Spring College Football?

The NCAA Just Made it Necessary for Non-Big 5 Teams

When the NCAA decided that the Big 5 Conferences (the S.E.C., the A.C.C., the Pac-12, the Big Ten and the Big 12) can play by their own rules, the NCAA undeniably established two tiers of Division 1 FBS Football.

As explained in the NY Times, the ruling clears the way for the Big 5 Conference schools “to pay their athletes a few thousand dollars more than what the current scholarship rules allow, loosen restrictions against agents and advisers, and revamp recruiting rules to ease contact with top prospects.”

Fight as they may, this ruling all but destroys the non-Big 5 Conferences. The Non-Big 5 peograms will not be able to compete with these semi-professional teams in the Big 5. Right now, the non-Big 5 Conferences as a whole have a hard time competing and recruiting. In the future, Non-Big 5 schools won’t stand a chance in recruiting. The powerhouse schools can offer huge benefits they cannot.

The Non-Big 5 schools have only one real option. They must break the tradition of fall football and start a new spring league.

I didn’t like the idea at first either. Actually because I follow ACC and SEC football I didn’t really care about the ruling when I first heard.

But, then, I thought more. I thought about how boring and uninteresting almost any game between Big 5 and Non-Big 5 teams will be. Every game will be a dull blowout, like Florida State in ACC games last year. Who wants more blowouts like those? I’m sure some games will feel like it’s the Harlem Globetrotters playing the Washington Generals.

WHY A NON-BIG 5 SPRING LEAGUE MAKES SENSE

1. Fall games will be more exciting. There are 65 Big 5 Teams. They will play each other every week. It’s basically the NCAA basketball tournament all season long (68 team field). No more out-of-conference gimmes. No where to hide any week. It’ll be like SEC conference play every week for every team.
2. Non-Big 5 Games will be Significant. Right now, the only Non-Big 5 Games that mean anything are the few that match up the rare, contending Non-Big 5 team (i.e., Boise State) against a Big-5 team. Think about what happens when only Non-Big 5 teams will be competing against each other to make a playoff. Suddenly, games will matter. Teams will have a chance for a national championship.
3. Spring Can Work. Football is traditionally a fall sport. Sure.- that’s a given. Other football leagues in the spring have failed. Right. But, football’s never been more popular. All Non-Big 5 teams have built-in fan bases that new football leagues have never had. No more post Super Bowl let downs. Good football to look forward to right away. We are a nation starved for football. Alabama, Penn State, Auburn all had over 70,000 fans at their 2014 Spring scrimmages, er, games. Plus, spring into summer is a great time to be outside. I live in Massachusetts and watch Boston College in the fall. But, if UMass starts winning in the spring, I would definitely jump on the bandwagon with the UMass alums. I’d bet FIU or Florida Atlantic would start drawing the Miami, FSU and UF fans with a team competing for a title.
4. Tradition. Despite being the wrong season, Non-Big 5 games will be much closer to what we think of college football. Great players playing for the sport, not for money. As soon as players are paid, college football will be slightly different no matter what anyone says. It may not be significant. Or, it may change the game as we know it. Non-Big 5 teams can keep college football closer to what we now know. People will like that.
5. Exposure. Football rules supreme as the most watched sport in the country. People will want to watch games. Television will pay to show them. Players will get exposure who otherwise would not have. Teams and schools will get exposure that otherwise would not have. Players will be seen by scouts leading up to the NFL draft who may have been unnoticed or forgotten otherwise. Players will be in shape for the combine. This will keep the spring league growing.
6. Revenue. Rather than relying on an occasional sacrificial lamb game with a Big-5 team for a big payday, Non-Big 5 teams will be able to create a product that will create its own revenue. With some success, they’ll have more televised games. They’ll have a chance to create bowl games at summer destinations (all the stadiums are empty and would welcome events). They could create a more vibrant play-off system for even more television and interest. The market and interest is there so they wouldn't have to rely on the generosity of a Big-5 team to put them on their schedule for an easy win.
7. Respect. Non-Big 5 football is good football. And it will get better being by itself in the spring. But, instead of being a doormat for the big guys, the teams will be competitive every week. The quality of play will increase even more. Non-Big 5 teams are playing quality football now. Great NFL players routinely come from Non-Big 5 teams (Jerry Rice, Walter Payton, Tony Romo, Antonio Gates, Ben Roethlisberger jump to mind). Showcase this talent on an equal playing field each week and people will stop comparing the games to the ones in the fall but enjoy the spring games.
8. Improves Recruiting. Now, Non-Big 5 teams have no shot at the superstar recruits and that will only get worse. But, with a move to spring, perhaps recruiting changes a bit. Sit on the bench for a couple of years at a Big-5 school with its perks or actually play on television as a freshman? Players will enjoy the fall preparing for the college game watching professional and Big-5 teams share the spotlight while you hog the spotlight in the Spring.

All signs point to Non-Big 5 spring college football. And if it happens, the Big-5 conferences should beware. They may find the Non-Big 5 spring college football will eventually make their fall college football the minor leagues.