I didn't think WVU president Mike Garrison would be up for a debate.
I didn't think WVU president Mike Garrison would be up for a debate.
Methinks the man has enough on his plate these days.
But something happened recently that has many hard-core college football fans scratching their heads. See, Garrison and his Big East president peers recently moved from potential heroes to villains in regard to a possible playoff.
We knew the Pac-10 and Big Ten, locked in a spell by the High Priestess Rose Bowl, were dead-set against a playoff, but the Big East and Big 12 always seemed open to the idea. In 2001, Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese made veiled threats to support a playoff. In 2004, he sounded a bit frustrated with university presidents as a whole when he said, "We asked [the university presidents] about being able to look into [a playoff], simply to give them some idea of its monetary value. They just said, 'No.' "
But when the Bowl Championship Series commissioners met on the first of this month, the Big East and Big 12 were squarely in the corner of the Pac-10 and Big Ten conferences. Southeastern Conference commish Mike Slive proposed a three-game, four-team "plus-one'' model. Not a great playoff idea, but a start, right?
In the end, however, the only BCS conference other than the SEC to embrace the idea was the Atlantic Coast Conference. So a call was put in to Tranghese.
What the heck, Mike?
"Our view is we're open to talking about anything," Tranghese said. "But the plus-one idea is just a disguise for a playoff."
Which apparently, we now crystal-clearly understand, is something the Big East presidents hate. It's just somewhat surprising that Tranghese also sounds so opposed to the idea. After the meetings in Hollywood, Fla., he said, "Looked like a playoff, smelled like a playoff." He continued by saying, "We don't think a playoff is in the best interest of college football."
On the horn, he expanded.
"Last year, West Virginia loses to Pitt,'' Tranghese said. "So that left us with Ohio State, LSU, Virginia Tech and Oklahoma [as the top four teams]. That would have meant Ohio State would have played Oklahoma and LSU would have played Virginia Tech.
"Meanwhile, the fifth and sixth teams were Georgia and USC. But most thought both were actually among the best four teams. So the [plus-one model] wouldn't have solved anything.
"I saw all six teams play. And clearly Georgia and USC weren't fifth and sixth.''
The commish continued.
"[A plus-one] wasn't going to clean up anything. It was only going to lead to a full-blown playoff. We'd go from four [teams] to eight to 10 to 20.''
I didn't think WVU president Mike Garrison would be up for a debate.
Methinks the man has enough on his plate these days.
But something happened recently that has many hard-core college football fans scratching their heads. See, Garrison and his Big East president peers recently moved from potential heroes to villains in regard to a possible playoff.
We knew the Pac-10 and Big Ten, locked in a spell by the High Priestess Rose Bowl, were dead-set against a playoff, but the Big East and Big 12 always seemed open to the idea. In 2001, Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese made veiled threats to support a playoff. In 2004, he sounded a bit frustrated with university presidents as a whole when he said, "We asked [the university presidents] about being able to look into [a playoff], simply to give them some idea of its monetary value. They just said, 'No.' "
But when the Bowl Championship Series commissioners met on the first of this month, the Big East and Big 12 were squarely in the corner of the Pac-10 and Big Ten conferences. Southeastern Conference commish Mike Slive proposed a three-game, four-team "plus-one'' model. Not a great playoff idea, but a start, right?
In the end, however, the only BCS conference other than the SEC to embrace the idea was the Atlantic Coast Conference. So a call was put in to Tranghese.
What the heck, Mike?
"Our view is we're open to talking about anything," Tranghese said. "But the plus-one idea is just a disguise for a playoff."
Which apparently, we now crystal-clearly understand, is something the Big East presidents hate. It's just somewhat surprising that Tranghese also sounds so opposed to the idea. After the meetings in Hollywood, Fla., he said, "Looked like a playoff, smelled like a playoff." He continued by saying, "We don't think a playoff is in the best interest of college football."
On the horn, he expanded.
"Last year, West Virginia loses to Pitt,'' Tranghese said. "So that left us with Ohio State, LSU, Virginia Tech and Oklahoma [as the top four teams]. That would have meant Ohio State would have played Oklahoma and LSU would have played Virginia Tech.
"Meanwhile, the fifth and sixth teams were Georgia and USC. But most thought both were actually among the best four teams. So the [plus-one model] wouldn't have solved anything.
"I saw all six teams play. And clearly Georgia and USC weren't fifth and sixth.''
The commish continued.
"[A plus-one] wasn't going to clean up anything. It was only going to lead to a full-blown playoff. We'd go from four [teams] to eight to 10 to 20.''
Which put us at a fork. Tranghese indicated that's bad news. I believe the only thing better would be lottery jackpots on demand. Playoffs work everywhere else, right?
"You'd start [the playoff] during exam period,'' Tranghese countered. "And it would go into the second semester. Presidents will never go for that.
"You can't just treat this like [Division] I-AA. You know the press demands from the media.''
The argument from here, though, is the press demands can be managed. They are managed at the schools. They are managed at the bowls.
"Also," Tranghese said, "you'd take away the bowl system. Many schools use [lower bowls] in their building process."
My response to Tranghese: Continue to stage the lower bowls. The NIT basketball event is doing just fine. Heck, there's even a third basketball tournament, the College Basketball Invitational, which takes a back seat to the NIT. The smaller bowls would survive.
"For how long?'' countered Tranghese.
It was an enjoyable discussion/debate/interview.
"You've got to take into account the physical nature of this game," Tranghese said. "You've got to think about the intensity. The media pressure is incredible. Then, when you're playing through Christmas and exams ...''
Later, the commissioner said "the logistics make it impossible."
Me? I still believe the obstacles can be overcome and a playoff staged. I understand and respect the commissioner's words. I do.
I just know that some day, perhaps when I'm ashes in the wind, there will be a playoff. The obstacles will be dealt with.
One day a television executive will put a mind-blowing offer on the table. It will make officials from across the country forget those junkets to places like Phoenix and Miami. It will make the fans happy.
And the impossible logistics will become possible.
To contact staff writer Mitch Vingle, send e-mail to mitchvin...@wvgazette.com or call 348-4827.
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