SMQ: What if college football had its own March Madness?

How an expanded playoff would benefit the players on the field

In 2012, Chad Seifried and Brian A. Turner conducted a survey of 79 FBS athletes to gauge their opinions on the state of affairs in college football. While the study was conducted during the BCS era, before the expansion of the playoff field, it reveals that the current system doesn’t go far enough to meet the wishes of those who actually execute the entertainment on the field.

Student-athletes, it turns out, either want as large a playoff field as possible or no playoff at all. Among the 79 surveyed in the Seifried and Turner study, only one stated a preference for a four-team field. While it affords double the chances of the BCS to win a national title, the College Football Playoff remains too narrow to provide the sort of egalitarian opportunity associated with March Madness.

But what about school?

In that same survey, two-thirds of the students articulated a lack of concern about missed classes or an inability to complete coursework due to a playoff appearance. Given that most schools take three or more weeks off for winter break, any concerns about missed school are overblown.

Further, athletic departments coordinate with campus faculty to mitigate the impact of travel and missed lecture time. After two years as a graduate teaching fellow, I had plenty of experience in seeing how university administrators work with athletic departments to ensure their student-athletes remain eligible and have every opportunity to complete necessary work.

Set aside the fact that increased revenue could open the door to a reconsideration of amateurism. If the postseason is supposed to be a reward for the student-athletes, perhaps we should actually listen to what would be most rewarding.