College basketball is superior to college football. I never thought I would say that, but it's true. It's not the game play, or the skill level that separates the sports - it's the format and the potential that each team has when the season starts, and when the tournaments begin.
Before I get a phone call from UB head football coach Jim Hofher, allow me to explain.
Monday night Siena took on Niagara in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship on ESPN. Siena won the game on their home court, and now the No. 7 seed in the MAAC Tournament is going to the big dance.
Most likely, Siena will receive a No. 16 seed in the tournament, taking on one of the four No. 1 seeds. They will face one of the four best teams in the country and are likely to get thrashed in front of a regional television audience on CBS. No 16-seed has ever beaten a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
But therein lies the beauty of college basketball. The simple fact that Siena has the chance to take on the nation's best to see how they measure up - or just how much better that No. 1 seed really is - makes college hoops more appealing than college football.
There are over 300 teams in Division I-A college basketball. At the start of the season every one of them theoretically has the opportunity to win a national championship.
While the chances of UB winning the national title are more remote than Dennis Black becoming an honorary member of Alpha Sigma Phi (for those unfamiliar with recent events, I'd say that's not very likely), the fact that it could happen makes college basketball more enjoyable. The Bulls would have to win the MAC Championship, and then they would have to win six games against the country's best to grab the national crown. It's not something I would bet on, but to have that opportunity, to know what you have to do, that's what makes college basketball great.
The UB football team could go 12-0 next year, win the MAC title, and in all likelihood never have the opportunity to compete against the best team the nation has to offer. The MAC is not a participating member in the Bowl Championship Series, and the Bulls would likely go on to the Motor City Bowl to face yet another overrated Conference USA opponent.
In college football there are over 100 teams, but not all have the chance to win a national championship when the season starts. Instead, only the teams in the "major" conferences could conceivably have a path to the title game.
When mid-major conference teams begin the season, they all know that the best they can do is a conference title, and a win in some bowl game that most of the nation will forget about in a couple of days anyway. The simple fact of knowing one's fate before the games are played is what makes college football inferior to their hoops counterparts.
What if a conference championship in football meant a chance in a playoff for the national title? Its almost certain that the MAC team would get lit up by the Miami Hurricanes, but to have the chance to try, to "leave it on the field," that's what sports are all about. That's why they play the game, and it's why people watch.
There is no easy way to develop a playoff system in college football. But not having a level playoff field at the start makes college football just as unfair as the men's Olympic hockey tournament. Who's to say that the "big six" are all better than Slovakia and should automatically advance to the championship round? Finland certainly did not look very good.
I meet many people who find college basketball to be more entertaining than the NBA, but few admit the same preference for college football over the NFL. Certainly, the college basketball format, and the slanted playing field of college football have something to do with this trend.
I don't have an answer to the problem. Unfortunately, I can only point out the problem and hope for a solution. But until the NCAA comes up with something, college football will always take a back seat to hoops.
