2025 College Football Thread

[kungfoodude]

1 hour ago, UnluckyforSome said:

Not convinced that it will reach that collapse point, and that is entirely on the fans and consumers of the product.

I think there is something real and tangible to the dissatisfaction from fans about how college football operates in particular with this new age of NIL and transfer portal. 

"There's no loyalty or identity to a school anymore."

"Paid employees."

"Mercenaries and that's all."

Conferences are all done, except for the name. The geography has been obliterated. Historic rivalries are gone and a good chunk of the character of college football has gone with it. Eventually, I see it becoming a set-up akin to how Premiere League Soccer operates, with teams being segregated out. We are very much on that path already.

For years and years, it was operated as a free farm league for the NFL. The only thing that has really changed is it is no longer free. Times change, but it does go against the ethos of what college sports are perceived to be about by the public.

Despite that, consumption remains high. 

The demographics are not favorable. The high consumption is largely a very aging consumer base. Numbers in the sub-30 range are not promising and will lead to that eventual collapse. 

Couple that with increasingly higher costs to watch those products and the future is very bleak.

[HPPantherzfan]

3 hours ago, LinvilleGorge said:

The truth we all knew has been laid bare. Cam completely carried that moron.

Shula out at SC

[UnluckyforSome]

2 hours ago, kungfoodude said:

The demographics are not favorable. The high consumption is largely a very aging consumer base. Numbers in the sub-30 range are not promising and will lead to that eventual collapse. 

Couple that with increasingly higher costs to watch those products and the future is very bleak.

A bit of clarification, because I don't think these viewpoints are necessarily off. I think the appetite and demand remains steady, no matter as the quality and competitiveness declines.

I don't think there will ever be a collapse as in a nosedive of ratings and attendance and relevance. It is too ingrained in American culture.

Either way, the toothpaste is out of the tube.

[kungfoodude]

2 minutes ago, UnluckyforSome said:

A bit of clarification, because I don't think these viewpoints are necessarily off. I think the appetite and demand remains steady, no matter as the quality and competitiveness declines.

I don't think there will ever be a collapse as in a nosedive of ratings and attendance and relevance. It is too ingrained in American culture.

Either way, the toothpaste is out of the tube.

The polling on sub-30's paints a very different picture. Sports are not the draw that they were overall with the youngest two generations.

Too much competition.

[UnluckyforSome]

3 minutes ago, kungfoodude said:

The polling on sub-30's paints a very different picture. Sports are not the draw that they were overall with the youngest two generations.

Too much competition.

That's has shown to not be very reliable, as I know you and I have both heard for years and years now how soccer will 1 day take over sports in the US, because all the kids play soccer.

The appeal to college football specifically is in pride for your school specifically, and region second. Both of those factors are going to resonate with a more mature audience.

[kungfoodude]

10 minutes ago, UnluckyforSome said:

That's has shown to not be very reliable, as I know you and I have both heard for years and years now how soccer will 1 day take over sports in the US, because all the kids play soccer.

The appeal to college football specifically is in pride for your school specifically, and region second. Both of those factors are going to resonate with a more mature audience.

I also know a lot of that sub-30 crowd, anecdotally that appears to be the case, as well.

[45catfan]

6 hours ago, HPPantherzfan said:

Mike Shula has destroyed Sellers.  Sound familiar?

Not sure if this has been posted yet, but the Gamecocks fired Shula.