What was the delay behind expanding the the college football playoffs?

December 7, 2022 by Staff

Talk of expanding the college football playoffs has been ongoing for many years, but until late November 2022, the respective parties in charge of agreeing on a contract always left the negotiating table without a deal to speak of. Before that, it was, to say the least, astonishing that a playoff expansion announcement hadn’t been made when you consider that firstly, it makes complete sense and, two, that it would generate in the region of $450 million for broadcasters. Put another way, almost everyone connected to college football would have benefited from a deal being struck, but inexplicably, year in and year out, no news was ever forthcoming of the kind.

That was, as touched on, until late November when it was announced that the playoffs would include 12 teams for the 2024 season. Naturally, once everyone had time to digest this extremely positive development, attention quickly turned back to what had changed in terms of this idea, finally getting the green light. Incredibly, the reason for the delay can be summed up in just two words: a sunset.

No, your eyes aren’t deceiving you. A sunset over the San Gabriel Mountains was the reason for the extraordinary hold-up.

The Rose Bowl’s refusal to lose its New Year’s Day slot

Of course, seasoned college football fans will know exactly what this means, but for those in the dark, the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, has been host to a playoff game annually since 1916. Indeed, every year on New Year’s Day, “The Granddaddy of Them All” is played and is meticulously coordinated so that a spectacular sunset late in the third quarter can be observed during the playoff tie. Admittedly, it is one of the most talked about features in the college football season preview and has served as one of the most powerful marketing campaigns in the sport’s history. This is, perhaps understandably so, the reason why the Rose Bowl didn’t want to give up its iconic slot.

Needless to say, with the Rose Bowl digging its heels in over this issue, there could be no expansion after the powers that be of College Football warned that they couldn't make any guarantees that the Rose Bowl would have the same time slot owing to the shakeup that an expansion would inevitably create. 

A game that captures the country's attention  

Crucially, and in addition to the moving vistas that this game on New Year’s Day in Pasadena would produce, the Rose Bowl Game also brings in an eye-watering amount of money every season. Last year, for instance, it generated in the region of $92 million, with close to 17 million people tuning in to watch. To put that into better context, keep in mind that this is about a fifth of the official Super Bowl viewing figures from the 2022 showpiece at the Sofi Stadium in California. It is worth mentioning in passing that this figure is expected to rise when the 2023 Super Bowl is played, especially as the extremely well-supported Kansas City Chiefs are tipped to win with the latest online betting odds as of the 2nd of December, pricing the franchise at just 4/1 to be crowned champions. The wider point to be made here, however, is irrespective of how many people tune in to watch the Super Bowl LVII in Arizona, the fact remains that the Rose Bowl Game still attracts a remarkable viewership. In many respects, it is an occasion that is deeply embedded in American culture, with the fixture being a landmark date that is diarised at the beginning of the season.

Again, you can, all of sudden, see why there was such a strong reaction from the Rose Bowl when any previous idea of an expansion was put forward. In essence, the organizers potentially stood to lose a lot more than just tradition by agreeing to their slot being changed. 

The only constant is change 

However, after college football’s governing body threatened to exclude the Rose Bowl from any playoff games in the future after their contract expired in 2026, they finally came around to the idea and joined the other five bowl hosts in agreeing to the proposed bowl schedule changes.

Yes, we may lose an iconic sunset, but we’re about to gain one of the most anticipated changes in the sport’s history, which will propel college football into millions of new living rooms around the US.