Pres. Obama Playoff Plans, FCS Expansion and March Madness

President Obama’s support of a college football playoff at the Bowl Subdivision level was known well before his appearance on Bill Simmons’ ESPN.com podcast today. However, the Commander-in-Chief fleshed out more details of what he would like to see in a postseason, most notably an eight-team format.

The surreality of a writer notable for citing The Karate Kid and Adam Carolla as credible points of reference interviewing the President aside, Obama and Simmons broaching the subject of college football may seem peculiar; after all, the Sports Guy’s track record for covering the sport suggests he might have been just as interested in discussing farm subsidies for soybean growers in Nebraska. And therein lies the genius of Obama’s chosen avenue.

Regardless one’s feelings on the President’s politics (and the last thing needed is a political mudslinging party in the comments section, so please refrain), there’s no denying his media savvy. He is adept at tailoring his message to the venue, and via the BS Report Obama has a large audience that falls more into the casual demographic of college football fandom.

Casual fan is a key driving force behind the playoff movement, as their potential dollars are currently focused largely on the NFL. That seems unlikely to change with the instillation of a playoff despite the often repeated mantra of “no playoff makes the sport irrelevant.” Nevertheless that is a primary target audience. And there’s no one more popular with that demographic than Simmons.

Obama’s proposed eight-team playoff is not a format with which I take umbrage. Of the suggested models, four (a.k.a the Plus-One) is the most suitable for maintaing the regular season’s integrity. Eight-to-12 incorporates the current BCS without diluting the regular season’s signifance, and placates those more vehement about giving every team “worthy” a shot — e.g., most BCS conference champions and/or double digit-win teams.

The concerns folks of my ilk have are discussed on this blog ad nauseum, but developments this week require another banging of the gong.

Just Wednesday the Championship Subdivision inched closer to continued expansion of its postseason. In 2010, the FCS introduced four more teams to its format, bringing the field to 20. Two conferences were added as automatic qualifiers: the NEC, and the Big South. Thus far, the leagues are a combined 0-4 with their auto berths.

The new proposal was discussed previously, but moved much closer to fruition — a 24-team format, with an automatic bid given to the Pioneer League champion and three additional at-large selections. The latter would bump that total to 13, more than 10 percent of the FCS population. This past season’s playoff selection raised eyebrows when Eastern Kentucky earned a bid over Illinois State. Both were 7-4. EKU was eliminated in its opening round contest vs. James Madison.

In 2010, one of the programs spurned for the one of the 10 at-large bids was 10-1 Pioneer League champion Jacksonville. The Dolphins boasted the nation’s most explosive offense with former Florida standout quarterback Kerwin Bell as its head coach, but JU was passed over and considered below the level of the full scholarship programs. Making a concession for the league now seems almost hypocritical from a competition standpoint. An overly expansive FBS playoff model that deems Mountain West and Conference USA programs previously considered unworthy of title consideration seems equally so.

In fairness to the Pioneer League, it desperately needs some form of postseason. It previously played fellow non-qualifier NEC in the College Cup, but the NEC’s addition to the Playoffs negated that. Furthermore, expansion for the FCS Playoffs is not necessarily a bad thing, since the subdivision has no alternative. More teams in the postseason provides programs more opportunity to make money through ticket sales (EDIT: discussion with VUHoops.com‘s Brian Ewart necessitates pointing out the qualifier depending on draw), and the national TV deal the NCAA has with ESPN to broadcast the postseason is the sole exposure for most of these programs.

Not coincidentally, many of the FCS programs are also the low seeds in the NCAA Basketball Tournament, an event of particular pertinence to this conversation as we officially enter March. Likewise, March is their only opportunity to shine on the national stage, and no one can begrudge their inclusion in the field of 68. However, this year is proof positive how difficult it is rounding out such an expansive field.

The 2012 bubble is one of the most crowded, yet flimsiest in recent memory. Teams that previously would have missed the tournament should now get into the Big Dance under its second year of a 68-team field.

Sixty-eight is a 20-team increase from about three decades ago, and represents roughly 20 percent of the entire Division I — about equivalent to the size of a hypothetical 24-team FCS Playoff. However, there was talk of the NCAA Tournament going to a ludicrous 96 teams, proving there is no cap on the postseason when it means money to be made and exposure to be had. And as the college basketball regular season becomes less revelant to casual observers, March exposure is all the more vital.

If anyone would have the clout to put his foot down on expanding a football playoff, it’s the President of the United States. After all, the sport may not exist were it not for Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson’s efforts to reform. But then again, those associated with decisionmaking in college football have flouted above-the-law attitudes.