College football's power brokers appear intent on expanding the College Football Playoff to 24 teams as early as next season.
This move, the latest in a long series of changes, expansions, and breaks with tradition, has naturally drawn strong reactions. For some, it's a welcome move that will make the postseason more exciting and meaningful . For others, it's a sign that the sport is abandoning many of the things that have made it unique .
Most people can agree that it will lead to more money for those at the top of the heap .
For a program like Central Michigan, it's hard to see what benefit a 24-team CFP would bring. The sports power brokers have aligned to ensure schools like them have less chance to qualify , even as the field grows. And as Central Michigan head coach Matt Drinkall sees it, it's just the latest reactionary decision driving the sport that puts financial concerns above everything else.
"All everything since COVID has just 100 percent been reaction," Drinkall told reporters on Tuesday when asked about the expansion. "No one has ever said, 'OK, well if we do this, what does it look like 15 years from now? What does this look like 10 years from now? Is this in the best interest, culturally, of everyone? Or is it all just 'How do I save my ass and make the most money right this second, right now?' Which is what everyone's going to do."
"Whoever has to sell TV spots or tickets at every school or promote a conference, they're not interested in what's good for the sport of football. They're not interested in what's good for young people coming up… But they want to know what makes my job the most amount of money right now. So, everything since COVID, all [the] reactionary conference realignment, eligibility, paying players, transfer policies… None of it's good. None of it is in the best interest of the student-athlete; none of it's in the best interest of the sport. It's just like everybody went nuts at once.
"And it's just been a downward spiral that is nonstop until it's going to be a smoldering dumpster fire left like the Truffula trees and 'The Lorax.' Like, they're going to ring this sport out for every cent they can as long as they can and prostitute the sport for financial gain. Until people stop caring, just like they did with boxing back in the 20s, Major League Baseball back when they sell all these fields out, they're going to prostitute it as much as they can as possible until people stop caring."
Kudos on the solid Dr. Seuss reference, Matt.
According to Mitten Football's Andrew Graham, Drinkall added that "It is going to be the last threshold that pushes a certain percentage of college football into the professional realm forever."
It sounds like there's more to Drinkall's statement, so hopefully the video is posted soon. You probably won't hear many Power Four coaches talk about the expanded CFP like that, especially since some see it as a way to keep their jobs longer . To Drinkall's point, however, the goalposts will shift on that, and other aspects of the CFP, soon enough, and then we'll all have to prepare for the next short-term decision that will change college football once more.
The post CMU's Matt Drinkall goes scorched earth on college football's leaders: 'Prostitute the sport for financial gain' appeared first on Awful Announcing .
