Obviously won't happen, but what would your thoughts be if the P5 played their conference championship games on campuses like the G5 conferences outside the MAC do?

It won't happen because each of those conferences are making a healthy profit by playing at neutral sites.

But if a 12-team playoff happens, then maybe they should (but still won't) play at the home field of the conference's top seed. In that format, making it more likely that your conference's best team wins the title makes it more likely that they'll get one of those top 4 seeds and a first-round bye. But if your conference's top seed is ranked #3 and loses the CCG to a team ranked #15, then all of those top 4 seeds will go to teams from other conferences. Each conference will have to ask itself if living with an increase in that possibility is a fair tradeoff for the money that goes with the neutral site CCG.

They should be played on campus but it won't happen. With a 12 team CFP we are asking too much of fan these bases to travel.

I thought the Pac 12 did for a long time.

(07-18-2021 09:18 PM)schmolik Wrote:  I thought the Pac 12 did for a long time.

They did for a few years. And for them, it's actually the best option, as they have the largest footprint and the most difficult trips for traveling fan bases. Once they moved the game to a neutral site at the 49ers' stadium, attendance and ratings went in the tank. The Friday night time slot did not help them at all. The new location in Las Vegas may improve matters for them...we shall see.

(07-18-2021 08:20 PM)Wedge Wrote:  It won't happen because each of those conferences are making a healthy profit by playing at neutral sites.

But if a 12-team playoff happens, then maybe they should (but still won't) play at the home field of the conference's top seed. In that format, making it more likely that your conference's best team wins the title makes it more likely that they'll get one of those top 4 seeds and a first-round bye. But if your conference's top seed is ranked #3 and loses the CCG to a team ranked #15, then all of those top 4 seeds will go to teams from other conferences. Each conference will have to ask itself if living with an increase in that possibility is a fair tradeoff for the money that goes with the neutral site CCG.

I had never thought of this option until this thread was created.

One of the objections to top-4 byes is that those four teams would not get to host playoff games, but would receive byes straight to games at neutral sites. A conference championship game on a home field cushions some of that blow, as a top 4 team can still host a post-season game. (OU-Texas in Norman or Austin for a conference championship would be lit....)

The only kink in this scenario is if there are two top 4 teams from the same conference. For instance, #4 Georgia could be forced to visit #1 Alabama in the SEC championship game with a playoff bye on the line.

(07-18-2021 09:32 PM)johnintx Wrote:  I had never thought of this option until this thread was created.

One of the objections to top-4 byes is that those four teams would not get to host playoff games, but would receive byes straight to games at neutral sites. A conference championship game on a home field cushions some of that blow, as a top 4 team can still host a post-season game. (OU-Texas in Norman or Austin for a conference championship would be lit....)

The only kink in this scenario is if there are two top 4 teams from the same conference. For instance, #4 Georgia could be forced to visit #1 Alabama in the SEC championship game with a playoff bye on the line.

Kink? Are you saying Georgia would be disadvantaged if they beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa? "Drats, we had to beat them on the road."

If two Top 8 teams are playing, let alone Top 4, the winner is likely headed for a bye. Moving that game to one of the teams' campuses doesn't change the fact that the "visiting" team could win and not play at home. But, it does increase the chance that the winning team will get a pre-quarterfinal home game.

In the case above of #4 Georgia, if the Bulldogs lost they'd more than likely get to host a Big Ten team in Athens a week or two later.

(07-18-2021 08:06 PM)GoBuckeyes1047 Wrote:  Obviously won't happen, but what would your thoughts be if the P5 played their conference championship games on campuses like the G5 conferences outside the MAC do?

Nah. As others have said, would be nice. But, money and the air of "neutral" ness are in vogue with the P5.

Related: if the TV money for CCGs is low for some G5, might they be tempted to drop the game, go divisionless, and declare champs the old-fashioned way? It'll add a bye week back into the season, preserve a dominant team from a 13th chance at being upset, yet shouldn't affect playoff chances too much.

(07-18-2021 10:03 PM)Crayton Wrote:  

(07-18-2021 09:32 PM)johnintx Wrote:  I had never thought of this option until this thread was created.

One of the objections to top-4 byes is that those four teams would not get to host playoff games, but would receive byes straight to games at neutral sites. A conference championship game on a home field cushions some of that blow, as a top 4 team can still host a post-season game. (OU-Texas in Norman or Austin for a conference championship would be lit....)

The only kink in this scenario is if there are two top 4 teams from the same conference. For instance, #4 Georgia could be forced to visit #1 Alabama in the SEC championship game with a playoff bye on the line.

Kink? Are you saying Georgia would be disadvantaged if they beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa? "Drats, we had to beat them on the road."

I don't see the problem either.

Say #1 loses. They are not likely to be dropped so far that they won't host in the first round.

Say #4 loses. They would be at greater risk of dropping far enough that they won't host in the first round ... but the fact that the loss is away gives the committee a reason for not punishing them so hard for the loss.

The MWC, AAC, Sun Belt, and C-USA Championship Games are still hosted on campus sites.

For the Big Ten and the MAC, the weather starts to become a big concern in December. Many stadiums are just not equipped to function properly in cold weather like NFL stadiums are. NFL outdoor stadiums are required to have heaters installed under the field for example. Also pipes can freeze and giant snowstorms are a concern too.

2020 was an awful year but the 1 time the Big Ten got lucky was last December the weather was not bad at all. Plus there were no fans in the stands even if there would have been bad weather in December 2020. But the Big Ten would not get so lucky every year.

For the Big Ten, using Lucas Oil Stadium for the CCG works out well for most teams. The location is not a bad drive for OSU, Mich, MSU, Indy, Purdue, ILL, NW, Iowa. Although there are alternative options as well, with both indoor and outdoor NFL stadiums all over.

With all that said, it probably would not be a deal-breaker if the Big Ten wanted to change to on-campus CCG. They need to prepare for the possibility that they may be hosting playoff games anyway. The Big Ten is loaded with cash and could pay for the needed upgrades to each stadium required.

Or some schools may just designate the closest NFL stadium as their preferred site if they ever had to host a CCG or playoff game. I mean why would Purdue and Indiana pay for all those upgrades if they have Lucas Oil Stadium an hour away? NW could just play in Soldier field. I could also see this be the preferred option for MAC schools who do not have the money to upgrade their stadiums.

On the other hand, Michigan might decide to host the games on campus even though they have Ford field right down the road. Even Minnesota might decide to host on campus because I believe their stadium might already be upgraded because the Vikings played there for a couple of years.

(07-19-2021 02:35 AM)BruceMcF Wrote:  

(07-18-2021 10:03 PM)Crayton Wrote:  

(07-18-2021 09:32 PM)johnintx Wrote:  I had never thought of this option until this thread was created.

One of the objections to top-4 byes is that those four teams would not get to host playoff games, but would receive byes straight to games at neutral sites. A conference championship game on a home field cushions some of that blow, as a top 4 team can still host a post-season game. (OU-Texas in Norman or Austin for a conference championship would be lit....)

The only kink in this scenario is if there are two top 4 teams from the same conference. For instance, #4 Georgia could be forced to visit #1 Alabama in the SEC championship game with a playoff bye on the line.

Kink? Are you saying Georgia would be disadvantaged if they beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa? "Drats, we had to beat them on the road."

I don't see the problem either.

Say #1 loses. They are not likely to be dropped so far that they won't host in the first round.

Say #4 loses. They would be at greater risk of dropping far enough that they won't host in the first round ... but the fact that the loss is away gives the committee a reason for not punishing them so hard for the loss.

I believe his argument was that the #4 team in the country should expect they get to host at least 1 post season game on campus. Usually that will be covered if they are at least hosting the CCG on campus. The exception is if they are playing the #1 team in the country in the CCG on the road and then win.

They would be screwed out of getting to host a post season game even though they are a conference champion and in the top 4 in the country.

(07-18-2021 09:32 PM)johnintx Wrote:  

(07-18-2021 08:20 PM)Wedge Wrote:  It won't happen because each of those conferences are making a healthy profit by playing at neutral sites.

But if a 12-team playoff happens, then maybe they should (but still won't) play at the home field of the conference's top seed. In that format, making it more likely that your conference's best team wins the title makes it more likely that they'll get one of those top 4 seeds and a first-round bye. But if your conference's top seed is ranked #3 and loses the CCG to a team ranked #15, then all of those top 4 seeds will go to teams from other conferences. Each conference will have to ask itself if living with an increase in that possibility is a fair tradeoff for the money that goes with the neutral site CCG.

I had never thought of this option until this thread was created.

One of the objections to top-4 byes is that those four teams would not get to host playoff games, but would receive byes straight to games at neutral sites. A conference championship game on a home field cushions some of that blow, as a top 4 team can still host a post-season game. (OU-Texas in Norman or Austin for a conference championship would be lit....)

The only kink in this scenario is if there are two top 4 teams from the same conference. For instance, #4 Georgia could be forced to visit #1 Alabama in the SEC championship game with a playoff bye on the line.

If the objection is that the conference gets to keep the revenue from ticket sales if the CCG is played at a neutral site, the easy fix is to play the game on campus but have all the revenue go to the conference, not the "home" team.

As for the 12 team playoff, if both the first and second round games were played on campus, then the top 8 seeds would all get to host a playoff game. Just as in the CCG's, have the ticket revenues go to the CFP, not the host team. And, in both cases, there would need to be ample provision for good seats for fans of the visiting teams.

Most P5 CCGs are cheap, easy flight or driving distance from most conference schools and in locations with plenty of hotel rooms. Atlanta, Arlington, Las Vegas, and Indianapolis are great locations for their respective conferences.

There's not much travel complaint under the current CCG-NY6 system. So, I don't see much to worry about for the first two CFP rounds. But, I do think travel fatigue will rear its head in the semifinals under the expanded CFP system. For instance, Alabama fans would travel to Atlanta for the SEC CCG and likely New Orleans for the quarterfinal game. Ohio State fans would travel to Indianapolis and likely Pasadena.

With the hope to travel to and attend the National Championship game, will Alabama or Ohio State fans be willing to make the trip to a semifinal game in Arizona or Florida?

(07-19-2021 09:00 AM)goofus Wrote:  I believe his argument was that the #4 team in the country should expect they get to host at least 1 post season game on campus. Usually that will be covered if they are at least hosting the CCG on campus. The exception is if they are playing the #1 team in the country in the CCG on the road and then win.

They would be screwed out of getting to host a post season game even though they are a conference champion and in the top 4 in the country.

That was my intent. A #4 team playing a road CCG is in a position it wouldn't be in if it were in another conference.

OTOH, if #4 loses a CCG at #1, they'd no longer be #4. Nonetheless, there is a good chance they'd only fall to #5-8 with a loss, allowing them to host a game on campus.

(07-19-2021 09:08 AM)ken d Wrote:  If the objection is that the conference gets to keep the revenue from ticket sales if the CCG is played at a neutral site, the easy fix is to play the game on campus but have all the revenue go to the conference, not the "home" team.

As for the 12 team playoff, if both the first and second round games were played on campus, then the top 8 seeds would all get to host a playoff game. Just as in the CCG's, have the ticket revenues go to the CFP, not the host team. And, in both cases, there would need to be ample provision for good seats for fans of the visiting teams.

This is the way. The higher-seeded team still gets home field advantage, though with fewer of their own fans. They still get all the routine and most of the advantage of a home game. And, the conference retains the revenue for a CCG, while the CFP earns the revenue for a CFP game.

(07-18-2021 08:06 PM)GoBuckeyes1047 Wrote:  Obviously won't happen, but what would your thoughts be if the P5 played their conference championship games on campuses like the G5 conferences outside the MAC do?

Ideally a CCG should be at a neutral site, for competitive fairness. But that might not be economical.

So it's not a one-size-fits-all thing even for the P5. If you're the SEC and always draw 72,000 to the Georgia Dome (or whatever it is now) for the game no matter who is playing, then neutral site works. If not, then play it on a campus.

(07-19-2021 09:08 AM)ken d Wrote:  As for the 12 team playoff, if both the first and second round games were played on campus, then the top 8 seeds would all get to host a playoff game. Just as in the CCG's, have the ticket revenues go to the CFP, not the host team. And, in both cases, there would need to be ample provision for good seats for fans of the visiting teams.

(07-19-2021 10:28 AM)YNot Wrote:  There's not much travel complaint under the current CCG-NY6 system. So, I don't see much to worry about for the first two CFP rounds. But, I do think travel fatigue will rear its head in the semifinals under the expanded CFP system. For instance, Alabama fans would travel to Atlanta for the SEC CCG and likely New Orleans for the quarterfinal game. Ohio State fans would travel to Indianapolis and likely Pasadena.

With the hope to travel to and attend the National Championship game, will Alabama or Ohio State fans be willing to make the trip to a semifinal game in Arizona or Florida?

With the addition of semifinals, the system was mostly in place. Big bowls were around NYD and the Championship was a separate event a week later since 2006. Bidding that game out was a pretty easy task, though finding good dates for the Semifinals took some trial and error.

Adding not one but two rounds all at once is a tall task. They almost need to go incrementally so as to avoid botching the whole thing. The first round on campus seems solid, just picking whether it is the 2nd or 3rd Saturday remains (and, maybe whether first-round losers want to go bowling). Where to put that 4th round, though, is tricky. Neutral site in early/mid January? December? On campus?

I could see them renegotiating the last 3 years of the NY6 for a new, 6-year contract that adds a single mid-December round (6 or 8 teams? unimportant for this post). Then they’ll have at least 3 years to work out the kinks and feel out where that 4th round should go.

Returning to the OP, I don’t think campus CCGs will relieve anticipated travel fatigue for the playoff.