If college football ever needed reform in the way it selects college football bowl participants, there is no time like the present.
Here in Iowa, we have had a little debate recently among Iowa Athletic Director Gary Barta and Iowa State Athletic Director Jamie Pollard. Barta believes a type of football playoff will soon be coming and that teams should be required to collect at least seven wins for bowl eligibility. Barta said that the present six –win qualification was instituted when teams played 11 games. Now that schools play 12 games, Barta believes the eligibility should increase one game as well. Pollard favors the current eligibility because his school qualified twice recently with six victories.
I have long been a critic in this space about teams qualifying for bowl games with 6-6 records. Teams are not being rewarded for a successful season but for a mediocre one. Maybe, the NCAA should reduce the number of bowl games and actually make it a challenge (and a reward) to earn a trip.
Teams that haven’t made bowl games recently need to simply step it up a few notches. The present system allows teams to make a “C” grade and reap the rewards, whereas these same teams should earn at least a “B” grade.
Mediocrity isn’t a cause for celebration. It’s an incentive to achieve more.
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