BCS Controversy: As FCS Playoffs Grow, FBS Should See Probability of Expansion

As we stand on the precipice of a major decision in how the college football postseason is constructed, the lower division of FCS has elected to expand their playoff yet again. From the Associated Press: 

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The Football Championship Subdivision is on the verge of expanding its playoff system from 20 to 24 teams by 2013. The proposal would give an automatic bid to all FCS leagues that want one, seeds the top eight teams and gives them first-round byes and home games in the following round.

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That's right; the playoffs are growing again, to 24 teams this time, as the leaders look to give the FCS teams "a full tournament." Every conference that wants an automatic bid can have one, plus the at-large teams granted entry into the dance. The champion will be staring down the barrel of a 16-game season en route to a national championship.

Great for them. More teams getting involved in the postseason gives more kids a chance to hoist the NCAA Championship trophy. All leagues can have their champion in the postseason, and teams deserving of an at-large bid will not be excluded from the tournament.

However, how this relates to the FBS playoff push is simple; bracket creep. While the leaders of the game haggle over how to determine who gets into the playoff, the most skeptical eye of the playoff push is trained on how this measure does little to quell the rumbling from fans. The team in the fifth or sixths spot is still going to rumble just as much, if not more, than any Oklahoma State backer did in 2011.

Enter the FCS playoffs. The artist formerly known as Division I-AA started out with a four-team playoff in 1978, the same four-team playoff that the FBS folks are staring at right now. That lasted four seasons before they decided to double field in 1981, growing to eight teams to include more schools that felt they deserved a shot at the title.

Eight teams only lasted a season because in 1982, the field grew to 12 teams. More teams playing football, more opportunity to host postseason games and more teams getting a title shot. In 1986, they went to a full 16-team field. Sixteen seemed like the right number, at least for 23 years. Then, in 2010 the playoffs jumped to a 20-team field. Ten automatic bids and 10 at-large bids.

Which brings us to where we sit today: FCS is moving to a 24-team event. That's great for them. They are setup in a mini-March Madness style that pushes teams to do one thing: get into the second season.

As Appalachian State's Athletic Director Charlie Cobb puts it, ”But the playoffs are called the second season for a reason. Once you get to it, everybody’s got a chance."

In following the FCS playoff arc, it most certainly does not seem that Steve Spurrier was far off in his statement about loving the eight-team playoff when it emerges in five or so years. FCS football does not have nearly the pressures and the watchful eye of the media or fans that the FBS postseason will have. There also are not the major brokers wielding their power when one of their teams ends up on the outside looking in.

Expansion is a very real possibility for this four-team playoff  that is coming to college football, and depending upon where you stand, that is not exactly a good thing. For those of you hoping to see a tournament, this can be a great first step. For those of you just hoping to see the best four teams play one another, brace for expansion in the next few seasons.