Staff Reports
College football just took another swing at the heart of what made it special, and Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz called it out plain and loud. With the College Football Playoff expanding to 24 teams and Power‑4 conference title games disappearing, coaches are asking a simple question: why keep conferences at all if their biggest prize is gone?
Coaches speak for fans: Conferences are losing meaning
At his Tuesday news conference, Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz didn’t hide his frustration. “Why are we associated with conferences anymore if we’re not playing for a conference championship?” he asked. Wake Forest head coach Jake Dickert echoed the feeling, wondering aloud why conferences should exist when their championship games no longer matter. Those are not the words of alarmist fans — they’re the words of people who run teams, schedule games and know what matters to players and local fans.
The real reason behind the change: money, TV deals and calendar math
Make no mistake: the 24‑team CFP rollout and the ESPN media deal reshaped December. The expanded playoff adds on‑campus rounds and squeezes the calendar, so conferences agreed to end their Power‑4 title games after this season. That was a business decision dressed up as progress. The networks get content. Universities and conferences get checks. Fans and local economies get the short end — fewer big weekends, less tradition, and more games that feel like filler in a “sea of 24.”
Travel, scheduling and the hollowing out of rivalries
Drinkwitz nailed another point when he asked why teams should keep flying coast to coast for conference games if those games no longer crown anything real. Why spend millions to play far‑away foes when you could build a ten‑game regional slate that actually excites local fans? The CFP gives four automatic spots to the Power‑4 champions and a nod to the top Group‑of‑6 team, but the rest are at‑large picks. That leaves huge room for committee chaos and makes scheduling more about optics than competition.
Here’s the bottom line: the sport is being reshaped by TV dollars and schedule mechanics, not by what players or fans actually value. Coaches like Drinkwitz and Dickert are sounding an alarm the committees and network suits would be wise to hear. If college football keeps letting the calendar and the broadcast contract call the shots, don’t be surprised when conferences get re‑packaged, travel budgets get slashed, and traditional rivalries are sold as pay‑per‑view curiosities. Fans deserve better than a bigger playoff that strips away the meaning of the games that built this sport.
