We commented on this years ago when it was first announced that the College Football Playoff would expand from its then-model of four teams to an awkward 12 teams. Not only would this include silly byes, but the natural number exuding common sense was 16 teams. We can see already, before mid-October in the first regular season of the 12-team playoff era, that the CFP itself made yet another mistake. Surprise.

It’s all about control for these CFP buffoons, and it always has been: control who makes it to the endgame, based on TV ratings, advertising revenue, and general financial profits. And 12 teams won’t be enough to meet NCAA self-declared mission statements: deliver excellent and inclusive championships; enable quality access and viewing for all who want it; and set a culture of cost discipline. Who are we kidding here?

The CFP has never been inclusive … never. Yes, we know the CFP is not sanctioned by the NCAA, as the official college football champion of record for Division I competition is the Football Championship Subdivision victor—not the winner of the contrived BCS/CFP garbage. Thank goodness for that technicality, right? Ahem. The NCAA doesn’t even have the balls anymore to stop cheating, obviously.

March Madness is inclusive, and while no one is advocating for a 68-team football tournament, the CFP could have found a number closer to the definition of “inclusive” than just 12 teams. Again, 16 teams should have been the next logical starting point, as all of the NCAA lower-division football tournaments include more: 24 teams (FCS), 28 teams (Division II), and 32 teams (Division III). This begs some obvious questions.

As far as enabling quality access and viewing for all who want it? Well … we know the time is coming when few, if any, NCAA football games will be on broadcast television. It’s all about the money; we know that. Already, there are some games no one can watch without paying a premium subscription price, and it’s just going to get worse and worse, until most consumers just say, “Fuck it!”—and find something better to do.

The culture of cost discipline is already blown, and we don’t need to recap why here. The sport is devolving into the haves and have nots, and the destruction of the most successful NCAA sports conference ever based on football fandom alone is proof of this. That surely violates “inclusivity” for the NCAA, doesn’t it? We know that football is king in America and will remain so until it dies, but this got ridiculous … fast.

There’s just no bright future in sight for the sport, and we still think it will implode by 2030. Check back then.