When it comes to college football it seems there is rarely a perfect solution to any one question. How many teams should be in a playoff? Four? Eight? 16? 64? Two? The debates will continue for years. For the most part, the scheduling conversation tends to revolve around how many games a conference schedule should include. The answer likely varies by conference, because what is ideal for the Pac-12 or Big 12 may not be the best solution for the ACC or SEC. This is why we will continue to see discussions and debates over eight-game and nine-game conference schedules.
But what about the regular season itself? Is 12 the best possible number for the college football regular season?
I bring the question up simply because I see new Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred says the baseball season could potentially trim down from 162 regular season games to 154. In this day and age where every game means more money in the budgets of professional sports franchises, I find it hard to believe MLB would ever actually take away games unless there is money to be made elsewhere in the void of an extra week of regular season baseball. And when it comes to the sport of football it seems all of the talk is about more games.
More NFL regular season. More teams in the NFL playoff. More teams in the College Football Playoff!
What about expanding the college football regular season to 13 or 14 games? I realize the idea is probably an unpopular one given the lack of benefit to the players and the supposed care for their well-being when they are not being paid (technically), but I would be surprised if this topic does not come up at some point in the future for college football. With power conferences holding more bargaining power with autonomy, if the power conferences want one more game on the schedule (or two!), they could find a way to make it happen.
An expanded regular season would solve some scheduling concerns that have popped up in recent years. Conferences with 14 members would be able to schedule more crossover division games, thus keeping some rivalries more active and reducing the need for conference members to schedule non-conference games against each other. It also allows for more scheduling flexibility between power conferences, such as the previously failed Big Ten-Pac-12 scheduling arrangement. With 14 games power conferences could have 10-game conference schedules and still have a locked-in game against another conference.
The big selling point though would be the financial incentive. More games equals more ticket sales and more games to broadcast for advertising revenue and expanded media rights packages. It also means more expenses (travel, stadium maintenance etc.) too, which can be concerning for a number of programs already operating in the red on an annual basis. College football powers may just be greedy enough to allow this conversation to run its course at some point in the future.
What do you think about the length of the college football regular season? Is it feasible or logical to expand the regular season? If so, by how many games? Do you think it could happen?