Wisconsin Football: What the New Playoff System Means to the Badgers

On a summer night in June of 2012, the long-scrutinized and demonized BCS was shown the stage for its swan song. The BCS Presidential Oversight Committee asked for the audience to be quiet, tapped the microphone and fixed the spotlight on its newest darling: a playoff.

College basketball has The Big Dance. College football just got The Big Do-Si-Do. 

The game will now crown its champion through a four-team system to be introduced in the 2014-15 season. While the exact format is still up for debate, the two national semifinalist games will circle six major bowls, including the Rose Bowl, and will culminate in a final neutral site game for the crystal football. 

So what does it mean to Wisconsin? 

Well, first, Bucky may be able to afford some nicer dancing shoes. Some outlets are speculating that a new television contract could fetch close to $400-500 million per year for the 12-year span of the contract.

That would be more than double the current $155 million deal.

That multi-billion dollar contract could spark a windfall for Wisconsin, while smaller schools in smaller conferences won't see much of a difference. In an article published on ESPN.com, Kristi Dosh reported that insiders expect an imbalance. 

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“I think it’ll be adjusted modestly, but the five conferences are still going to get the lion’s share, it’s just how big of a lion are we talking about," said Gary Ransdell, president of Western Kentucky University and a member of the Presidential Oversight Committee."

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Secondly, say goodbye to automatic qualifiers. No conference will be guaranteed a spot on the dance floor. That means the Badgers will only benefit if the Big Ten conference gets stronger, and they may have to do their part by scheduling a better slate of out-of-conference opponents. 

Lastly, Badger fans may see more late game, questionable two-point conversions. Wisconsin needs to win and style points count. Given that the playoff field will be set by a committee, the human element, including the eye ball test, is a powerful part of the equation.

The Badgers need to put exclamation points on games or they may be on the outside looking in.