The press and marketing wizards will frequently try to hype a sporting event as “more than a game.” The College Football Playoff National Championship on Monday night in Houston represents one of those occasions, for all the transition points the contest represents for the sport.
A decade or more ago, the postseason matchup between the Michigan Wolverines and the Washington Huskies would have occurred in the Rose Bowl — the “grandaddy of them all” when it comes to college football. But starting next year, a Michigan-Washington contest likely will not occur in the postseason, but during college football’s regular season.
The realignment that begins next fall will transform college football into a nationally-based phenomenon. In that sense, Monday night’s championship represents the end of regionalism for a sport heretofore defined by the intensity of local rivalries.
PAC-12 Implosion
Monday night’s championship game provides the last contest during which Washington will compete as a member of the Pacific Athletic Conference. Over the past year-plus, the conference has engaged in a slow-motion train wreck that has seen its members depart for other pastures. Four schools — USC, UCLA, Washington, and Oregon — will join the Big Ten. Four other schools — Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah — will join (in Colorado’s case, rejoin) the Big 12. Two schools — Stanford and Cal — will join the ACC. And two schools — Oregon State and Washington State — could ultimately join the West Coast Conference.
The PAC-12’s implosion has effectively destroyed the
