Nine months after the BCS Presidential Oversight Committee approved a four-team playoff for major college football, the new postseason has officially been given its title:
College Football Playoff.
That’s it. That’s the name to replace the BCS.
ESPN’s Brett McMurphy and the Associated Press reported the name earlier on Tuesday; the official announcement was made this evening. BCS commissioners are also expected to announce three other playoff sites and the selection process later this week.
College Football Playoff was trademarked with the United States Patent and Trademark Office by, ironically enough, BCS Properties, LLC last month.
“We decided to call the playoff what it is – the College Football Playoff. We think the new playoff will be the most dynamic improvement to college football in a generation. Certainly it’s what the fans want. We also invite everyone to vote online to select the logo and help us kick off the new College Football Playoff,” said Bill Hancock, the Executive Director of CFP.
The name isn’t flashy -- a marketing firm was hired to help come up with the new name, and that is kind of hilarious -- but it’s straight-forward and generic enough to withstand change (like the number of teams in the field).
Not to mention it will dominate SEO numbers.
While Dennis Dodd of CBSSports isn’t as sold on the new title, College Football Playoff can at least be thought of as the anti “Legends” and “Leaders” -- the backlash of which was so strong that the Big Ten will go to a simpler “East” and “West” divisional structure once Maryland and Rutgers join.
“I’ll be happy with whatever,” Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany told reporters today about the new playoff title. “Obviously I’m not great with names.”
In that regard, college football’s power brokers have been known to find a way to slip on the proverbial banana peel and irreparably crash straight into a fine china shop when it comes to decision making. Perhaps the choice to go with a name that won’t make waves was the right one after all.
(Photo: “Death to the BCS” by Dan Wetzel)