Listen Live

As the calendar turns to August, one of the only things college football fans across the country would be able to tell you about the upcoming 2020 season is that they have no idea what it will look like, or if it will happen at all. That’s a problem.

An even bigger issue is that the people in charge of the entire process couldn’t tell you much more.

Enter Fox Sports’ Tim Brando. Brando joined The Fan Morning Show on Wednesday to examine the flaws of the current system in college football and what changes are necessary to revive the sport.

“About the only real takeaway that I have from March the 12th when I was taken off the court at Madison Square Garden at halftime of the Big East Tournament quarterfinal game is that we, in college football and in intercollegiate athletics as a whole, are dysfunctional and fractured and lacking leadership,” Brando told Jeff Rickard and Kevin Bowen. “All of the above.”

College football is dominated by five “power conferences” whose commissioners protect the interests of the schools they serve. There is communication between these conferences, but not enough to make any meaningful decisions in a time such as this.

“Who’s looking out for the totality of the product? Who cares about college football as a whole? Evidently, no one,” Brando said.

The college football season is in jeopardy, and the window for making a decision about this year is closing.

“If you know that you can’t get this done, or you’re too scared to try, just tell us and let’s move on,” said Brando. “But if you do have a plan, roll it out there, let us see it, and let your coaches and the players [know]…don’t leave them twisting in the wind. It’s time for leaders to lead.”

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Brando is a big proponent of using this uncertain time to expand the College Football Playoff. His proposal includes revamping the current four team bracket to include a total of eight schools: one from each of the Power 5 conferences, one from the Group of 5 conferences, and two at-large bids. Games would be played on the higher seed’s home field.

“I don’t think four teams is workable. Americans doesn’t care when we know what we’re gonna get at the end.”

Looking at you, Alabama…and Ohio State…and Clemson.

The point remains that college football’s problems have persisted for decades, and they’ve only been magnified by the current state of affairs.

Tim Brando summed it up perfectly:

“It didn’t take a pandemic for me to know that college football needed universal leadership.”

 

Catch the full interview with Tim Brando:

Subscribe to The Jeff & Big Joe Show Podcast

Leave a Reply