Also saying the quote is taken a bit out of context is being generous but I don’t blame you because that’s what all the media is running with. The actual exchange is below: it has nothing to do with seeding
Q: "What does a campus need to host a playoff game that they wouldn't have for an October conference game?"
A: "There's a lot of factors that are going to go into this. Weather is going to be a factor that they're going to have to consider because this game is going to be later in the year, in the winter. Hotels are a factor. Do they have the level of hotel that would be expected for a playoff game and do they have the availability when we need it? Practice space, those are the kinds of things that people need to keep in mind. But also, I mean everything from ticket sales to managing how we distribute the tickets, all of those kind of things have to come into play. It's not a game they've been planning on for 6-8 months."
You are correct that they will not have 6-8 months to plan for a playoff game, but they do not need that much time. These will not be like bowl games where the team arrives a week before the game. Schools will fly in a day or two before the game, they will be allowed to use the host schools practice facilities 3/4 hours a day for practice. Ticket wise the host school will get a certain percentage to sell to their fans as well as the visiting team. Say ISU is hosting then we get 15/20K tickets, the visiting them gets 15/20K and the rest go to the playoff committee to sell or give to the conferences. You are not going to see UT hosting say MSU with the spartans only getting 2K tickets.
Hotels will be a problem for most of the smaller schools but ISU could use Des Moines and the burbs to host the visiting team and EIU would use Cedar Rapids. Just because the game is in Ames or IC, does not mean the away team has to stay in that town.
Look most things, people are going to complain, but it will work out in the end.