Beating the Dead Horse

I know you are tired of reading about why we don't have a college football playoff. And right now, I know there are very few articles out there clamoring for one. Except for our president-elect, it seems to be a dead issue.

But just wait.

If Oklahoma beats Texas Tech this weekend, causing an injustice to either Texas, Oklahoma or Texas Tech, everyone will cry foul.

So I'll keep bringing these issues up in order for you to "inform" those around you when they talk about how a certain "injustice" will force the NCAA to have a college football playoff.

If you have time, read Seth Davis's article about UAB recruit Demarcus Cousins and the fact that he wants a promise from the UAB that they will release him should Mike Davis leave.

(Now where would Davis go???? Maybe 60 miles west down the interstate??? Who knows??)

In the article, Seth Davis details out the one-sided letter of intent process. He wrote about it in more detail here.

In his article last year, he wrote that the Conference Commissioners turned the process over to the NCAA. (Now remember, the LOI is 100% in favor of the schools.) And here's what NCAA president Myles Brand said they would do with the process...

We're just there to reconcile the books. We send out the letters, we collect the information and we turn it over to the schools. So we're doing the paperwork, we're not running it.

Unfortunately for the schools, that hasn't been the case. Here's what has happened since then.

The Conference Commissioners Association handed over the administrative duties of the NLI program to the NCAA in October 2007. NCAA president Myles Brand told me at the time that his organization was only "doing the paperwork," but the NCAA is taking on an increasingly active role. This year, the organization decided for the first time to insert language at the very top stressing that the letter is voluntary. "We want these prospects to know what they're getting into," said the NCAA's Susan Peal, the director of the NLI. "Parents call me all the time [with questions], and I tell them hey, you don't have to sign the NLI. The coach will give you an athletics aid agreement, which has to accompany the NLI anyway. Now, will institutions let you do that? Maybe not, but it's worth asking the question."

So what does that have to do with a college playoff system?

Let's just say the BCS president's start thinking about turning over the football championship to the NCAA, under the promise that the NCAA will just be the "administrators" of the system. Do you think they'll remember how the LOI's have been handled?

Suddenly, the NCAA is thinking about someone other than the schools. (Remember, if a player leaves early, it hurts the school's APR score.) While it might be right, the presidents won't like it.

So there you go. Just one more point to use when the playoff debate comes up.

Remember. It ain't happening.