Could college football see an NIT-like tournament created to give more opportunities for postseason relevance to some of the smaller programs across the nation?
Yahoo Sports reported that Mountain West Commissioner Gloria Nevarez sees that as one possibility on the table.
Driving the news: Commissioners of the Group of Five conferences – American, Conference USA, Mid-American, Mountain West and Sun Belt – are meeting in Dallas next week to discuss a number of issues.
- According to Yahoo Sports, some of those issues include NCAA governance, revenue sharing and the rise in the influence of private equity as student-athletes can profit off their name, image and likeness.
- But one issue could shake up the sport for the Group of Five – creating a second-tier playoff system, akin to the National Invitation Tournament in college basketball.
- While the NIT plays second-fiddle to the NCAA Tournament, it still draws significant interest across the country and is celebrated. That includes when Fresno State won the NIT in 1983.
The big picture: “We are open to all of that,” Nevarez told Yahoo sports. “That would be really interesting and have some value. What if it’s like an NIT of football?”
- Under such a model, the Group of Five would still maintain its automatic spot in the newly expanded 12-team playoff, which is set to debut at the end of this upcoming season.
- That would still give a Group of Five team the opportunity to compete for a National Championship while allowing the other top teams which are excluded from the College Football Playoff a chance for a championship of their own.
What we’re watching: Barring any announcements next week on some sort of second-tier playoff agreement that comes out of the Group of Five commissioners meeting, the real date of importance for schools like Fresno State will come after the 2025 season.
- ESPN, which has an eight-year deal to broadcast the College Football Playoff, will have the opportunity to renegotiate the tournament’s format after just the first two years.
- That gives an opportunity for other formats floated by the SEC and the Big 10 – the two largest powers in the sport – to fight for more automatic qualifying spots and kick out Group of Five schools altogether.
