How Small Conferences Can Stay Relevant and Help College Football Grow

Over the past few years you have heard plenty of talk about a college football playoff and finally, last summer talk turned to action as college presidents agreed to change the postseason format. While the new playoff system will bring unprecedented profit margins for the 5 major conferences ( ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac 12, SEC), their smaller counterparts will seemingly be left in the dust.

There is a way to fix this.

American Athletic Conference, Conference USA, Mid-American, Mountain West and Sun Belt schools: pack up your football and take the show on the road. I am serious

Corporate dollars and exposure is already at a premium here in the United States and placing new bowl games in cities like Little Rock, Arkansas, Montgomery, Alabama and Miami, Florida are not going to move the needle going head to head with the college football playoff. But, if you move those games to Dublin, Dubai, Hong Kong, London, Madrid, Rio, Sydney, etc-you are talking about a much different story.

Think about how great this would be for the sport.

It would allow college football to get a platform in another country, helping to expand the brand into an untapped market. The NFL has already seen the potential internationally since 2005 when the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers set an attendance record with over 103,000 spectators in Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium. Since then, the league has played 6 games in London’s Wembley Stadium.

As college football begins to peak domestically, the only room to grow is internationally and as each year passes an opportunity is missed to introduce the pageantry and passion of college football to a new audience and new sponsors.

Now think about how great it would be for the schools.

International bowl games would allow schools like Boise State, Florida Atlantic, or Western Kentucky to expand their institutional brand overseas. It would also give the coaches of these programs a major selling point on the recruiting trail, increasing the competitiveness. If I am a high school athlete would I rather play for a bottom dweller in a major conference with a chance to finish the year in Albuquerque, New Mexico or play for a small conference with the chance to finish the season with a week, maybe more in an exotic location? My point exactly.

It is time for college football to expand and while the top tier programs can ill-afford to give up their games domestically, it is a chance those schools outside of the big 5 conferences can’t afford to pass up.

The College Football Playoff could cause a split between the Big 5 and smaller conferences. Find out those from everyone in the American Athletic Conference to the Sun Belt can stay relevant and even help the sport grow.