Jeffrey Bytomski

These are my top 5 reasons why college football attendance is dwindling: 1. The death of regional games and rivalries. Too many schools are now in conferences that make no geographic sense. Having gone to Arizona State, seeing annual games with the LA, Bay Area, Oregon & Washington schools replaced w/ conference games against schools from Kansas, Texas, Florida, Ohio and West Virginia doesn't resonate. This is being felt everywhere. 2. Conference imbalance. We now have a world where the Big Ten and SEC are inherently favored for earning CFP bids and higher rankings before each season begins. The ACC and Big 12 are Tier 2 leagues, and the G6 schools are essentially in a separate class. This has produced an uneven, biased landscape that is entirely unfair. 3. Noise pollution. I go to college football games to tailgate, watch football and listen to marching bands - not for blaring music and sound effects, hyperventilating PA announcers, and flashing light shows. The environment has been degraded. 4. Expanded College Football Playoff. We've entered an era where if your school isn't contending for a CFP bid, it's playing out the string. 5. The transfer portal. Annual free agency has many schools turning over rosters by more than 50-75%. The connections between players and fans has greatly eroded. Most fans can't name 10 guys on their teams any more. That's not ideal. The sport needs more stability, the return of regional conferences, better game day atmospheres, and a more level playing field.