Secondary Playoff System

System Overview

I would like to introduce my secondary playoff solution. The main secondary solution is going to be the College Playoff Crown. The College Playoff Crown would be split into two 16-team playoff fields. The first 16-team playoff field would be the National College Playoff (NCP). The second 16-team field would be the American College Playoff (ACP). Unlike the main 32-team FBS playoff where teams can only play in a bowl game if they advance to the second round, teams that make it to the College Playoff Crown would still play in a bowl game even if they lose in the first round.

Top 14 College Playoff Crown Bowl Games

The top 14 remaining bowl games in terms of payout and history would host the NCP and ACP Championship Games as well as the NCP and ACP semifinals and quarterfinals. Two bowl games would become permanent hosts of the NCP Championship and ACP Championship respectively, while 12 more bowl games would rotate as an NCP or ACP semifinal host respectively.

College Playoff Crown Consolation Bowl Games

The next eight bowl games in terms of payout and history would become consolation bowl games for NCP and ACP playoff participants. These eight bowl games would take teams eliminated in the first round of the NCP or ACP. Each consolation bowl game would pit an ACP team against an NCP team.

National College Playoff Bowls

The seven bowl games that would be hosting for the National College Playoff would be the following:

• Gator Bowl: Annual Hosts for the National College Playoff Championship Game
• Pop-Tarts Bowl: One of the six Rotational Hosts for the National College Playoff Semifinals and Quarterfinals
• Duke's Mayo Bowl: One of the six Rotational Hosts for the National College Playoff Semifinals and Quarterfinals
• Liberty Bowl: One of the six Rotational Hosts for the National College Playoff Semifinals and Quarterfinals
• Pinstripe Bowl: One of the six Rotational Hosts for the National College Playoff Semifinals and Quarterfinals
• Fenway Bowl: One of the six Rotational Hosts for the National College Playoff Semifinals and Quarterfinals
• Military Bowl: One of the six Rotational Hosts for the National College Playoff Semifinals and Quarterfinals

Gator Bowl

The Jacksonville-based bowl game is the sixth oldest active bowl game. It was the first nationally televised bowl game. The Gator Bowl had a bad start, but has become a consistently attended bowl game by the 1970s. It was famous for Woody Hayes' incident against a Clemson player as well as Bobby Bowden's final game as Florida State's head coach. It was originally contested in the Gator Bowl Stadium. However, the original Gator Bowl Stadium was demolished to create a new venue called Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. Now known as EverBank Stadium, it has hosted the Gator Bowl since 1996. It was a Tier II bowl game of the Bowl Coalition from 1992-94. The Gator Bowl would function as an annual host for the National College Playoff Championship Game.

Pop-Tarts Bowl

This Florida-based bowl game was given a tentative title as the Sunshine Football Classic. It originally was going to become an accompaniment of the Orange Bowl to showcase the new stadium in Miami, FL. However, after not seeing any success in the 1990s, it was eventually relocated to Orlando since 2001. The Florida-based bowl went through ten different sponsors. The Pop-Tarts became the latest to sponsor the bowl game since 2023. It is known for the post-celebration after the bowl game, producing giant Pop-Tarts for the winning team to enjoy as well as the trophy that functions as a toaster. The Pop-Tarts Bowl would function as one of the rotational hosts for the National College Playoff Semifinal Game and Quarterfinal Game.

Duke's Mayo Bowl

The Charlotte-based bowl game was founded by Raycom Sports (which is now part of Gray Television). It was certified by the NCAA as the Queen City Bowl, where it underwent through three different sponsors (Continental Tire, Meineke Car Care, and Belk) before being sponsored by Duke's Mayo. As part of the sponsor of the Queen City Bowl, the winning team's coach is doused by a giant jar of Mayonnaise. It has always been contested in Bank of America Stadium (originally sponsored as Ericsson Stadium prior) since 2002. Duke's Mayo Bowl would function as one of the rotational hosts for the National College Playoff Semifinal Game and Quarterfinal Game.

Liberty Bowl

This Memphis-based bowl game is the eighth oldest active bowl game. In the first five iterations, it was originally contested in Philadelphia and was the only cold-weather bowl game during its time. However, it was plagued by poor attendance. The Liberty Bowl was then played in Atlantic City, NJ in 1964, and eventually found its permanent home in Memphis, TN in 1965. The Liberty Bowl's home site, Memphis Memorial Stadium, was renamed as the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium since December 1975 to honor the Liberty Bowl. The Liberty Bowl has featured at least one power conference team nearly every year since its inception and featured a top-ten matchup in the 2004 edition. The Liberty Bowl would function as one of the rotational hosts for the National College Playoff Semifinal Game and Quarterfinal Game.

Pinstripe Bowl

The New York-based bowl game was founded in 2009 by then-Yankees' minority owner Hal Steinbrenner, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former Big East Commissioner John Marinatto and former Big 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe. New York had a history of hosting the Gotham Bowl from 1961-62, but folded due to financial losses while hosting the bowl game. In 2010, postseason college football returned in New York as the Pinstripe Bowl. This bowl had featured power conference teams from the Big East and Big 12 in the first four iterations. It has since featured teams from the ACC and Big Ten. The Big Ten has gone 10-1 vs the ACC in the Pinstripe Bowl since 2014. The Pinstripe Bowl would function as one of the rotational hosts for the National College Playoff Semifinal Game and Quarterfinal Game.

Fenway Bowl

This Boston-based bowl game is one of the youngest active bowl game. Fenway Park has history of hosting American football games as far back as 1912. It was originally scheduled to start in 2020. However, it was postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic concerns. The Montgomery Bowl was used as a temporary game, so bowl game can debut in 2021. However, the 2021 contest was also cancelled due to COVID issues within the Virginia Team, which was set to face SMU. It was finally contested in 2022. The Fenway Bowl has featured at least one power conference team nearly every year since its inception and featured a ranked team in the 2023 edition. The Fenway Bowl would function as one of the rotational hosts for the National College Playoff Semifinal Game and Quarterfinal Game.

Military Bowl

The Annapolis-based bowl game was founded in 2008. The idea of a bowl game in Washington originated with the Washington DC Bowl Committee. It was approved by the NCAA for the 2008-09 bowl season. The first four iterations were kicked off at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington D.C. Since 2013, it has kicked off in Annapolis, MD at the Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, home of the Navy Midshipmen football team. This bowl had featured power conference teams from the ACC nearly every year. It has gone through four different sponsorships before being currently sponsored by GoBowling.com. The Military Bowl would function as one of the rotational hosts for the National College Playoff Semifinal Game and Quarterfinal Game.

American College Playoff Bowls

The seven bowl games that would be hosting for the American College Playoff would be the following:

• Sun Bowl: Annual Hosts for the American College Playoff Championship Game
• Music City Bowl: One of the six Rotational Hosts for the American College Playoff Semifinals and Quarterfinals
• Texas Bowl: One of the six Rotational Hosts for the American College Playoff Semifinals and Quarterfinals
• Las Vegas Bowl: One of the six Rotational Hosts for the American College Playoff Semifinals and Quarterfinals
• Rate Bowl: One of the six Rotational Hosts for the American College Playoff Semifinals and Quarterfinals
• Independence Bowl: One of the six Rotational Hosts for the American College Playoff Semifinals and Quarterfinals
• Birmingham Bowl: One of the six Rotational Hosts for the American College Playoff Semifinals and Quarterfinals

Sun Bowl

The El Paso-based bowl game is tied as the second oldest active bowl game (along with the Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl). During the early years, it featured high school teams, Since 1936, it pitted college teams and was played around New Year's Day. Since 1958, it has been played in December. It was famous for the "Fog Bowl" in 1974, where a freak snowstorm and warm temperatures created rising steam from the field. It was a Tier II bowl game of the Bowl Coalition from 1992-94. The Sun Bowl would function as an annual host for the American College Playoff Championship Game.

Music City Bowl

The Nashville-based bowl game was first contested in 1998. It was played at Vanderbilt Stadium for its first iteration. Since 1999, Nissan Stadium (formerly known as Adelphia Coliseum) has been the host of the Music City Bowl. The Music City Bowl was known for producing upsets. It has gone through six different sponsorships before Liberty Mutual took over as the current sponsor. The Music City Bowl would function as one of the rotational hosts for the American College Playoff Semifinal Game and Quarterfinal Game.

Texas Bowl

This Houston-based bowl game replaced the defunct Houston Bowl (which ran from 2000-05). Since 2006, it had featured two power conference teams nearly every year. The NFL Network aired the first three iterations before ESPN took over the airing rights. It has gone through five different sponsorships before Kinder's took over as the current sponsor. As one of the remaining bowl games with one of the higher payouts, the Texas Bowl would function as one of the rotational hosts for the American College Playoff Semifinal Game and Quarterfinal Game.

Las Vegas Bowl

The Las Vegas-based bowl game was originated from the California Raisin Bowl. The Big West and WAC relocated their tie-ins to Las Vegas as the Las Vegas organizers were trying to find a way to boost hotel revenue during the Christmas season. It was home for the first contested overtime game. The Las Vegas Bowl was upgraded as a pure power conference bowl game since 2021. It has gone through nine different sponsorships before SRS Distribution took over as the current sponsor of the Las Vegas Bowl. The Las Vegas Bowl would function as one of the rotational hosts for the American College Playoff Semifinal Game and Quarterfinal Game.

Birmingham Bowl

Birmingham, AL has a history of hosting a bowl game. It hosted three different bowl games. It hosted the Dixie Bowl from 1947-48, Hall of Fame Bowl from 1977-84 (before it relocated to Tampa, FL and became the OutBack Bowl), and the All-American Bowl from 1985-90. Birmingham played host to a number of successful teams from power conferences. Since the Birmingham Bowl's inaugural edition in 2006, it had featured at least one power conference teams every year. It has been televised by ESPN (except for the first two editions, which were televised by ESPN2). It has gone through five different sponsorships before JLab Audio took over as the current sponsor. The Birmingham Bowl would function as one of the rotational hosts for the American College Playoff Semifinal Game and Quarterfinal Game.

Independence Bowl

The Shreveport-based bowl gained its name because it was inaugurated in 1976, the United State's bicentennial. It had ties to the Southland Conference from 1976-81 (before the Southland moved down to Division I-AA). It has featured a power conference team nearly every year. The Independence Bowl currently has no ties to any conference, making it have ties to at-large teams. It has gone through eight different sponsorships before Radiance Technologies took over as the current sponsor of the Independence Bowl. The Independence Bowl would function as one of the rotational hosts for the American College Playoff Semifinal Game and Quarterfinal Game.

Rate Bowl

This Phoenix-based bowl game was originally planned to be named as the Cactus Bowl before settling with the Copper Bowl. However, it has used the Cactus Bowl as the name from 2015-17. Since 1989, it had featured at least one power conference teams every year. TBS and the NFL Network aired a few iterations, while ESPN aired most of the Phoenix-based bowl game. It has gone through seven different sponsorships before Guaranteed Rate took over as the current sponsor before shortening the name to Rate since 2024. The Rate Bowl would function as one of the rotational hosts for the American College Playoff Semifinal Game and Quarterfinal Game.

College Playoff Crown Championship Game

The winners of the American College Playoff and the National College Playoff would meet to play for the College Playoff Crown Championship. The College Playoff Crown Championship would be contested at a pre-determined neutral site.

Putting It All Together

The Quarterfinal and Semifinal rotation for the ACP and NCP would look something like this:

The Gator Bowl and the Sun Bowl are absent from the table because the Sun Bowl would be an annual host of the American College Playoff Championship Game and the Gator Bowl would be an annual host of the National College Playoff Championship Game.

CPC Consolation Bowl Games: NCP vs ACP Participants

Each consolation bowl game that is part of the College Playoff Crown will host one participant from the NCP and one participant from the ACP. The following are the bowl games that would take the first round participants of the NCP and ACP:

Looking at the Full Picture

In total, it would look like the following:

By implementing the 32-team field solution as well as the secondary playoff system, although we would have 64 teams total that would participate in any of the playoffs, we would have a selection percentage to about 56.5% because there would be 14 more teams that would participate in bowl games. After selecting those 64 teams with at least a 0.500 record, only 14 more bowl eligible teams would play in the remaining bowl games.

Further Breakdown

Here is a further breakdown if you are curious:

Selection Process

Automatic Bids to the College Playoff Crown would go to the best teams remaining from each conference based on each conference's overall conference standings. For example, let's say the following happened when teams were selected for the 32-team field:

• Certain conferences are only able to send their conference champion to the playoff field. This would mean the conference runner-ups from those conferences would earn an automatic bid to the College Playoff Crown.
• A power conference was able to send seven teams to the main FBS playoff field. This means the best remaining team of that given power conference that did not make the 32-team playoff field would get an automatic bid to the College Playoff Crown.
• A non-power conference was able to send three teams to the main FBS playoff field. This means the best remaining team of that given non-power conference that did not make the 32-team playoff field would get an automatic bid to the College Playoff Crown.

In total, each conference would get one automatic bid that would send the best remaining team not in the 32-team FBS playoff field to the College Playoff Crown. The rest of the field would be filled with 22 at-large bids.

What If a Team Declines the CPC Bid?

If a team decides to decline a bid to play for the College Playoff Crown, the bid would be awarded to the next best team. In addition, the team that decides to decline the CPC bid would end their football season and would not be eligible to play in a bowl game. These are the following scenarios that can happen:

• If a team earning an automatic bid to the College Playoff Crown declines, that automatic bid will be converted to an at-large bid.
• If a team earning an at-large bid to the College Playoff Crown declines, the at-large bid will go to the next best team.

While the 32-team College Playoff Crown has a tentative bid composition of 10 automatic bids and 22 at-large bids, each declined automatic bid would be converted to an at-large bid. For example, if two teams that earn automatic bids decide to decline to participate the College Playoff Crown, then the two automatic bids would be converted as two at-large bids. This would mean the College Playoff Crown would have 8 accepted automatic bids as well as 24 at-large bids. If all ten automatic bids are declined, those ten automatic bids would be given to the next best teams and the College Playoff Crown would have 32 at-large bids instead.

Playoff Structure

The College Playoff Crown would have the top 16 teams not making it into the 32-team playoff field seeded, while the remaining 16 teams that were selected being unseeded. The seeding would work as follows:

• The first two teams out of the 32-team FBS playoffs would be the #1 seeds in the National College Playoff and American College Playoff respectively.
• The second two teams out of the 32-team FBS playoffs would be the #2 seeds in the National College Playoff and American College Playoff respectively.
• The third two teams out would be the #3 seeds in the National College Playoff and American College Playoff respectively.
• The fourth two teams out would be the #4 seeds in the National College Playoff and American College Playoff respectively.
• The fifth two teams out would be the #5 seeds in the National College Playoff and American College Playoff respectively.
• The sixth two teams out would be the #6 seeds in the National College Playoff and American College Playoff respectively.
• The seventh two teams out would be the #7 seeds in the National College Playoff and American College Playoff respectively.
• The eighth two teams out would be the #8 seeds in the National College Playoff and American College Playoff respectively.
• The 16 teams that were selected into the College Playoff Crown, but not among the first 16 teams out of the 32-team playoff field would be unseeded.

Site Selection

In addition, here is how the College Playoff Crown would work in terms of site selection.

• The first team out of the 32-team FBS playoff field would get to decide which playoff that they want to be in. They can either be the #1 seed in the National College Playoff or the #1 seed in the American College Playoff.
• The second team out of the 32-team FBS playoff field would be the #1 seed in the playoff that the first team out does not select. For example, if the first team of the playoff field elects to be the #1 seed in the National College Playoff, then the second team out of the playoff field would be the #1 seed in the American College Playoff.

Here is how the rest of the College Playoff Crown Field would align. For example, let's say the first team out of the FBS playoff decides to be the #1 seed in the National College Playoff. This means the second team out of the FBS playoff would be the #1 seed in the American College Playoff. Here is how the rest of the seeding would go:

The CPC first round would go as follows:

• Four First Round Games on Thursday Night
• Four First Round Games on Friday Night
• Eight First Round Games on Saturday

The CPC Second Round would go as follows:

• One Second Round Game on Wednesday Night
• Two Second Round Games on Thursday Night
• Two Second Round Games on Friday Night
• Three Second Round Games on Saturday

CPC First Round and CPC Second Round (ACP and NCP Quarterfinal) Kickoff Dates and Times

The first-round and ACP and NCP kickoff dates of the Secondary Playoff System would look like the following:

CPC First Round and CPC Second Round (ACP and NCP Quarterfinal) Kickoff Times

The kickoff times for the CPC first-round and ACP and NCP quarterfinal games would then be the following:

CPC Quarterfinals: NCP and ACP Semifinal Kickoff Dates and Times

The kickoff dates and times for the NCP and ACP semifinal games would then be the following:

Saturday CPC Quarterfinal Kickoff FBS Playoff and NFL Dependency

As mentioned in the FBS Playoff Kickoff Dates and Times, the NFL has a no Saturday games policy from the Saturday after Labor Day to the second Saturday of December. Because the NFL would have the incentive to air those Saturday games beginning the third weekend of December as well as the FBS playoff avoiding competition conflicts with the NFL, two of the four kickoff times would happen on Thursday, while two more would either be a Saturday afternoon doubleheader or a late-afternoon and night doubleheader. For either scenario, the kickoff time would be the following:

For teams playing on one of the four Thursday Night games in the first round, the advancing teams’ next game would happen on Wednesday Night or Thursday Night the next week. For the following examples:

• If the 7 seed of the National College Playoff plays an unseeded team on Thursday Night, then the 2 seed and their unseeded pair of the National College Playoff would also play on that Thursday Night.
• The winners of those games would potentially play on Wednesday Night the next week.
• If the 6 seed of the National College Playoff plays an unseeded team on Thursday Night, then the 3 seed and their unseeded pair of the National College Playoff would also play on that Thursday Night.
• The winners of those games would play on Thursday Night the next week.
• In addition, the winner of the subsequent Wednesday and Thursday second round game of the National College Playoff would play on Thursday the next week.

For teams playing on one of the four Friday Night games in the first round, the advancing teams’ next game would happen on Thursday Night or Friday Night the next week. For the following examples:

• If the 6 seed of the American College Playoff plays an unseeded team on Friday Night, then the 3 seed and their unseeded pair of the American College Playoff would also play on that Friday Night.
• The winners of those games would potentially play on Thursday Night the next week.
• If the 7 seed of the American College Playoff plays an unseeded team on Thursday Night, then the 2 seed and their unseeded pair of the American College Playoff would also play on that Friday Night.
• The winners of those games would play on Friday Night the next week.
• The winners of the subsequent Thursday and Friday second round game of the American College Playoff would play on Thursday Night the next week.

For the rest of the teams playing on Saturday, their earliest game they would play for the winning teams is Friday Night the next week. For the following examples:

• If the 8 seed of the National College Playoff plays an unseeded team on Saturday, then the 1 seed and their unseeded pair of the National College Playoff would also play on Saturday.
• The winners of those games could potentially play on Friday Night the next week.
• The winners of the subsequent Friday and Saturday second round game of the American College Playoff and National College Playoff would play on Saturday the next week.

CPC Semifinals: ACP and NCP Championship Game and College Playoff Crown Championship NFL Dependency 1

If the NFL does eventually expand to an 18-game schedule and is flexible enough to move their two Saturday regular-season finale games to afternoon only, the kickoff for the final two rounds would look like the following:

CPC Semifinals: ACP and NCP Championship Game and College Playoff Crown Championship NFL Dependency 2

If the NFL does eventually expand to an 18-game schedule or remains at a 17-game schedule and continues their status quo, the kickoff for the final two rounds would look like the following:

Payout Per Team

Since the FBS Playoffs would enforce consolation bowl games for eliminated second round playoff participants, teams would receive the following payout for their success in the CPC:

Total Distribution Per Round

The total amount distributed each round (without non-Notre Dame FBS Independents) demonstrates the massive revenue potential of the College Playoff Crown:

Combining Together with the 32-Team Playoff

If we combine the revenue models for the 32-Team FBS Playoff and the 32-Team CPC, the totals would be the following:

College Basketball's Three-Tournament Model

Men's basketball operates a successful multi-tiered postseason:

• NCAA Tournament: 68 teams - the premier championship
• NIT (National Invitation Tournament): 32 teams - historic secondary tournament
• CBC (College Basketball Crown): 8 teams - competing as secondary tournament

These three tournaments combined provide postseason opportunities for 108 of 362 Division I programs (29.6%). Notably, the NIT and CBC does invite teams with losing records to fill their fields, which means teams with winning records are sometimes excluded while teams with losing records participate. Despite this, the multi-tiered system is widely considered successful—it provides meaningful championships at different levels without diluting the prestige of the NCAA Tournament.

Women's Volleyball Two-Tournament Model

Women's volleyball also operates a successful multi-tiered postseason:

• NCAA Tournament: 64 teams - the premier championship
• NIVC (National Invitational Volleyball Championship): 32 teams - secondary tournament

These two tournaments combined provide postseason opportunities for 96 of 348 Division I programs (27.6%). However, the NIVC is currently on pause since November 2025.

FBS Football Context

The proposed system mirrors basketball's proven model but with stricter standards:

• FBS Playoffs (College Football Playoff): 32 teams - premier championship
• CPC (College Playoff Crown): 32 teams - secondary playoff
• Traditional Bowl Games: 14 teams - standalone postseason

This provides postseason opportunities for 78 of 138 FBS teams (56.5%), which is significantly more generous than basketball's 29.6%. Critically, all three playoff tiers require at least a .500 record (6-6 or better), maintaining higher standards than basketball's secondary tournaments which accept teams with losing records. Having 2-3 bowl-eligible teams miss postseason play is not a flaw. It's a natural consequence of field size limitations that exists across all NCAA sports, and the proposed system maintains more rigorous eligibility standards than basketball's widely-accepted model.

Teams Declining Bids

The biggest downside to implementing a Secondary Playoff System is the potential of teams declining bids to participate. If a team misses a said playoff, they could see the Secondary Playoff System as meaningless. We’ve seen this happen in college basketball where teams declined bids to the NIT and College Basketball Crown. The teams that decline didn’t see any incentive for them to participate. In addition, those teams want to plan ahead of the transfer portal. College football's transfer portal currently starts on January 2nd and goes until January 16th. In addition, the five-day window comes into play if a team’s final postseason game happens on or after January 12. Ideally, the transfer portal would happen after the FBS National Championship Game.

Potential Lack of Interest

Another big downside is the investments and potential lack of interest. There needs to be enough interest from sponsors, TV Networks, teams, conferences, and more to administer a Secondary Playoff System. We’ve seen the National Invitational Softball Championship not do well due to the lack of interest from teams. However, we have also seen how the NCAA and Triple Crown Sports have done well with operating secondary tournaments in basketball and volleyball. As long as there is a lot of interest, running two secondary tournaments wouldn’t be a problem.

Finding a Caring Organization

Another downside to consider is the organization that would be willing to sponsor the secondary playoff system. The Men's NIT has survived for a long time because the NCAA is currently sponsoring the NIT. They have been the sponsors since 2005 after ending litigation with the Metropolitan Intercollegiate Basketball Association (MIBA). The NCAA also recently began to sponsor a secondary tournament for women's basketball since 2024. The NCP and ACP's viability depends heavily on who administers them. If the College Football Playoff organization is also willing to administer a secondary playoff alongside the main College Football Playoff, this would give the NCP and ACP the institutional backing and credibility of the NCAA keeping the NIT alive. If they are sponsored by independent or corporate-sponsored administration, they risk the same fate as the College Basketball Invitational or Women's Basketball Invitational, which canceled its 2026 tournament citing "circumstances beyond our control," as well as the National Softball Invitational Championship, which lacked the backing of teams that want to participate, the National Invitational Volleyball Championship, which had to pause operations in November 2025 and is at risk of being folded, and the College Insider Tournament, which sadly folded in 2025.

Great Organization and NIL

For the secondary playoff system to be successful, it's a combination of which organization is willing to sponsor the system as well as the financial incentives that ties directly to player Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL). The College Basketball Crown (CBC) is the best example of how it can be successful. When it first introduced an inaugural 16-team field in 2025, it essentially proved the NIL model works for attracting the best teams left out of the NCAA Tournament field. The NIL prize money helps differentiate themselves as a premier tournament for teams that did not make it to the NCAA tournament. Although they have downsized the field to an 8-team tournament, they made a strategic pivot to only go for elite matchups in the tournament.

No Entry Fees

In addition, there should be no entry fee for teams to participate. The College Basketball Invitational (CBI) and the collegeinsider.com Tournament (CIT) required an entry fee for teams to participate. The CBI required a $27,500 entry fee to participate, while the collegeinsider.com Tournament required around a $40,000 entry fee to participate. Eliminating the entry fee for teams to participate would be the step in the right direction to provide incentive for teams to participate in the secondary playoff system.

The Foundation Is Laid Out

The financial incentives that are laid out for the College Playoff Crown provides the potential for NIL to get involved as well. With teams earning more money as they advance into the secondary playoff field, they would be able to provide reasons for teams left out of the FBS playoff field to participate. However, the organization that is willing to sponsor the system combined with the NIL financial incentives would allow the College Playoff Crown to thrive. Not having both would likely result in the lack of incentives for teams to participate. Combining NIL incentives with the right organization that has the care and will to sponsor them would allow the College Playoff Crown to become a premier secondary playoff field for teams that were not selected to play in the FBS playoffs.