Critics of college football have been saying for years that too many teams get a chance to play in postseason bowl games, yet it seems every year or two more bowl games are added. According to Football-Bowl.com, there are currently 34 bowl games scheduled in 2009-1010, meaning 68 of 120 Division I-A (Football Bowl Subdivision) teams will play in postseason games.
Now it seems that college basketball is joining the ranks of college football. Last season we saw the introduction of the CBI Tournament, a 16-team tournament featuring a 3-game Championship Series to decide the winner. The CBI joined the 65 NCAA Tournament teams and 32 NIT Tournament teams to give 113 teams a chance to continue play in postseason tournaments in 2008.
As if 113 teams was not enough, it has been announced that the innagural CollegeInsider.com Tournament will be played this March as well. The CIT Tournament will feature another 16 teams in a single-elimination tournament bracket which brings the total number of teams in postseason play to 129.
Mathematically, the college football world still has a much higher percentage of teams in postseason play (68 of 120 for 56.7%) than in college basketball (129 of 347 for 37.2%). However, it was clear that the CBI Tournament was relatively unknown last season as games could not be found on TV despite a relationship with Fox Sports. The CollegeInsider.com Tournament does not appear to have a better road ahead as while they do have a relationship with Fox College Sport, both tournaments lack what most every bowl game has; a deal with the Worldwide Leader in Sports, ESPN. But, at the end of the day, what I like about the addition of another postseason tournament is that deserving teams that do not get a chance ot prove themselves on a national stage willhave an opportunity to play against other winning programs and potentially get some recognition for their play.
Deanna Clover
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