TCU's Gary Patterson is OK with the new playoff format because it keeps the bowls

FORT WORTH - Like so many college coaches, Gary Patterson is not about to dump on a bowl system that may be in the very, very beginning stages of its of existence.

Gary likes the bowls, and the "bowl experience" because it gives so many kids the chance to experience a post season game, etc. Bowls feel like an event. It's the chance to travel, perhaps to the coast. There is swag. And - cough-cough - those "bowl appearance" and "bowl wins" bonuses in his contract, and very like the athletic directors, are kinda nice, too.

At a press conference for former TCU running back LaDainian Tomlinson this afternoon, Gary was asked about his feelings of the new college football playoff format, which will act as a Final Four that includes the traditional bowl sites plus a national title game.

Gary is a fan primarily because it keeps the bowl games in play.

"It sounds like 1 will play 4 and 2 will play 3 within the bowl group," GP said. "If they keep that, I am in favor of them having a one-plus. I believe if they take it outside the bowl series then I believe the bowls will go away because I believe we've made them not important."

I like GP, a lot, but we will agree to disagree on this. The bowls aren't important because they are an exhibitions. If they were really important the BCS powers would not have yielded with this four-team playoff model. Declining ratings and attendance are driving this bus. Sports champions in this country are decided through tournament-style brackets, yet college football held on to the financially exclusive practice-game model.

"I think everybody wins - we keep the bowl system, we get what we want and we get to find a true champion," Gary said. "There will be something. I promise you there will be a reason you won't like this one, either. That's just part of it. It will be, 'Why can't we have eight?' I truly believe this - there are about eight to 10 teams that if they get hot that can win a national championship. The key will be coming down to picking those four teams and we'll see how they do it.

"I am excited because I think this gives an answer that everybody can win. Everybody should be happy that you're going to get a form of the playoff that ... is just like a Super Bowl."

 

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Have to wonder how much TCU's success factored in to the firing of SMU AD Steve Orsini

SMU may rank ahead of TCU in academic standings, but the Ponies' inability to match what their cross-town rival has done in athletics likely helped get an AD fired.

The Ponies fired AD Steve Orsini today, only a few weeks after he hired Larry Brown as its men's basketball coach.

Even though SMU has a new football stadium, a winning football team with a head coach who clearly knows what he is doing, it has not translated into the type of off-the-field success the school obviously wants after sinking so much money into the public relations tool that is college athletics.

According to this story in The SMU Daily Campus a few weeks ago, SMU's losses are staggering - around $113 million. That's a lot of green, even at SMU.

It is not uncommon for athletic departments to lose money; financial losses in the athletic department are justified as part of the public relations arm of a school. It's a risky formula, but it has worked for TCU.

TCU is enjoying a level of national notoriety in a way it never has before. The Frogs are seeing a tangible return on their investment. SMU has spent millions, but have the perception and popularity of the private school in Dallas changed much in the past decade? Maybe a little but certainly not enough to justify the expense.

Regardless of academic rankings, this power shift can't be easy to watch if you are an SMU alum or administrator. 

Baylor may not be better than SMU, but the Bears are in the Big 12.
TCU is supposed to be the poor man's SMU, but the Frogs are in the Big 12. The Frogs just announced they slold out their 30,000 season ticket allotment.

How does this happen?

As many improvements as the Ponies made under Orsini, it hasn't been enough. Everything feels like it was just a moment too late, from the hiring of June Jones to moving into a Big East Conference that now looks nothing like it did one year ago.

So now SMU fires its AD, which itself feels too late.

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In terms of landing men's basketball coaches, SMU thumped TCU

Larry Brown may not stay at SMU for more than a few years, if that, but as long as he is in Dallas the Ponies have the best men's basketball program in this region. In terms of landing a "big-time" hire to fill its vacated men's basketball coaching position, SMU popped cross-town rivals TCU.

If you want to make a splash by hiring a coach, you give your athletic director a check that reads "A google" and hire a proven name.

Trent Johnson's arrival to TCU as a replacement to Jim Christian was greeted mostly with a "Huh? Who? Really?" and created zero in terms of buzz, either on campus, locally, regionally and nothing nationally. Johnson may be a decent fit long term, but in terms of the immediate his arrival wasn't much.

Larry Brown's arrival to SMU as the replacement to Matt Doherty is national news, and greeted with the type of excitement this program has not enjoyed in, well, I have no idea. Decades? Larry Brown will make SMU basketball matter. 

Why Brown would want to do this at the age of 71, and very likely with more money than he knows what to do with, defies normal logic. Clearly he does not know what else to do other than be around this game.

There are few better basketball teachers than Larry Brown. There have been few better at winning with less talent than Larry Brown. There are few better X and O coaches than Larry Brown.

There also have been few guys who bolt town like this guy. Take the good with the bad, this is a major score for SMU.

 

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