Playoff = Money? Really?

Continuing its six-part series, the Orlando Sentinel today looks at why despite the obvious link between playoff games and extra cash, the BCS has been resistant.

(OK, I promise to stop pimping this, but it's a good read, The Guru is quoted in it, and this is the kind of the stuff that might keep newspaper journalism afloat. So go find Part VI yourself tomorrow).

"For the current time, the present moment's problems seem to outweigh the values that would accrue of television from a playoff," said Neal Pilson, former CBS Sports president who now consults for the Rose Bowl. "But the history of sports in the United States seems to indicate when we have elimination games, it attracts a large audience."

If Pilson seems perplexed, he's not the only one. But the dynamics of college football's postseason are truly complex and there is just no easy solution to untangling 100 years of history and the logistical quagmire that comes with a multi-team playoff. And there's no political will, either - don't expect an executive order out of the White House anytime soon.

That's why the Guru will continue to trumpet the four-team playoff - The Only Playoff That Works - until it's implemented. It's a lot better than doing nothing and a little better than what we have now.

BCS Weekly News Roundup (July 31)

WHO'S FOOTING THE BILL FOR SPORTS? (Orlando Sentinel) - At a time when universities across the country are cutting back on academic programs because of the recession, will the subsidies that help fund intercollegiate sports programs become a political issue?

BIG TEN, PAC-10 HAD NO CHOICE BUT GIVE IN (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) - The Big Ten announced on Monday at its preseason meetings that the five Coalition (non-BCS) conferences will finally have access to the Rose Bowl under the new BCS agreement which begins after the 2010 regular season.

NO CHANGES TO BCS FOR AT LEAST FIVE YEARS (News & Observer) - Even after two Congressional hearings and a plea from President Barack Obama, the Bowl Championship Series won't be changing any time soon. ACC commissioner John Swofford, who is also the chairman of the BCS, said Sunday college football's postseason format is unlikely to change in the next five years.

BCS MIFFED AT COACHES' RETURN TO SECRECY (USA Today) - College football coaches might not get the poll-voting secrecy they thought was coming. Bowl Championship Series coordinator John Swofford and other key conference commissioners make it clear they prefer the final regular-season ballots in the USA TODAY Coaches' Poll — which helps determine the BCS title matchup — continue to be made public.

BCS TIPS BOWL MONEY BALANCE (Econosseur.com) - With Senator Orrin Hatch's (R-UT) editorial in this week's Sports Illustrated and congressional hearings ready to get underway tomorrow, I couldn't wait any longer to put up this picture. The figure below shows total NCAA bowl payout revenues adjusted for inflation (2008 dollars, CPI) and divided into revenues that went to BCS conference teams and non-BCS conference teams.

How Much Does Your School Make?

The Orlando Sentinel is publishing a six-part series called "Tough Times: College Sports and the Economy." In today's installment, it looks at how much each athletic department is raking in among the 120 Division I-A schools (Army and Navy declined to furnish their numbers, so it's actually 118).

The top five: Texas, Ohio State, Florida, Michigan and Wisconsin. No surprises there.

The bottom five (from the bottom up): Louisiana-Monroe, Arkansas State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana Tech, Idaho. Again, no surprises there.

The surprises: The top school in the Pac-10, checking in at No. 18, is Stanford, one spot ahead of the University of Southern California. The top school in the ACC is another private institution, Duke at No. 23. Florida State, one of the historically powerhouse football programs, is at No. 53, ahead of only N.C. State and Wake Forest in the ACC and a handful of BCS conference schools.

As expected, the 66 BCS schools are ahead of just about all Coalition (non-BCS) schools. The highest ranked Coalition school is Texas Christian, checking in at No. 58. BYU is next at No. 64. The dead-last BCS school - the only one not in the top 67 - is Mississippi State, at No. 75.

What kind of disparity is there among the richest schools and the poorest ones? The top three schools clear $100 million in total revenue annually. The bottom three, less than $12 million. Texas' athletic department makes $112 million more than Louisiana-Monroe, or roughly 15 times more.

Among the BCS conferences, this is how it shakes down by average:

1. Big Ten: $76.4 million
2. SEC: $71.1 million
3. Big 12: $66.5 million
4. Pac-10: $58.7 million
5. ACC: $54.1 million
6. Big East: $45.5 million

The full-table is on the Orlando Sentinel site. Data courtesy of the U.S. Department of Education.

The Guru's New Look

The Guru had been on hiatus for some time ... real life, such as wife, kid, job, chores, that kind of stuff, inevitably interferes with obsessions. Then there's the Tour de France.

But just because the Guru spent the last three weeks watching cyclists haul ass up one Alpine or Pyrenees mountaintop after another (while his own derriere was firmly parked on the couch, next to a bag of Doritos), the BCS kept spinning its wheels.

First, Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) held a hearing on Capitol Hill, which accomplished exactly ... nothing. Then, word got out that the Rose Bowl has conceded to break up the Big Ten-Pac-10 arrangement, at least once in the next four years - if it all works out. Finally and unequivocally, the BCS poobahs announced that because they like the existing system so much, they'll change not a damn thing until at least through 2013.

Woo-hoo!

All this means the Guru will be safely in business for the next five years, at least. Since I got a contract extension of my own, I decided to dress up a little, to celebrate. Hence the new look.

From now on, all the latest posts will appear below in summary form, with a link to the full article. Also added is a news roundup, featuring the latest in the world of college football as it relates to the BCS. Finally, as a full service Guru, I do RSS, Facebook and Twitter. Just look right and follow the Guru however you like it.

I've got some great stuff for the preseason, featuring killer analyses, predictions, projections and the usual number crunching. And right before the start of the regular season, of course, I will present the one-and-only preseason BCS standings.

Here's to a great 2009 season. And thank you for your continued patronage.