The college football schedule might seem straightforward on the surface, but behind the scenes athletic directors across the country are engaged in a high stakes chess match to strategically construct their 12-game slates. With so many teams vying for playoff selection and postseason prestige, strength of schedule has become critically important - putting pressure on programs to master the out-of-conference scheduling madness.
Piecing together the schedule is a major undertaking that requires months of negotiations and planning years in advance. While the NFL relies on firm scheduling formulas, the college game offers athletic departments much more flexibility - but also complexity. When compiling their all-important slates, teams must weigh considerations such as:
Defining Scheduling Philosophy and Vision
Every program starts by outlining their goals and vision for what they want to achieve with scheduling. Are they aiming to challenge themselves against nationally prominent opponents? Is winning percentage above all else? Are they focused on penetrating different regional recruiting grounds? Profit and revenue generation? Fan excitement? These guiding principles inform overall strategy.
Analyzing Home vs Away Game Tradeoffs
Home games generate major revenue through ticket sales, concessions, school branded merchandise and parking. They also energize fans and students by bringing marquee matchups to campus. But away games carry value too in terms of national TV exposure, expanding recruiting reach, and representing the brand. Schools aim for 6-7 home games a year but creative tradeoffs are required to make the math work. Home-and-home series spaced over multiple seasons have become common solutions.
Mapping Financial Implications
Major programs pay smaller regional schools hundreds of thousands in “guarantee money” for usually easy wins. These payouts fund the smaller athletic departments for the year. But TV networks also play power broker: they conceptualize and pitch high profile matchup possibilities to schools, dangling big broadcasting rights deals to anchor their slate. Dollars and cents implications factor prominently during negotiations.
Obsessing Over Strength of Schedule
With the playoff selection committee fixated on scrutinizing strength of schedule, prominent programs want resume-boosting games against recognized opponents. Meanwhile less prominent teams just want to avoid painful blowouts. Getting the optimal mix of competitiveness and chance for victory is far easier said than done but critical to "committee impression".
Hitting Recruiting Trail Targets
Regional matchups against in-state flagships build local buzz and allow staffs to showcase their program up close to top in-state recruits. But creative ADs also schedule farther afield to tap into new terrain. 12-game lineups get strategically mapped around geographical priorities on the recruiting trail for the current year and beyond.
Add in the need to work around bye weeks, TV programming schedules, and the demands of head coaches and you can see why mastering scheduling is compared to high stakes chess. There are many moving parts and competing interests to balance. But gradually, through months of ongoing negotiations, handshakes turn into contracts, open dates get successfully aligned, and the all-important 12-game slate comes together. While the math doesn't always perfectly add up, the strategic formula aims to set the stage for the upcoming season and recruiting campaigns ahead.
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