for conferences, all in the previous few years. By 1994, conventional wisdom was already that was where things were headed.

(03-08-2014 09:45 AM)prp Wrote:  

(03-08-2014 09:32 AM)esayem Wrote:  He predicted the P5 and subsequently the playoffs......in 1994.

Stating that in 1994 wasn't exactly a bold prediction. The Big East and Big 12 had formed and PSU, USC, and FSU had given up independence for conferences, all in the previous few years. By 1994, conventional wisdom was already that was where things were headed.

And there have been playoff proposals floated within the NCAA structure since at least the early 70's or late 60's.

Regardless of how "bold" you consider it, he was right. The majority of people thought they'd never see a playoff. Have you been sleeping the last 20 years? The BCS was supposed to be the final solution.

(03-08-2014 10:47 AM)esayem Wrote:  Regardless of how "bold" you consider it, he was right. The majority of people thought they'd never see a playoff. Have you been sleeping the last 20 years? The BCS was supposed to be the final solution.

The BCS wasn't a final solution to anything in 1994. The BCS didn't exist until 1998. In 1994, a lot of people involved in college football playoff thought a playoff was both inevitable and just around the corner. The surprising thing isn't that we have a playoff now; it's that it took 20 years for it to actually happen. The NCAA itself was already discussing playoffs in 1994:

Full Speed Ahead Things Looking Up For Football Playoff Proponents

The BCS was the "solution" in 1998. Why don't you guys Bing the articles claiming that and stop playing devil's advocate.

(03-09-2014 08:24 AM)esayem Wrote:  The BCS was the "solution" in 1998. Why don't you guys Bing the articles claiming that and stop playing devil's advocate.

Just as the new 2014 CFP is widely regarded as a way-station to an 8- or a 16-team playoff, the BCS and the Bowl Alliance before it were widely regarded as way-stations to a 4- or 8- or 16-team playoff.

They were also widely argued to be attempts by the powers-that-be to create a safety valve, a concession that would take the steam out of the demand for a playoff.

With any new system, there will be those arguing that it is a perfect system for all time, and those arguing that it is fatally flawed and will ultimately be replaced.

Totally agree. Sensible post, JB.

(03-09-2014 08:37 AM)johnbragg Wrote:  

(03-09-2014 08:24 AM)esayem Wrote:  The BCS was the "solution" in 1998. Why don't you guys Bing the articles claiming that and stop playing devil's advocate.

Just as the new 2014 CFP is widely regarded as a way-station to an 8- or a 16-team playoff, the BCS and the Bowl Alliance before it were widely regarded as way-stations to a 4- or 8- or 16-team playoff.

They were also widely argued to be attempts by the powers-that-be to create a safety valve, a concession that would take the steam out of the demand for a playoff.

With any new system, there will be those arguing that it is a perfect system for all time, and those arguing that it is fatally flawed and will ultimately be replaced.

The first big push came after the Notre Dame - Michigan State 10-10 tie in 1966 with an article written by Michigan State's coach that ran in many Sunday newspapers the week of the opening of the 1967 season, I think it is interesting that the first big public push came months after the first Super Bowl.

Ten years later a proposal made it to the floor but that was when the debate of splitting into I-A/I-AA basically took over the NCAA Convention.

The CFA prior to the Supreme Court taking the TV rights from the NCAA debated a playoff proposal Chuck Neinas was favoring.

The Bowl Coalition / Bowl Alliance / Bowl Championship Series were all attempts to reduce the pressure for a playoff while the 12th regular season game was put forward as a way to generate the money that schools were foregoing by not having a playoff.

It only took 45 years give or take for us to go from the first serious talk to actually having a playoff.