So for the moment I hand it to Get The Picture and the San Diego Union-Tribune

Bowl Economics 101

Like much in life, this story mixes a little good with the bad.  As much as I'm a fan of the bowl tradition, there are simply too many and that dilutes the overall product.  My perfect world wish won't likely be granted, however, because those extra little bowls are moneymakers, honey pots for the networks and conferences in this dollars and cents game of survival.

There are a few conclusions to be drawn here. First, there appears to be a ceiling as to how much revenue the BCS games can generate. Second, the real money more and more comes from expanding the size of the field engaged in post season play. Third, as the last section of the article indicates, trying to come up with some sort of bowl/playoff hybrid would be extremely difficult at best and destructive to the bowls at worst.

All of which brings me back to a point I’ve belabored regarding college football playoffs, namely, where’s the money going to come from to cover the need for increased payoffs under an NCAA “everybody in D-1 shares” formula? The economics of the current arrangement practically mandate a large post season in order to generate the revenue the schools would expect. Yet many proponents of a smaller (4-16 team) playoff system insist without any evidence that it would easily generate more money than the bowls currently do (an assertion weakly made in the article, again without any support).

I just don’t see it.

I haven't discussed the fiscal logic behind the 'no playoff' approach to college football.  I simply don't know all that much at the moment about where the dollars flow in all of this.  But the more I find others who agree with me, the more I see that the money argument is just as powerful as the tradition one.  Even if I were way off base with everything I've argued, the economics of the situation remain, and they're not looking good for the pro playoff folks.  Is anyone else even talking about the overall economics of it?  I know I haven't, until now.  It's probably out of ignorance, as most fans are in the dark about how athletic departments and conferences and the NCAA and the bowls and the networks all make their money.

I encourage anyone who has some knowhow to comment here if for no other reason than to be informed.