Let's just play football in the spring...

[synapticwave]

I just wrote this article over at ultimatecyclone.com:

Maybe Spring Football isn't so crazy

Basically, What I propose is that if the 4 mega conferences form, there is no way we could ever survive and neither could most of the other colleges and universities' athletic programs. So don't try to compete and instead play football in the spring. There's quite a bit of detail in the article, but I really think this could work extermely well. In the long term we would gain lots of fans...every fan would have their fall team and their spring team. We'd have a much greater opportunity to win. In the short term, we'd bring in as much money as we do now and in the long term could possibly even catch up to the mega conferences in TV deals. And, perhaps the biggest win, in all of this is that we'd have a playoff from the start.

Are there problems...sure, how to align the conferences? what about other sports? NCAA ramifications of playing in the spring? Conflict with NFL draft? Scheduling around NBA, March Madness and MLB?

All of these are ligitimate concerns, but I think these can all be solved if it means roughly 50 teams double or more their TV revenue and all of the left over BCS teams, ****** off at the mega conferences find a way to maintain their current budgets.

Anyway, I'd love to hear the cyclone fanatic's take on this out of the box idea.

 

[wayneisback]

too cold, seen as lesser football. never get a decent player because they all want to be in the nfl/draft,
not ever gonna work unless you want DIII-

 

[jdoggivjc]

Didn't work out too well for the USFL...

 

[Wesley]

Heard the UI needs to expand their stadium for all the hot air people when they play Nebby.

 

[synapticwave]

too cold, seen as lesser football. never get a decent player because they all want to be in the nfl/draft,
not ever gonna work unless you want DIII-

Sure, it may be seen as lesser football, but the MWC will still be the MWC, The remainnig big12, big east and ACC team are still the same teams with the same fan following they currently have. Nearlly all the people that follow these teams and alums would still tune in to watch, and in fact, for most of the schools, ISU included they'd be on TV a lot more so I'd be even more happy being in Texas!

 

[cyatheart]

Sure, it may be seen as lesser football, but the MWC will still be the MWC, The remainnig big12, big east and ACC team are still the same teams with the same fan following they currently have. Nearlly all the people that follow these teams and alums would still tune in to watch, and in fact, for most of the schools, ISU included they'd be on TV a lot more so I'd be even more happy being in Texas!

Appreciate you trying to think of something to help. But this is a terrible idea. Think of something else to save us. If you thought of that their has to be something else in there.

 

[synapticwave]

Didn't work out too well for the USFL...

The USFL was trying to build a league from scratch, with spring NCAA football you already have a built in fan base, and a really big, nation wide fanbase.

 

[synapticwave]

too cold

Yeah, cause November and December are so much warmer than March, April?

 

[wayneisback]

you seriously think all these schools would have the same following? This is the worst idea I have ever heard and I was just trying to be nice in my first responce. You would never ever get even a uni quality player to come play for this crap and therefore would have less than montana states fan base

 

[synapticwave]

you seriously think all these schools would have the same following? This is the worst idea I have ever heard and I was just trying to be nice in my first responce. You would never ever get even a uni quality player to come play for this crap and therefore would have less than montana states fan base

I seriously think it could have the same size or larger following within 5 years of the change. Why? Because over half the threads on this message board (and all sports talk shows, and other internet medium) in April are about football already, people are craving football in the spring and this gives them an outlet to watch it. All the dual Iowa/ISU familys and fans may decide to buy tickets for both teams instead of one. I think initially the following would be down, but I think that it would pick fairly quickly (it: 5 years) as people got used to the idea. Eventually, as fans of the mega conference schools started to watch, they start cheering for a spring team in addition to their main team. Right now I watch games at all levels from JV high school, D2 and of course D1 and NFL and because I'm a football fan I think it sucks that there's so few games on TV, this puts more games on TV when I'm able to watch them so as a fan of the sport I would be all for this and I think a huge percentage of fans would think the same.

As for what high schoolers would do, the big 64 would still only take 25 kids per year...where would all the others go? Are they all just gonna say, well I guess I can't play for one of the big guys, guess I just won't play anymore? If a decent TV deal was struck to air half as many spring games on national TV as the mega conferences do in the fall, its entirely possible that athletes may want to play for one of the "big dogs" in the spring league over lower teams in the mega conferences (basically what already happens now when the KU's and ISU's of the world pick up 4 star athletes based on playing time). Here's what is very clear, if the dominos fall and we still play in the fall, we will never be on TV, the mega conference deals will crowd out all the little guys, guaranteeing that any mega conference game be on, leaving very little TV time left for everyone else. I wouldn't be surprised if the mega conferences sign exclusive contracts prohibiting the networks from showing other college games.

If a spring league formed, we would still play 90% of the same games we would have played in the fall against the other spring league teams we would just get those games on national TV. I'm just saying lets play them at times when we can get them on national TV and generate more revenue.

I'll agree that there's no way this ever happen. It's far too large of a change with far too many consequences, but in terms of TV revenue for schools and trying to compete for time on TVs across the country, we cannot win against the mega conferences, We will lose and we will never revenue as much as we do now, Playing at a different time and not competing for the same ad revenue is the only way that I see to maintain that revenue stream.