Anthony Wilson
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Get ready for more bowl games, not fewer, as college administrators continue to push for more postseason access across all sports.
That’s what Bowl Season director Nick Carparelli believes will be next after the College Football Playoff expands from four to 12 teams this fall – and potentially 14 in 2026. Why? Expansion is the rising trend across all sectors of college athletics, and the NCAA’s transformation committee has made it clear that more postseason opportunities are desired across all sports.
“When I talk to football coaches, athletic directors and conference commissioners, it’s very encouraging. You know, I think we’re more likely to add bowl games than we are to subtract bowl games,” Carparelli told 247Sports this week at the annual Fiesta Summit for leaders in college athletics.
The NCAA has no stake in the CFP or the 42 bowl games, which include the CFP, but leaders are drawn to trends in other NCAA sports, such as the upcoming serious talks to expand men’s NCAA tournament in basketball for up to 80 teams.
“Twelve postseason opportunities are not enough for all of college football,” Carparelli said. “There are so many great stories every year about rising programs having the opportunity to play in a bowl game and celebrate a big win. It serves as a launching point and building a platform for your program to move forward.” College football needs bowl games and bowl games will be the solution to the college football postseason, just as they have been for the last 100 years.
Six of the 42 bowl games scheduled for 2024 are playoff games.
There weren’t enough bowl-eligible teams in each of the last three seasons, which led to three five-win teams accepting invitations: Rutgers in 2021, Rice in 2022 and Minnesota in 2023.
O The quality of the game also suffered due to player deactivations and the transfer portal. At least 78 players opted out of bowl games last season and 431 players entered the transfer portal before postseason games, according to data compiled by The Action Network. Florida State was the poster child last season. Thirty-three players opted out of playing in the Orange Bowl after the College Football Playoff Selection Committee did not select the Seminoles. Georgia demolished FSU, 63-3.
“If I go to see the (Rolling) Stones and Mick Jagger isn’t playing, am I really seeing the Stones?” said Fiesta Bowl President Erik Moses. “People come to see the talent.”
Carparelli believes he has a solution to the opt-outs: the imminent shift to a revenue-sharing model for players. The NCAA may soon resolve an antitrust lawsuit seeking back pay and revenue sharing for players, with a price tag of more than $2.7 billion, which would also pave the way for future revenue sharing with players, according to ESPN.
“It appears that these external collectives will be controlled by the university athletics department going forward,” Carparelli said. “That’s what everyone seems to want. What will surely follow is some kind of formal agreement between the student-athletes and the university: We will pay you X amount of money, and for that you will perform certain duties for players. of college football, will include 12 regular season games, a bowl game and/or the CFP.
“And, you know, what? That’s how the world works. If you have a job, you’re getting paid to do it. If you don’t do your job, you don’t get paid. I don’t see how anyone can argue that. I think when we get to a standardized system like this, it makes sense, I think it will solve a lot of problems.
Meanwhile, uncertainty in college athletics surrounding player salaries, the realignment of conferences, and the Big Ten and SEC coming together to demand larger CFP payouts (and further widen the financial gap between competitors) has prompted at least one private equity firm to launch a playoff for Group of Five conferences.
O the pitcher is former Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley, with financial backing from private equity, sources told Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports. No proposals have been presented to the commissioners of the AAC, Conference USA, MAC, Mountain West or Sun Belt, sources added this week. An athletic director who spoke with Dooley recently said the conversation was light on details. The group has not yet formalized a format, although sources told Dodd last week that one iteration includes eight divisions for 62 teams, with the division champions playing at the end of the regular season for a spot in the CFP. This iteration is separate from a potential split from the PCP Group of Five.
The top-ranked Group of Five champion guarantees a playoff spot in the newest CFP deal approved by the FBS and Notre Dame conferences. The Group of Five is expected to earn an average of $2 million per team, which is drastically less than the lowest-paid power conference team ($12.3 million in the Big 12). The deal expires after the 2031 season.
“I have yet to see a proposal that would motivate the Mountain West to leave the PCP for something else,” said Mountain West Commissioner Gloria Nevarez. “Not to say there might not be something out there, but I haven’t seen it yet.”
Carparelli has spoken to several commissioners and believes Dooley’s speech has no legs.
“I don’t feel any desire for that concept,” he said.
For now, the bowl season will remain at 42 games, but the hunger for more, more, more is apparent.
“We are at the right number, but we will always be vigilant and ensure we have enough opportunities to serve all members,” said Carparelli.
