The Dark Future of College Football

If there is one common trait amongst all American people, it may be the belief that anything that has been around for thirty years or more is here to stay. Yes, we can all agree that the Backstreet Boys and Sega Genesis aren't going to stand the test of time, because they couldn't even stand the test of a decade. But the Beatles and The Godfather cannot be argued; they've been culturally relevant for thirty-plus years, so they must matter a hundred years from now. Right?

This is flawed logic and certainly a product of the 24 hour news cycle and new media. So if you try to spark debate on whether or not football can fail in this country, you are met with very hostile disdain. Football is American lifeblood. There is no possible way that the people will get fed up with it. College or professional, football is here to stay. Right?

I've felt this fear for the NFL for a while now. Up until the last decade or so, football had been seen as a violent sport amongst death-dealing Gladiators. But with new rules and new concerns over players' safety, the game has evolved into something unlike the football I grew up with. Some may argue that the NFL is doing what Major League Baseball has refused to do - evolve with the times - which is exactly why it will survive. I'll concede that point for now.

Since that is the NFL's biggest hurdle, it should be fine. However, college football has another problem that is much bigger, and in my opinion, cause for much more concern. That problem? Arrogance.

NCAA football looks fine now; good ratings, great interest, television coverage all around. But let's look at its problems, which are well documented. The BCS is the main culprit. We all know why we hate it, so to save space I won't explain. Now think of the other complaints. Lack of black head coaches (the old boys' club) and the Heisman Trophy (biased) are the two main points I always hear. What do those all have in common? Arrogance.

See, the college football world exists in a vacuum. Though 99.9% of the fans think the BCS should be scrapped, the men who run the show just turn their heads. And they get away with it. It's the same thing that hurt George W. Bush so badly; not that the love of money and power was the ruling philosophy, but that this fact was so blatantly rubbed in our faces. The BCS heads know that their system isn't very good, but they don't care. "Deal with it", they say.

It's this same mentality that allows a majority of black players to be coached by old white guys. Ironically, it is this same dichotomy that makes the NBA so watchable. But I feel the relationship between basketball players and their coaches is actually more empowering for the black players (more on this at another time). In football, it's purely an Old Boys system, just the way it is.

As far as the Heisman, this year's ballots tell all you need to know. Every single media talking head, and every single fan, had come to the same conclusion: Ndamukong Suh was the most dominant player in the country. According to heisman.com, the trophy goes to an individual who deserves designation as the most outstanding college football player in the United States. Where did Suh place? Fourth.

Everybody just accepts that quarterbacks and running backs win the award. In the trophy's 75 years of existence, two wide receivers, two tight ends, and one defensive player have won. It's biased and makes absolutely no sense. Once again, we're told "deal with it".

This may have worked twenty years ago, but things have changed. In the diverse, opinionated country we live in today, people simply don't stand for these things. Imagine explaining the in and outs of college football to a non-fan. If honest, this is what you would come up with:

- The championship game is determined by a number of computers and human votes (of which are biased due to regional differences).

- In the event of more than two undefeated teams, the teams from BCS conferences are chosen for the championship. This is because BCS conferences are deemed as harder to win. If more than two BCS schools are undefeated, then somebody is left out due to no other reason than that only two teams can play the BCS championship. Those two teams, by the way, will ultimately be chosen by the biased human votes.

- College football is ruled by an older white class that is harder for a minority to break into than a country club.

- The game's most prestigious award can only be given to one of two positions. The balloting consists of former winners of those two positions and another regionally biased voting system.

- Every Saturday, a major network mandatorily shows you a game that is completely worthless because one of the teams used to be good. Of course, this is only true if NBC is still a major network in ten years, which is doubtful.


Not even Don Draper can sell that. The NCAA really needs to rethink its strategy. I'm still of the mind that the pussification of football will lead to the game's demise, but even if that's not true, than these problems surely will. College football needs to deal with it.