FCS playoffs - impending vote to move to 24 teams

[Trapped in CA]

Don't know if anyone else saw this, but the story is written as this is already a done deal. PFL will be getting a autobid, for some reason only God understands. Maybe to give the OVC a chance to break the playoff loss streak.

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[grizzaholic]

And the downward fall will now escalate. It will be 64 teams in 5 years. Time to start handing out trophies to every team that takes the field and stop keeping score.

[danefan]

PFL is getting an AQ because they qualify under the NCAA rules and want one.

Everyone other conference that fits that criteria gets one.

[danefan]

And the downward fall will now escalate. It will be 64 teams in 5 years. Time to start handing out trophies to every team that takes the field and stop keeping score.

[grizzaholic]

And the downward fall will now escalate. It will be 64 teams in 5 years. Time to start handing out trophies to every team that takes the field and stop keeping score.

I didn't see anything wrong with 16 teams...now it is 20...next week it will be 24...then, hell, might as well make it 32....and so on and on and on...

[danefan]

I didn't see anything wrong with 16 teams...now it is 20...next week it will be 24...then, hell, might as well make it 32....and so on and on and on...

Well except for the fact that there are no AQ's to give out.......and no one is going to keep adding at-large bids. That's never been a catalyst of FCS playoff expansion.

[bluehenbillk]

If it ever gets higher than 24 it will be a sad day for football.

[dbackjon]

If it ever gets higher than 24 it will be a sad day for football.

It won't, unless a bunch of new conferences/teams emerge.

The number is tied to the number of AQ conferences

[GannonFan]

24 was inevitable the day that the moved to 20 so this isn't big news at all. Anything bigger than 24 would be big news.

[SuperHornet]

I know how 32 can be justified.

Force-drop MAC/Sun Belt/C-USA to FCS. They get auto-bids, which pushes the envelope to 27. Add just five more at-larges. One of those is really the 16th auto-bid that SHOULD belong to the Ivy League but is used as an at-large until such time as the Ivy chooses to claim it.

As bad as that might sound (we may start seeing 6-5 teams in the playoffs), it's still better than the bowl system, which lets in everyone and his brother.

[TribeFanInNC]

This was one of the options considered:

"A Final Four model where national semifinals and the title game would be played on sequential weekends on one site."

I'm glad this suggestion bit the dust. Under this proposal, teams (even the #1 seed) might have had to travel half-way across the country for a semi, then return to that same city for the finals the next week. While the NCAA would presumably cover the team's expenses, it would be an unfair hardship on fans. Plus, it would eliminate on-campus semi-finals, which have proven to be popular and exciting in person and on TV.

I wonder who proposed this one.

[BDKJMU]

If it ever gets higher than 24 it will be a sad day for football.

It won't, unless a bunch of new conferences/teams emerge.

The number is tied to the number of AQ conferences

Has to be at least 1 At Large for every AQ.

PFL = 11 AQ conferences + mandatory minimum of 11 At Large = at least 22.

If Ivy & SWAC decided to participate it would be 13 AQ. Mandatory minimum of 13 At Large would = at least 26.

[Wildcat Ryan]

I dont care how many teams get to join, as long as it remains the PLAYOFFS, where every team has a chance at a National title.

[SUUTbird]

I dont care how many teams get to join, as long as it remains the PLAYOFFS, where every team has a chance at a National title.

+1, Also I think 24 is a good number of teams and will help solve the issue of "which team deserves to get in." By having the 11 AQ teams getting in it will give each conference champion a spot as well as being able to add 13 other schools that deserve to get in, I for one am happy with the increase but really dont think it should go higher then 24

[SuperHornet]

That's true in general, Tbird. But there will still be a few exceptions, notably the Ivy League and some HBCUs. Of course, in those cases, it's their own dang fault.

[89Hen]

And the downward fall will now escalate. It will be 64 teams in 5 years. Time to start handing out trophies to every team that takes the field and stop keeping score.

Bullshit. I told you when the last vote came that it would be 24 within a couple years and then 32 a few after that. Nothing special about making the playoffs anymore. At 24, the Hens mediocre season last year would have found them in the field.

[clenz]

Bullshit. I told you when the last vote came that it would be 24 within a couple years and then 32 a few after that. Nothing special about making the playoffs anymore. At 24, the Hens mediocre season last year would have found them in the field.

Exactly this.

Get rid of the AQ and just go with the 16 best teams....all as at large.


I don't care if we use the freaking BCS formula to come to those 16.


20 is "acceptable", but even then not so much.


24 is ludicrous.

[Pwns]

I must've missed something. Does the playoff expansion mean they give out more than 1 championship trophy?

[henfan]

I'm going to lose sleep over it, it's not my money and my school stands to gain an extra game each year, but a playoff system with 24 teams is absolutely absurd. At a time when the FCS tournament is said to be losing money, further expansion makes no sense. What's worse is the expansion of additional seeds. One of the key elements that had been keeping the tournament afloat was in recent years was the bidding process, whether it worked out for your school or not. The more seeds that are handed out, the less incentives there is for schools to place bids larger than the minimums. Is the NCAA taking their financial advice from JP Morgan Chase?

[89Hen]

I must've missed something. Does the playoff expansion mean they give out more than 1 championship trophy?

Wait until there are 32 teams and your star RB gets injured playing Jacksonville in a first round game when your team is 11-0 and heading toward the NC.

[SloStang]

[andy7171]

I must've missed something. Does the playoff expansion mean they give out more than 1 championship trophy?

This.

All this means is a first weekend of bubble teams and lower conference champs whittling themselves down to be led to slaughter against one of the top four seeds. A play in round to get to the 16.

[AZGrizFan]

I don't understand the issue.

[89Hen]

I don't understand the issue.

Would you be oppposed to letting all 114 teams in?

[SloStang]

I must've missed something. Does the playoff expansion mean they give out more than 1 championship trophy?

This.

All this means is a first weekend of bubble teams and lower conference champs whittling themselves down to be led to slaughter against one of the top four seeds. A play in round to get to the 16.

I also like that they will expand to seeding 8 teams and they all will get a first round bye. It will be tough to make it to the finals if you are not a top 8 seed. If you do you will have earned it.