Schedule More Regular Season Games Between the Major Conferences

by Tony (Bubba T)
(Summerville, SC, USA)

I do not think it's fair to knock conferences based on these stats - especially the PAC 10, Big Ten, and Big East based on the location of the majority of bowl games played vs. the SEC.

All of the major bowl games, with the exception of the Rose Bowl, are played in the south. Football records, college through NFL have shown to favor the home team. The only way to settle who the best conference is - is to schedule more regular season games between the major conferences.

After a few seasons you'll have home and away stats to compare with recent bowl game stats. Not only would this help settle who the best conference is - it will improve tv rating and improve BCS match-ups.

The only loser would be the lesser conferences that have been assisted financially by the major conferences.

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Oct 09, 2008
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Seasonal Inter-conference games
by: Anonymous

As a fan, yes, I'd like to see Georgia, Florida, LSU, Alabama play Penn State, Michigan, Ohio State, Wisconsin, et. al. But it's unlikely to happen because of the money generated by home games. The powerful conferences play the bulk of their non-conference games against smaller schools who don't demand a home-and-home arrangement.

One caveat: perhaps Atlanta's idea of a "Kick Off Classic" matching Alabama and Clemson could be emulated. Two big name teams playing on a neutral field, splitting the tickets and splitting the overall revenue. That might work.

The fact is, in the SEC (and I'm assuming equally so in the Big 10 and Pac 10), the power house programs sell out their 90,000+ seat stadiums EVERY game. At $50 per seat (a very conservative estimate), that's $4.5 million per game in ticket sales alone. The ancillary revenue (concessions, souvenirs, parking, etc.) is not insignificant.

Consider an hypothetical example. LSU can sign a two-year contract with the NW Florida Sandcrabs. The Sandcrabs come to Baton Rouge for both games and get a guarantee, probably in the $300k range (and also get slaughtered). LSU sells out Tiger Stadium for both games, raking in at least $5 million per game. However, if LSU signs a two year contract with Miami, one of those games has to be played on the road. LSU is basically out $4.5 million on the two-year deal.

The key is the fan base, the fact that SEC schools sell out no matter who they play.

And incidentally, don't sneer at the concern for money. It is the revenue from football which keeps the other sports alive: ALL of the women's sports and the rest of the men's sports except (at some schools) basketball.

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