You can add Missouri’s Eli Drinkwitz to the growing list of coaches around college football that are questioning the future of the sport, and how we arrived at this point.
An ever-changing landscape that has seen college athletics shift towards a more pay-for-play system as if that wasn’t the case before NIL arrived on the scene has led to a number of changes within the sport of football.
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Whether that be the amount of players who are now chasing playing time and the biggest paycheck through the transfer portal or the expansion of a college football playoff that is only three years into its current form of 12 teams, it’s clear that conferences across the country are doing their best to hold on for dear life during these times of economic questions.
Sure, nobody is crying for these head coaches that are bringing home multi-million-dollar checks on a yearly basis, with buyouts that have become even more outrageous over the years.
But, no matter what you think of the economics encompassing a head coach, it doesn’t mean they are wrong when voicing their opinions on the current state of college athletics.
Was it in the best interest to eliminate Big Ten, SEC, ACC, Big 12 title games?
One of those current conversations incapsulating the sport of football centers around the elimination of the conference championship games, thanks to the CFP expanding to 24 teams.
“Why are we associated with conferences anymore if we’re not playing for a conference championship?” Drinkwitz asked. “I mean, if the point now is just to be playing into the seat of 24, are we just doing it for scheduling affiliation? And if we’re just doing it for scheduling affiliation, are we, is there a reason to be flying all the way across the country to play games from a national perspective?
“I think that’s where this conversation is going to end up leading to.”
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Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz is seen before an NCAA college football game against Florida on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026, in Columbia, Missouri. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
He’s not wrong, though there is much more to being in a conference than just a championship game, and I would say Drinkwitz would admit that.
But, this goes back to the inception of NIL, when it sent us down a path of no return. When players rightfully started being paid, the NCAA had no rules around how to navigate the new era, and neither did the conferences.
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That’s just a byproduct though of the current situation that is causing athletic directors to lose sleep at night around financing each sport on their campus.
“The decisions we’e made in college football over the last six years, and we’ve made them to where we are at now. I think when you look back, we’ve devalued some of the things that made college football so special. Bowl games are no longer valuable,” Drinkwitz noted. “Building a program and having a season to build for the next season, where your fans could be excited about these guys playing, ‘OK, man, next year this got a chance.’ There’s none of that because you don’t know who’s going to be back. Every team’s starting over each year.
“There’s no real regional rivalries anymore because there’s no more regional conferences outside of ours, which is the best conference in college football.”
Head coach Eli Drinkwitz of the Missouri Tigers talks with offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner of the Florida Gators before a game at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium in Columbia, Mo., on Oct. 3, 2026. (Getty Images)
Did the College Football Playoff committee think of the fans?
The short answer to that question is no, the CFP did not take the input of the college football fans into their decision to move forward with a 24-team postseason.
And, that’s the problem.
Sure, fans are going to tune into these additional games that are played at regular season’s end, but that doesn’t mean the product is worth watching. For the diehards, if you put a college football game on television, there will be viewers.
Austin Simmons, No. 13 of the Missouri Tigers, throws a pass during the first half against the Texas Longhorns at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium on Nov. 7, 2026, in Columbia, Mo. (Getty Images)
Look at the excitement that comes with Tuesday and Wednesday night MAC-tion that provides us with competition during the week.
“We’ve made a lot of decisions and we’ve asked a lot of people their opinions,” Drinkwitz lamented. “But have we cared about the fans?
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“I don’t know the answer to that question. Do I think the conference championship games were a good thing? Yes, I do, I think they were great. Do I think they’re no longer important? Yea, I agree with the assessment that there really is no reason to play them.”
We have a lot of problems to deal with in college athletics, and the near future is going to tell is a lot about how leaders are going to handle it.