Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Exploring the latest headlines and in depth conversations. It's the
Richmond Weavers Show on one oh four nine Fox Sports
up State, presented by Ingles Low Prices, Love the Savings
Now for riches take on sports. Here's Richmond Weaver ready
to roll this Thursday.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
As we are here in Charlotte continuing our coverage at
the twenty twenty five ACC Football Kickoff Media Days. And
let's just jump right into it. Let's talk some college football.
Mister Roddy Jones ESPN and also serious XM and former
Georgia Tech running back. And the problem is, Roddy, I
still have these visions as a Clemson grad watching you
(00:44):
run all over the Tiger.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
It was a good memory. It's a long time ago. Now.
Speaker 4 (00:50):
First off, I got to commemend your big voice guy.
Your big voice Guy's good. Oh it's very good. Well,
thank you for show. Yes, that's but yeah, it was,
it was, It was. It was a fun time. I
always sort of joke with Dabo, although he doesn't take
it as much of a joke as I do. I
played in his first ever game as interim. Yes, it
was against Jeordia taking too that's right, And we had
a great record against Clemson. We caught him before it
(01:12):
got rolling and eleven he had it rolling a little bit,
but that was before it was really entrenched and established.
But the joke is that I look, coach, I saw
it from day one as you did Game one, no doubt,
I've seen where it was and where it got to.
And uh so it's just incredibly impressed with the job
that he's done.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
Okay, So speaking of that, then you have seen it
from that very beginning, what have you what's your thoughts
on how a program can change? And it was changed
based on Dabo Swingy and what he's been able to do.
So there's almost can we say there's hope for other programs.
Speaker 4 (01:47):
It can be done also one thousand percent. And I
think you've seen it at a number of places. You
look at at the impact that Dabo and Nick Saban
had at their institutions. And I'm not talking about just
from it on the field standpoint. I'm actually talking more
off the field. Because the success of Alabama football led
to increased applications, the success of Clemson football leads to
(02:09):
increased applications. I remember talking to Dan Radakovic when he
can't remember when it was that that that Dabble got
the massive extension or the massive rays. But in his
presentation to the board of trustees, they tracked Clemson wins
and number of applications, Clemson viewership and number of applications.
And when the winds started going up, the applications to
(02:31):
the school started going up, and the out of state
applications start going up.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
And you know, for.
Speaker 4 (02:35):
Those of us who live out of state of places,
you know that you're out of state institution is a
little bit more. Does it cost the school anymore to educate,
but it costs the person more.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
So that's a totally different topic too that we were
talking about.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
We'll get there one day.
Speaker 4 (02:49):
But but but then then the subsequent impact on housing
prices in Clemson and Tuscaloosa. You've seen it in Boulder
with with Deon Sanders and the increased interest there. I
think North Carolina stry to capture that as well. But
what has to happen first is an investment. Dan Radikovic
invested in and before him, terry On Phillips invested in
(03:12):
Clemson athletics and football, and that investment has then paid
back dividends. There was a return on that investment that
was tremendous. So I think, I think when you look
at at what has happened at Clemson, it is sort
of the model for how a relatively small school in
a relatively small state can take its place in college
(03:33):
football and the college football landscape and grow not only
the state or not only the school, but the city,
the city that it's in as well, because that city
is unrecognizable from what it was fifteen years ago.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
Absolutely ridiculous. I'm a Clemson grad in nineteen ninety three,
so it's a seismic shift based on everything that has happened.
Rodney Jones is our guest here on this Thursday edition
of The Richmond Weaver Show, presented by Ingles Markets. Obviously
you can catch him on ESPN as a college football
analyst and also serious exim All right, but I still
have to go back to your playing days though, because
(04:07):
I'd love seeing the picture of you here at ACC.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
Media back in the day.
Speaker 4 (04:12):
Yeah, my old sid, Dean Bucking, who is the sid
he worked Awake Forest and then at Georgia Tech for
for I think like a decade, tweeted out a picture
of me at ACC media days. I think that would
have been twenty eleven. I came twice in twenty ten
and twenty eleven, and my I quote tweeted it and
tweeted it out and the caption that I did that
(04:32):
I that I had with it was this was what
athletes came dressed like pre NIL. This was back in
the days of how many they would count, how many
snacks we got in a day, Like you remember the
the what was the shabbazn aper talk about, Oh, I
go to bed Hungary and like that's the era that
I played it when it wasn't unlimited food and nutrition
(04:54):
like you had. There were counted and so they were
buying us suits to come here. And now that changed
shortly after I got done, like they started showing up
in suits and now with NIL, like it's it's Louis
Vaton and Versachi and Gucci and name named. Honestly name
brands that I don't even know. Yeah, somebody what is
watched was was.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
I've never heard of that, but it sounds very, very expensive.
So so the dynamic has changed.
Speaker 4 (05:14):
I had on a Georgia Tech Polo and cargo short
back in twenty eleven.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
That's how it was back in the day and back
in the day two thousand and eight. I know, obviously
a memorable season for you and being able to rough
house the Georgia Bulldogs. But what about two thousand and
nine ACC Championship against Clemson. It was awesome, what a
spectacle that was, and I mean it was back and
forth and your memories of that game and even seeing
(05:39):
what CJ.
Speaker 4 (05:40):
Spiller did, Yeah, well that is my memory of the game.
To be honest with you, we're both Both games we
played against Clemson that year were phenomenal. That's right, played
him at home on Thursday night, Week two, which was
a great game, and we actually pulled out I think
we returned upon for a touchdown and pulled out a
trick play on a on a fake field goal that
(06:00):
that which subsequently that play got out what they got
banned because we had a Damarius Thomas may he rest
in peace was jogging towards the sideline with the offense
as the field goal team jogged onto the field, and
he just kind of was hanging out behind the offense
as we jogged off the field, stayed on the field.
(06:21):
There were only ten guys information he was uncovered. Throw
it to him down the sideline. Then he gets in
the end zone and we ended up winning that game,
and then in the in the championship game is great.
The only reason that we wont is because CJ had
to go into the locker room before halftime because he
had turf came into the game a turf toe. It
was phenomenal in the first half. We couldn't stop him.
Goes into the locker room, misses a series or two,
they don't score those series or two.
Speaker 3 (06:44):
I think we scored. I don't remember if we took
a leader in a halftime out. I think we did,
but yeah, I think he did.
Speaker 4 (06:48):
Jonathan Dwyer had a great game that game. Joshua Nesbitt
was phenomenal as always. But but man, there's a reason
CJ was the MVP of the game.
Speaker 3 (06:55):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
Yes, in a losing in a losing effort, it was often.
Speaker 4 (07:00):
He was phenomenal, man, and and and it's so great
for Clemson to have him back around the program.
Speaker 3 (07:04):
No question.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
Rodny Jones is our guest here we're wrapping up.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
He was a guy joy watching And I know you've.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
Got to hit to other opportunities on this radio row,
but so I have to ask you a last question. Then,
just heading into this season, what are you expecting in
the ACC, surprise teams, anything that you're pinpointing right now
as we get ready.
Speaker 4 (07:26):
I think I think, first and foremost, I think Clemson
is by far the best team in the a CEC
should be a college football playoff noise maker, semi final contender,
you know, national gym pretender, we'll see.
Speaker 3 (07:37):
But if you get to the.
Speaker 4 (07:37):
Semifinals, like you got a shot. And so I think
they should be one of the last four teams standing
based on who they have and and the way this
roster has been constructed and has been over the course
of Dabo's time or Kate clebnixt time there, how it's
grown together. And then after that, in terms of surprises,
Georgia Tech certainly could be a So you look at
that schedule and what they've got coming back.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
I can think they I think you guys could win
ten games.
Speaker 4 (08:02):
I absolutely and I think they could too. And if
they only lose to the teams that they are quote
not better than Archiper. It's Clemson in the middle of
the season or Week three, and then Georgia at the
end of the year, you're in the AEC Championship.
Speaker 3 (08:16):
Game.
Speaker 4 (08:16):
Those are the only two games you lose, and you're
in the College Ball Playoff too. That's right because my
moniker is win ten and you are in because over
the course of the history of the College Football Playoff,
if you model out the twelve teams, ten win teams
are in. So I think I think that could be
a surprise team. Curious about Florida State, very curious about
Bill Belichick at North Carolina. I think if you're looking
at at other sleepers, Duke is one with a favorable
(08:38):
schedule that could be a sleeper. Pits one that could
be based on what they did last year. I like SMU,
I like Louisville. There's a lot of excitement around the
league this year.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
I love it all Right, Manda can ask him one
last question.
Speaker 3 (08:50):
I'll be quick.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
Yes, Can I steal you win ten and you're in?
Speaker 3 (08:54):
Yeah? Absolutely? Okay.
Speaker 4 (08:57):
The thing that I go by when I hear like
when I take stuff or borrow it.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
You okay, you don't have to to borrow.
Speaker 4 (09:04):
No, you don't have to. You don't have to quote me.
But I always I don't ask. I just start to
do it, and then I attribute credit the first three times.
Then after that it's mine and then it's over. Okay,
all right, well I'm going to give you credit.
Speaker 3 (09:15):
No, you don't have to credit at all. It's all yours,
Rodney Jones. Thank you, sir.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
We greatly appreciate it as we'll continue this Thursday edition
of the Richmond Weaver Show presented by Ingles Markets. Right
after this, all right, continuing our one here the podcast
hour of the Richmond Weaver Show presented by Ingles Markets.
And great opportunity of talking with Rodney Jones right there.
Absolutely love that guy, mister Falco. He is fantastic. And
(09:40):
again I could talk to some of these guys here
on Radio Row for so much longer than the allotted time.
That's my only disappointing thing here at the twenty twenty
five ACC Football media days is that you just don't
have enough time with them.
Speaker 5 (09:52):
Right well, I mean, as we know, doing radio, everything
has a clock, so and they have rounds that they
have to make, so they do.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
That's why it's it's a little bit easier on the
podcast hour that we can go a little bit longer
if we need to, and obviously you can go shorter
as well. But a great opportunity sitting down with Roddy Jones,
and I agree with him on a lot of things.
I think, watch out for Georgia Tech that could be
a teen his alma mater. That you look at their
schedule and what Brent Key has been able to do
(10:19):
as far as bringing some excitement there in Atlanta. And
you've got Haines King, a returning veteran type of quarterback,
and we know how important it is to have a quarterback.
So there's a lot of hype that I think from
the I should say somewhat of the insiders, so to speak,
because I don't think on a national narrative or national
(10:39):
stage that Georgia Tech's getting much attention. But again, what
Roddy Jones was talking about, you win ten and you're
in I love I'm still in that line from him that, yeah,
can you imagine not being in the college football Playoff
if you win ten games? I think I think that's
pretty much a determining factor that you win ten you
(11:00):
should be in the College Football Playoff. Now that's all
relative to how many other teams win ten games throughout
the season. I do get that, but there is something
to be said about that and you know, seeing how
that kind of plays out for this season. And then
also we know North Carolina and Bill Belichick is getting
(11:21):
ready here in Charlotte and all of the hype around
Bill Belichick and everything that's going on. But I did
want to talk about Dan Lanning, head coach of the
Oregon Ducks, and you know, the Big Ten media days
are also going on right now. But he has an
(11:42):
interesting idea that I think we might embrace. Mister Falco, Okay,
all right, okay it So his thought is, as he says, quote,
play these games faster and sooner. College football belongs on Saturday,
(12:03):
not the NFL end quote. So his idea is, turn
week zero into week one, shift up the season in
the postseason earlier, and eliminate the all month long playoff byes.
So howeveryone we want to say, shift up the season
(12:24):
in the postseason earlier. I get that. But the biggest
thing that caught my attention him talking about turning week
zero into week one? How long have we been saying
that trade?
Speaker 5 (12:35):
I feel like since week zero has become a thing.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
Exactly, doesn't it make sense?
Speaker 3 (12:40):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (12:40):
I mean it is week one.
Speaker 5 (12:42):
I mean you can name it whatever you want to
I get the marketing aspect of it, obviously, like it
sounds cooler, like it looks better on a billboard or
on a spreadsheet or whatever.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
But I mean, it's week one. It's week one exactly.
So that's my point too, is that, yes, I understand
they're trying to be a little bit creative, a little
bit unique, or however you want to describe that. But
week zero is not week zero. It's week one. Right,
Let's let's just name it for what it is and
(13:12):
move on. And so I think there's something to be said.
And I love that you're having these coaches actually start
talking about some of these things. And I think so
many times what we're seeing right now is we're having
people involved in some of the decision making and some
(13:32):
of the things that are changing, and we don't have
coaches involved enough. We don't have them, you know, being
able to voice their opinion, right, Yeah, don't you think?
Speaker 3 (13:46):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (13:46):
I mean, and I get it. It's very hard if
you're wanting to look at you're not going to necessarily
have the voices of the student athlete, because one, we
don't have a union. So there's that part of it.
Because we know in other entities like the NFL, Major
League Baseball, NBA. They have Players Association, so you have
(14:07):
representatives that have been voted and elected to represent your
voice there as an entity, and obviously we don't have
that in college football. And maybe we need to be
able to utilize the strength of the knowledge from all
of these coaches because they do somewhat have a union.
(14:28):
It's not technically called a union, but you've got the
American Football Coaches Association, So you've got an entity that
already has some representation, and can't you funnel some of
the thoughts and ideas through them to get their thought,
to get their opinion and make maybe, yeah, maybe they
(14:48):
have some other ideas that we can look at to
protect the sanctity of college football, the sanctity of college sports.
You know all of that, because again I know, and
I guess i'm the way I view it also is
that I think one of the things for college athletics
and this apprehension as far as being able to move
(15:13):
more towards like a pro league, is that there's something
about college versus pro and that's just been ingrained in
our mind for so long that you this amateurism and
you know, all of that. So it's just like the
propaganda that we see on the conference side with the SEC,
it just means more and it will take us a
(15:34):
while to get out of that mindset of thinking of that.
And I think that's the same thing with college athletics.
I mean, it's going to take a while before we
truly are past that point of remembering amateurism. I mean,
we're going to remember amateurism for a long time. And
I think that's what is holding us back to a
certain degree, is that it's hard for us as human
(15:55):
beings to let things go like that.
Speaker 5 (15:57):
Right, well, especially something as long and historic as college
athletics be. Like it's it's not like, oh, well, you
know college athletics came up in the nineties and so
it's only been like thy years. No, no, dude, this
is it's been around so long that like it's ingrained.
I mean, your grandfather did college athletics, Like, yes, you're
a great grandfather.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
That's right, yes, And that's why it's it's not just
as easy. And that's why I you know, there's times
I talk about it and it might come across flippantly
that I'm saying, oh, you can do this, you can
do that. Oh, and it's just not that easy because
there are obviously logistics that go into it, but also
the complete shift in behaviors associated with how long we've
(16:38):
done things a certain way, and that's just you know,
the reality of it. But the point is is that
get some of the people that are most intimately involved.
I don't know why I didn't start there exactly.
Speaker 3 (16:50):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
We have all of these outsiders that are trying to
make these decisions, but are they the best equipped to
be able to make these decisions? And that's that's why
can't you look at a Dan Lanning and try to
understand his viewpoint And maybe he does have a good idea.
It might not be the immediate answer or the perfect answer,
(17:13):
but it's something worth exploring. And obviously you know how
I feel about week zero, So I'm all about, Yes,
I'm all about pushing Dan Lanning's proposal just because he's
addressing week zero.
Speaker 5 (17:27):
That's what I love, right well, I mean, at the
very least, I feel like we should have the conversation,
even if it's a bad idea, or even if people
don't agree with it, or maybe from a marketing standpoint,
they want to keep week zero or whatever the ideas are.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
They're floated by these head coaches.
Speaker 5 (17:43):
We should at least have like the conversation should at
least be there and be open because you never know
what you're gonna hear. But if you close it all off,
if you don't listen to him at all, then you're
not gonna hear anything. Then it doesn't right. But at
least you get the good ideas, the bad ideas and
everything in between if you listen.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
Exactly if you listen, and how many times do we
hear that in life? How important it is to listen.
And some of the best conversations, or I should say
best interviews, The best interviewers are the ones who listen
the best because they're not thinking about, Okay, what's my
(18:19):
next move, what's my next comment that I'm going to make,
and they're almost thinking in advance what to say. And
I know, from a relationship standpoint, you have to be
able to slow that process down and try to truly
listen to the person that you're in a relationship with,
whether that's being married or just friends. And when you
have some type of disagreement or you know you have
(18:42):
some type of confrontation, right, you have to be able
to listen. So it is a major point that I
think we need to get to, especially when you're looking
at some of these big changes that are going to
be coming. But he also talks about where he does
feel that college football season should end January the first,
(19:02):
and he feels that that could solve a lot of
the problems that exist, and especially when you're having these
type of long layoffs. Think about this, and it's I
didn't remember this until he's talking about it, but remember
Oregon was the number one seed and they had twenty
five days off before they played Ohio State in the
(19:26):
corner Fine in the quarterfinals. And it's what we talked
about rest versus rust. And I think there's something to
be said when you have twenty five days off. I mean,
that's way too much straight. I mean, if the NFL
can do it, why can't college do it exactly well?
Speaker 5 (19:42):
And you also, when you start stretching it out like that,
you're you're you obviously run the risk college basketball is
going on. I mean, I get that football is taking priority.
That's people are going to navigate, naturally, navigate or gravitate.
Excuse me, towards football, but you've got basketball going on,
You've got the playoffs that are going on for the NFL,
you competing with that, and at the same time, like
(20:03):
it just it's too long, Like at age, it just
it just is that's right, Yes, And that's why I'm
all about, Hey, move the season up.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
No more week zero, just go to week one. I
love what Dan Lanning's talking about there. And I love
the fact that could you end on January first, the
culmination It's New Year's Day and the excitement of just
being able to watch all college football that day and
you know you're deciding, you know, a national championship, and
you know, I think there's something to be said about that.
(20:34):
And I know college basketball come January, that's when most
conferences will start the meat of their conference schedule. You know,
some will play a game or two in December just
based on the size of their league and they have
to get X number of games in before the end
of the regular season. But to your point, the NFL,
(20:55):
it's going to take all the headlines, oh, because you're
you're getting into the NFL playoffs, and we think the
NFL regular season people are tuned into that it's a
different story when you talk about the NFL playoffs. And
this is even when your team is not in the playoffs,
(21:15):
you're still watching it. Oh, yes, exactly. I just I
like the idea you got.
Speaker 5 (21:21):
You make a really good point about January first, kind
of the culmination of everything.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
I like that a lot.
Speaker 5 (21:26):
I also, I don't know, like there's all this talk
last year. You know, oh, well, we're going to twelve teams,
but do we really have the best of the best.
Speaker 2 (21:37):
And yeah, there's a lot of that narrative.
Speaker 5 (21:39):
And I almost wonder if you do speed it up
a little bit, if you move it forward and there's
more focus on college football and people aren't having to
be distracted by a college basketball or NFL playoffs or
anything like that, maybe they can really just sit and
enjoy the playoffs for what it is.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
Yes, exactly. And maybe January first is is a little
aggressive as far as ending, because I do like the fact,
you know, could you at least have the semi finals
that day on January first, and then a week later
then that's when you crown your national champion. But the
other side to that is that don't do it on
(22:16):
a Monday. Do it yes, right, do your national championship
on a Saturday. That is college Football's day is Saturday,
it's not Monday. Leave that to the NFL. Let them
have that day because they've already claimed it, Trey, They're
not exactly give it up. And you know where I'm
(22:36):
going with this too. You could do it on Saturday.
And you don't have to start at nine o'clock at night,
though you can. You can start at seven o'clock. Seven
would be a okay, remember the super Bowl? Think what
started at six thirty? Is that when the super Bowl
takes off?
Speaker 3 (22:53):
Right?
Speaker 2 (22:53):
Yea, yeah, somewhere around in an hour.
Speaker 3 (22:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
So again, I just look at if the super Bowl
can do it. I mean, if the NFL can do it,
come on college you you can't tell me you can't
do it. And that's why I just don't understand. While
we get into some of these decisions at the end
of the day, though, we do know there's something involved,
and that's called money, and that can dictate a lot
(23:19):
of things. And it's that race to see how many
dollars you can get. But I just think there's an
opportunity for viewership could actually increase by reducing some of
the downtime and the big layoffs, and again what Dan
Lanning talked about his twenty five day layoff between the
end of the season, they're winning a Big Ten championship
(23:42):
and until he played Ohio State in the quarterfinals. There
the other four teams, the other three teams that I
should say that also had to buy, they all lost.
So four teams that had to buy. We're zero and four.
And I know it's a very small sample size. I
get that. And you know, we can debate back and
forth at rest versus rust, right, but you can't tell
(24:04):
me there's not something. I mean, there's some data that
is at least showing. Can't we say a trend? I
think that's fair.
Speaker 5 (24:12):
I also like a lot of times, I feel like
when we talk about rest versus rust, you're talking about
I don't know, a week, a week and a half maybe, yes,
exactly twenty five days. I think it's justifiable to look
at it and be like, maybe they were shaking some
rust off that. I mean, that's all that's almost a
month of not of no football. I mean, I'm sure
they're practicing, but there's no game.
Speaker 2 (24:33):
There's no game, and just think about I mean, you're
talking about that twenty five days that's almost equivalent to
the beginning of the season when you report to fall camp.
Oh yeah, and your first game. R I mean that
it's absolutely absurd. And yeah, obviously it's a little bit
different at the beginning of August when you're getting things
going because everybody's all amped up, you're ready to go.
(24:55):
You know, you've had summer and you want to get
practice going. I get all of that, and at the
end of the season there is definitely somewhat of a
recovery period, and I think that's where the rest versus
rust is really dangerous at the end of the season,
because you're already so banged up, right, and then you're like, okay,
you're starting that recovery process, and then all of a
(25:17):
sudden you've got to flip that switch and get amped
up again for a big time game, lose, go home
type of scenario, and man, that can be difficult at times.
Speaker 5 (25:30):
I also have to imagine that twenty five day period
has got to be torture. I mean, you're sitting there like,
I'm obviously not a player, so I don't get it
from that perspective, but I can only imagine you finish
and then they're like, oh yeah, but we're not gonna
We're not gonna do anything for twenty five days.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
I think about it.
Speaker 5 (25:47):
You've got to ruminate on it, You've got to hit
this from every possible angle, and all you want to
do is go out there and hit somebody and play.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
Just you know, they just want to continue playing. Yes,
that's the beauty of it, Like, hey, let's just keep
this going, just ride this wave of momentum. Let's let's
get it going. Or yeah, maybe hey, a week off
would be great. Let my body recover a little bit
to let me, you know, kind of realign myself and
get ready, you know, for this next game. And I
(26:15):
think there's something to be said that, hey, let's let's
try to move things a little bit in terms of
move them up, just like Dan Laye's talking about, let's
go week zero should just be week one and try
to condense things because again, I think there's that scarcity
type of an urgency thing that we talk about with
(26:37):
the NFL and how that can impact fans and viewership
and all of that. So I think it's something to
be said. But we'll continue as our one right here,
on the Richmond Weavers Show presented by Ingles Markets. And
we're going to talk with rich Clark, the executive director
of the College Football Playoff. Yes, we'll get his thoughts
on expansion and more right after this, continuing here in Charlotte.
(27:01):
This is the Thursday edition of The Richmond Weaver Show,
presented by Ingles Markets, our one broadcasting from Charlotte. And
it is our honor. Now there's so much talk going
on college football, college football Playoff expansion. Well we're going
right to the source, Rich Clark, executive director of the
(27:21):
College Football Playoff. It's an honor. Thank you, sir, greatly appreciated.
And I know you're making your rounds here and your
head is probably spinning.
Speaker 3 (27:29):
No, it's great. I love it. I appreciate you having
me on. I love talking about football, of course, especially
college football, and especially college football playoffs. So thank you
for having me, of course.
Speaker 2 (27:38):
All right, so I have to walk back in a
little bit of history though with you, though, Okay, I
want to go back to sports and your first memories
of that and why you fell in love with football.
Speaker 3 (27:48):
Oh that's easy. I mean I played it since I
was a little kid. I played at the Air Force
Academy for four years. Yes, and I got so much
out of college football, just the love of the game,
first of all, but the lessons you learned, the leadership,
the team building, the just everything that comes with it,
(28:09):
the ups and downs. It's like a football game is
like a microcosm of life, you know, and you go
through the whole cycle in a game, except you live,
you know, hopefully. Yeah, but I don't know. I just
love it. It's exciting to me, and it's really a
privilege to be able to work in this space. I
was in the Air Force and I retired last year
(28:30):
last June, and to land here now is like a
blessing I could never have imagined. And it's just awesome
to be a part of this enterprise.
Speaker 2 (28:39):
Okay, I like how you said land because that's almost fun.
Speaker 3 (28:42):
Yes. Why the Air Force, though they recruited me to
play there. I went to high school in Richmond, Virginia,
and Ken Hatfield was the coach. He came to my house,
he visited my mom. I had no thoughts to go
to the Air Force. My family, it's not military. And
he talked to my mother and just sending me there
(29:05):
for one of it was my last visit. I had
one more visit and my mom said, oh, he's so nice,
just go And then I went out there. I fell
in love with the pleasures. Said, I didn't think you
were going to go there, and I did, and it
was great. I played four years with them, but I
and then I'd never imagined I would stay in the
Air Force that long. I wanted to be a pilot,
(29:25):
and that's what I got to do. And I love that.
And I ended up being in it about thirty three
years longer than I thought. So I was thirty eight
years in the Air Force.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
Yeah, and some combat hours. Also, sure describe what that's like.
Hard to describe, Yeah, if you can.
Speaker 3 (29:43):
Yeah, So it's it's sort of like, you know, walking
on the field for a football game, except it's not
a game and you're you Sometimes you don't know what
to expect. Yeah, you know what your job is. You
have tre for a mission. You've prepared yourself. You're working
with a team, You're working with the people around you,
(30:05):
and you're counting on them. They you know, they're counting
on you, and everybody is in it together, and you
go out and you execute the way that you trained.
We always say practice the way you're gonna fight, and
that's what we did. And being able to do that
with some amazing other teammates from the Air Force was
(30:25):
you know, it's something I won't forget. Interesting that you asked.
I've never been asked that, you know, but it's, uh,
you know, it's an experience. You don't really want to
have to do, course, but you're ready to do it
when you're called to do it. Yeah, you and you
just execute the best you can. You know what your
job is and you just go out there and do it,
and you you know, hopefully it works out well for you,
(30:48):
but you know that the people around you are with
you and you're in it together.
Speaker 2 (30:52):
You're talking about the correlation of the ultimate team sport.
I mean that is it right there? And how you're
depending on other individuals as Rich Clark, executive director of
the College Football Playoff, is our guest and again a
long tenured career in the military, so I have to ask, so,
now getting into this side, what a pivot in your
(31:13):
career going from military to now running an organization like
a college football Playoff?
Speaker 3 (31:19):
Yes, it is, uh, yeah, they So while I was
I was the superintendent of the Air Force Academy. Yes.
And while I was on the job, I get a
phone call from a search firm. Bill Hancock had announced
that he was going to be retiring and they were
looking for candidates. And they said, well, they're looking for
a long shot candidate. Traditional I was like, so, do
(31:40):
I have a shot? He's going you got a shot?
I said, so I have a shot. Let's go. That's this.
Speaker 2 (31:45):
You tell me there's a chance.
Speaker 3 (31:46):
You tell me there's a chance. And I went through
some interviews and I was fortunate enough to be selected
for the job. I retired on June first, and I
started at CFP on June fourth, and last year. Yes,
And so now I'm a year and two months into it,
and it's been awesome.
Speaker 2 (32:04):
Talking about making that transition, I mean, were you drinking
from a fire hose trying to catch up with everything?
Speaker 3 (32:10):
Yeah, water was squirting out of my ears. It was crazy.
I had a lot to learn. Fortunately, I have an
amazing team at CFP. Bill laid a great foundation. He
had a great team built. I walked in the door
and just tried to learn and listen and provide whatever
I could to help the team move forward. And we
(32:31):
we gelled together, you know, and it was a good
synergy with the team, and we I think we had
a great first year of the twelve team Playoff. It
was exciting, no doubt. We knew for one hundred percent,
with one hundred percent certainty that it wasn't going to
be one hundred percent right, but we wanted to get
it as right as we could so that then we
could make the tweaks and changes. After everybody saw what
(32:55):
right should look like, how do we make that even better?
Speaker 2 (32:57):
Yeah, I think from regardless of what fans can see
and not knowing what's going on behind the scenes, the
product itself, though, was no question something that the fans
I think thirsted for because of the exciting matchups and
all of that. And Rich Clark, executive director of College
Football Playoff, is our guest. So with that said, there's
(33:18):
obviously right now, I know you're in the midst of it,
a lot of talk, all the narratives going around about
the expansion, you know, after one year of twelve So
what's the pulse of the discussions right now and viewing
fourteen versus sixteen or just staying at twelve.
Speaker 3 (33:32):
Yeah, So there's a lot of discussions and the commissioners
I will say they are doing due diligence on this
because I know a lot of people want a decision now.
Of course, they are doing their best to not bite
on let's just have a fast decision, let's get it right.
And there's a lot of discussions. They're very collaborative on this,
(33:53):
and they're looking at the pros and cons of all
the options. You have the automatic qualification option, yeah, we
have the five plus eleven that you may have heard,
five conference champions plus eleven at large based on the
rankings of the selection committee. You have twelve teams, is
it fourteen? Is it sixteen? We're looking at all of that, right,
(34:13):
and they will come to a decision. But I'll say
one of their decisions is the decision to stick with
the status quot Yeah, and that is also on the table.
So it could be that they don't change it and
they stick with the twelve team format that we have.
Speaker 2 (34:28):
Now, do you have ultimate say? Can you have a veto?
This is what I feel is best. I do not
have a veto on this. I am involved in the discussion.
I provide my recommendations. I help them think through the problem.
But In the end, it's really up to the ten
(34:49):
FBS commissioners plus the University of Notre Dame Athletic Director
to come to an agreement on what this decision needs
to be. I just have to facilitate that, and I
am involved in it, but ultimately I don't have veto
power to say.
Speaker 3 (35:03):
Nope, this is what that doesn't happen. And if I
did say that, I'd probably get fired and I'd be
and all this dream comes to a crashing halt. So
all right, we won't do that. That's right.
Speaker 2 (35:12):
No, we will not make sure to have any type
of hot take out here, right right, right. And so
you talk about being able to you know, working with
all of these conference commissioners and athletic director at Notre Dame.
How is your military career and you know, the high
stakes operations and all of those things, and what how
you were trained. How has that helped you being able
(35:33):
to somewhat corral all of these different opinions and bring
everybody together to the table.
Speaker 3 (35:39):
Yeah, that's a that's a really good question, rich And
what I'll say is, here's the commonality between them. You
have a lot of disparate ideas and people coming from
different places that you have to pull together towards a
common goal. Yes, right, that is something that we do
in the military all the time. You have people coming
from all over the You bring them in, we discuss,
(36:02):
we talk, we train, we prepare, But in the end,
we all have to go to the comic goal to
achieve the objective. Right, that is what this is all about.
You have several commissioners. They all come from a conference
that they are obligated to support, right, they owe their
allegiance to their conference. That's what they get to do,
(36:23):
that's what they are hired to do. But they also
have to keep in mind what's good for the greater
good of college course, so we try to bring them
into the room, try to guide a discussion and try
to help them to think through some of the problems.
And sometimes they have some of these discussions offline, you know,
outside of the group. But in the end, we're all
going to the same objective and we all have to
(36:43):
come to a common agreement on what we're going to
do and then execute and then get it done, get
it done. And so once we get that decision, it's
just like in the military, you're told from on high,
this is the mission we need you to do. Once
I get that, I'm gonna go. I have taken an
oath to do it. In this case, I've accepted a job.
(37:05):
I'm gonna do it, and my team and I are
going to make it happen.
Speaker 2 (37:08):
Yeah, do you take any and all ideas like a
thirty teen playoff forty eighteen playoff?
Speaker 3 (37:14):
Let's not get crazy. I don't want to hear that
it's right, you know, I think we have never put
that on a slide. The most the biggest number we've
seen is sixteen. Okay, there comes a point where you
don't have enough weekends to play a game. That's right,
you don't have enough TV spots to play a game.
You're extending the season too far for your student athlete
(37:37):
health and security and well being in safety, and there's
a line, and I am I think that sixteen is
that that's kind of the limit, the it of it.
But I will say, you're not the first to go,
what about thirty two, Let's go to sixty four? I
think no, not even close. I mean, I love college
(37:58):
basketball for what it is. It's a different an entity,
you know, with their march badness. I get that.
Speaker 2 (38:03):
I feel that sixteen seems to be a natural fit.
But I would be okay with twelve also, I really would.
I'm just glad that there was expansion to be able
to pull you know, other teams with an opportunity. Like
back in your day with air Force, you guys were good,
oh man, And what would that been like if you
had an opportunity?
Speaker 3 (38:21):
You know what if we had the twelve team playoff
back then, we were ranked fifth, We were ranked fifth
in the nation. If we were going with the format
we're going to play this year, we would have got it.
We would have had a home game. That's amazing, first
round game at air Force. It would have been the
most historic game we ever had. Of course, and we
you know, I'm not bragging or anything, but we were
(38:42):
twelve and what yeah, we BET's okay. We beat ut
University of Texas our very last game. We beat Notre
Dame that year. We I mean it was remember, yes,
and if this playoff were alive, we would have been
in it. That's right. It would have been pretty spectacular,
all right.
Speaker 2 (38:59):
Wrapping up, then, what's your favorite memory, favorite game as
a player at air Force.
Speaker 3 (39:05):
I have to say our Notre Dame game our senior year,
because we came down to the wire and we almost
they almost got us, and we had beaten them three
years in a row. That was the fourth year and
it came down to it and we won it on
a block field goal that one of our defensive backs
ran back for a touchdown. And you know, you can't
(39:28):
script that. They could have made another movie that we
could have played side by side with Rudy. We would
have called it Rich now it was. That was really
an exciting game. And Notre Dame is just so amazing.
I mean, they are the storied you know, yeah, yeah,
and so to beat them four years in a row
(39:51):
was really special, and that last one was tough. But
then the next year they pretty much wiped us off
the map. I wasn't on the that's right. You see
what happens when I leave, That's right. I love it.
Speaker 2 (40:06):
Rich Clark has been our guest, the executive director of
the College Football Playoff. Rich can't thank you enough. I
know you got to make the rounds the rest of
the way, and best of luck, I know you got
a lot of things to decide, and I know you'll
make the best informed decision.
Speaker 3 (40:19):
Thank you, Rich. I appreciate you having man. Thanks for
what you do for college football to help elevate it
and help our fans tie in and understand what's going on.
We appreciate you too. Thank you.
Speaker 2 (40:29):
Yes, sir, that is rich Clark, executive director of the
College Football Playoff. And we'll continue this Thursday edition of
the Richmond Weaver Show presented by Ingles Markets in our
number two coming up next
Exploring the latest headlines and in depth conversations. It's the
Richmond Weavers Show on one oh four nine Fox Sports
up State, presented by Ingles Low Prices, Love the Savings
Now for riches take on sports. Here's Richmond Weaver ready
to roll this Thursday.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
As we are here in Charlotte continuing our coverage at
the twenty twenty five ACC Football Kickoff Media Days. And
let's just jump right into it. Let's talk some college football.
Mister Roddy Jones ESPN and also serious XM and former
Georgia Tech running back. And the problem is, Roddy, I
still have these visions as a Clemson grad watching you
(00:44):
run all over the Tiger.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
It was a good memory. It's a long time ago. Now.
Speaker 4 (00:50):
First off, I got to commemend your big voice guy.
Your big voice Guy's good. Oh it's very good. Well,
thank you for show. Yes, that's but yeah, it was,
it was, It was. It was a fun time. I
always sort of joke with Dabo, although he doesn't take
it as much of a joke as I do. I
played in his first ever game as interim. Yes, it
was against Jeordia taking too that's right, And we had
a great record against Clemson. We caught him before it
(01:12):
got rolling and eleven he had it rolling a little bit,
but that was before it was really entrenched and established.
But the joke is that I look, coach, I saw
it from day one as you did Game one, no doubt,
I've seen where it was and where it got to.
And uh so it's just incredibly impressed with the job
that he's done.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
Okay, So speaking of that, then you have seen it
from that very beginning, what have you what's your thoughts
on how a program can change? And it was changed
based on Dabo Swingy and what he's been able to do.
So there's almost can we say there's hope for other programs.
Speaker 4 (01:47):
It can be done also one thousand percent. And I
think you've seen it at a number of places. You
look at at the impact that Dabo and Nick Saban
had at their institutions. And I'm not talking about just
from it on the field standpoint. I'm actually talking more
off the field. Because the success of Alabama football led
to increased applications, the success of Clemson football leads to
(02:09):
increased applications. I remember talking to Dan Radakovic when he
can't remember when it was that that that Dabble got
the massive extension or the massive rays. But in his
presentation to the board of trustees, they tracked Clemson wins
and number of applications, Clemson viewership and number of applications.
And when the winds started going up, the applications to
(02:31):
the school started going up, and the out of state
applications start going up.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
And you know, for.
Speaker 4 (02:35):
Those of us who live out of state of places,
you know that you're out of state institution is a
little bit more. Does it cost the school anymore to educate,
but it costs the person more.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
So that's a totally different topic too that we were
talking about.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
We'll get there one day.
Speaker 4 (02:49):
But but but then then the subsequent impact on housing
prices in Clemson and Tuscaloosa. You've seen it in Boulder
with with Deon Sanders and the increased interest there. I
think North Carolina stry to capture that as well. But
what has to happen first is an investment. Dan Radikovic
invested in and before him, terry On Phillips invested in
(03:12):
Clemson athletics and football, and that investment has then paid
back dividends. There was a return on that investment that
was tremendous. So I think, I think when you look
at at what has happened at Clemson, it is sort
of the model for how a relatively small school in
a relatively small state can take its place in college
(03:33):
football and the college football landscape and grow not only
the state or not only the school, but the city,
the city that it's in as well, because that city
is unrecognizable from what it was fifteen years ago.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
Absolutely ridiculous. I'm a Clemson grad in nineteen ninety three,
so it's a seismic shift based on everything that has happened.
Rodney Jones is our guest here on this Thursday edition
of The Richmond Weaver Show, presented by Ingles Markets. Obviously
you can catch him on ESPN as a college football
analyst and also serious exim All right, but I still
have to go back to your playing days though, because
(04:07):
I'd love seeing the picture of you here at ACC.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
Media back in the day.
Speaker 4 (04:12):
Yeah, my old sid, Dean Bucking, who is the sid
he worked Awake Forest and then at Georgia Tech for
for I think like a decade, tweeted out a picture
of me at ACC media days. I think that would
have been twenty eleven. I came twice in twenty ten
and twenty eleven, and my I quote tweeted it and
tweeted it out and the caption that I did that
(04:32):
I that I had with it was this was what
athletes came dressed like pre NIL. This was back in
the days of how many they would count, how many
snacks we got in a day, Like you remember the
the what was the shabbazn aper talk about, Oh, I
go to bed Hungary and like that's the era that
I played it when it wasn't unlimited food and nutrition
(04:54):
like you had. There were counted and so they were
buying us suits to come here. And now that changed
shortly after I got done, like they started showing up
in suits and now with NIL, like it's it's Louis
Vaton and Versachi and Gucci and name named. Honestly name
brands that I don't even know. Yeah, somebody what is
watched was was.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
I've never heard of that, but it sounds very, very expensive.
So so the dynamic has changed.
Speaker 4 (05:14):
I had on a Georgia Tech Polo and cargo short
back in twenty eleven.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
That's how it was back in the day and back
in the day two thousand and eight. I know, obviously
a memorable season for you and being able to rough
house the Georgia Bulldogs. But what about two thousand and
nine ACC Championship against Clemson. It was awesome, what a
spectacle that was, and I mean it was back and
forth and your memories of that game and even seeing
(05:39):
what CJ.
Speaker 4 (05:40):
Spiller did, Yeah, well that is my memory of the game.
To be honest with you, we're both Both games we
played against Clemson that year were phenomenal. That's right, played
him at home on Thursday night, Week two, which was
a great game, and we actually pulled out I think
we returned upon for a touchdown and pulled out a
trick play on a on a fake field goal that
(06:00):
that which subsequently that play got out what they got
banned because we had a Damarius Thomas may he rest
in peace was jogging towards the sideline with the offense
as the field goal team jogged onto the field, and
he just kind of was hanging out behind the offense
as we jogged off the field, stayed on the field.
(06:21):
There were only ten guys information he was uncovered. Throw
it to him down the sideline. Then he gets in
the end zone and we ended up winning that game,
and then in the in the championship game is great.
The only reason that we wont is because CJ had
to go into the locker room before halftime because he
had turf came into the game a turf toe. It
was phenomenal in the first half. We couldn't stop him.
Goes into the locker room, misses a series or two,
they don't score those series or two.
Speaker 3 (06:44):
I think we scored. I don't remember if we took
a leader in a halftime out. I think we did,
but yeah, I think he did.
Speaker 4 (06:48):
Jonathan Dwyer had a great game that game. Joshua Nesbitt
was phenomenal as always. But but man, there's a reason
CJ was the MVP of the game.
Speaker 3 (06:55):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
Yes, in a losing in a losing effort, it was often.
Speaker 4 (07:00):
He was phenomenal, man, and and and it's so great
for Clemson to have him back around the program.
Speaker 3 (07:04):
No question.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
Rodny Jones is our guest here we're wrapping up.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
He was a guy joy watching And I know you've.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
Got to hit to other opportunities on this radio row,
but so I have to ask you a last question. Then,
just heading into this season, what are you expecting in
the ACC, surprise teams, anything that you're pinpointing right now
as we get ready.
Speaker 4 (07:26):
I think I think, first and foremost, I think Clemson
is by far the best team in the a CEC
should be a college football playoff noise maker, semi final contender,
you know, national gym pretender, we'll see.
Speaker 3 (07:37):
But if you get to the.
Speaker 4 (07:37):
Semifinals, like you got a shot. And so I think
they should be one of the last four teams standing
based on who they have and and the way this
roster has been constructed and has been over the course
of Dabo's time or Kate clebnixt time there, how it's
grown together. And then after that, in terms of surprises,
Georgia Tech certainly could be a So you look at
that schedule and what they've got coming back.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
I can think they I think you guys could win
ten games.
Speaker 4 (08:02):
I absolutely and I think they could too. And if
they only lose to the teams that they are quote
not better than Archiper. It's Clemson in the middle of
the season or Week three, and then Georgia at the
end of the year, you're in the AEC Championship.
Speaker 3 (08:16):
Game.
Speaker 4 (08:16):
Those are the only two games you lose, and you're
in the College Ball Playoff too. That's right because my
moniker is win ten and you are in because over
the course of the history of the College Football Playoff,
if you model out the twelve teams, ten win teams
are in. So I think I think that could be
a surprise team. Curious about Florida State, very curious about
Bill Belichick at North Carolina. I think if you're looking
at at other sleepers, Duke is one with a favorable
(08:38):
schedule that could be a sleeper. Pits one that could
be based on what they did last year. I like SMU,
I like Louisville. There's a lot of excitement around the
league this year.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
I love it all Right, Manda can ask him one
last question.
Speaker 3 (08:50):
I'll be quick.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
Yes, Can I steal you win ten and you're in?
Speaker 3 (08:54):
Yeah? Absolutely? Okay.
Speaker 4 (08:57):
The thing that I go by when I hear like
when I take stuff or borrow it.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
You okay, you don't have to to borrow.
Speaker 4 (09:04):
No, you don't have to. You don't have to quote me.
But I always I don't ask. I just start to
do it, and then I attribute credit the first three times.
Then after that it's mine and then it's over. Okay,
all right, well I'm going to give you credit.
Speaker 3 (09:15):
No, you don't have to credit at all. It's all yours,
Rodney Jones. Thank you, sir.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
We greatly appreciate it as we'll continue this Thursday edition
of the Richmond Weaver Show presented by Ingles Markets. Right
after this, all right, continuing our one here the podcast
hour of the Richmond Weaver Show presented by Ingles Markets.
And great opportunity of talking with Rodney Jones right there.
Absolutely love that guy, mister Falco. He is fantastic. And
(09:40):
again I could talk to some of these guys here
on Radio Row for so much longer than the allotted time.
That's my only disappointing thing here at the twenty twenty
five ACC Football media days is that you just don't
have enough time with them.
Speaker 5 (09:52):
Right well, I mean, as we know, doing radio, everything
has a clock, so and they have rounds that they
have to make, so they do.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
That's why it's it's a little bit easier on the
podcast hour that we can go a little bit longer
if we need to, and obviously you can go shorter
as well. But a great opportunity sitting down with Roddy Jones,
and I agree with him on a lot of things.
I think, watch out for Georgia Tech that could be
a teen his alma mater. That you look at their
schedule and what Brent Key has been able to do
(10:19):
as far as bringing some excitement there in Atlanta. And
you've got Haines King, a returning veteran type of quarterback,
and we know how important it is to have a quarterback.
So there's a lot of hype that I think from
the I should say somewhat of the insiders, so to speak,
because I don't think on a national narrative or national
(10:39):
stage that Georgia Tech's getting much attention. But again, what
Roddy Jones was talking about, you win ten and you're
in I love I'm still in that line from him that, yeah,
can you imagine not being in the college football Playoff
if you win ten games? I think I think that's
pretty much a determining factor that you win ten you
(11:00):
should be in the College Football Playoff. Now that's all
relative to how many other teams win ten games throughout
the season. I do get that, but there is something
to be said about that and you know, seeing how
that kind of plays out for this season. And then
also we know North Carolina and Bill Belichick is getting
(11:21):
ready here in Charlotte and all of the hype around
Bill Belichick and everything that's going on. But I did
want to talk about Dan Lanning, head coach of the
Oregon Ducks, and you know, the Big Ten media days
are also going on right now. But he has an
(11:42):
interesting idea that I think we might embrace. Mister Falco, Okay,
all right, okay it So his thought is, as he says, quote,
play these games faster and sooner. College football belongs on Saturday,
(12:03):
not the NFL end quote. So his idea is, turn
week zero into week one, shift up the season in
the postseason earlier, and eliminate the all month long playoff byes.
So howeveryone we want to say, shift up the season
(12:24):
in the postseason earlier. I get that. But the biggest
thing that caught my attention him talking about turning week
zero into week one? How long have we been saying
that trade?
Speaker 5 (12:35):
I feel like since week zero has become a thing.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
Exactly, doesn't it make sense?
Speaker 3 (12:40):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (12:40):
I mean it is week one.
Speaker 5 (12:42):
I mean you can name it whatever you want to
I get the marketing aspect of it, obviously, like it
sounds cooler, like it looks better on a billboard or
on a spreadsheet or whatever.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
But I mean, it's week one. It's week one exactly.
So that's my point too, is that, yes, I understand
they're trying to be a little bit creative, a little
bit unique, or however you want to describe that. But
week zero is not week zero. It's week one. Right,
Let's let's just name it for what it is and
(13:12):
move on. And so I think there's something to be said.
And I love that you're having these coaches actually start
talking about some of these things. And I think so
many times what we're seeing right now is we're having
people involved in some of the decision making and some
(13:32):
of the things that are changing, and we don't have
coaches involved enough. We don't have them, you know, being
able to voice their opinion, right, Yeah, don't you think?
Speaker 3 (13:46):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (13:46):
I mean, and I get it. It's very hard if
you're wanting to look at you're not going to necessarily
have the voices of the student athlete, because one, we
don't have a union. So there's that part of it.
Because we know in other entities like the NFL, Major
League Baseball, NBA. They have Players Association, so you have
(14:07):
representatives that have been voted and elected to represent your
voice there as an entity, and obviously we don't have
that in college football. And maybe we need to be
able to utilize the strength of the knowledge from all
of these coaches because they do somewhat have a union.
(14:28):
It's not technically called a union, but you've got the
American Football Coaches Association, So you've got an entity that
already has some representation, and can't you funnel some of
the thoughts and ideas through them to get their thought,
to get their opinion and make maybe, yeah, maybe they
(14:48):
have some other ideas that we can look at to
protect the sanctity of college football, the sanctity of college sports.
You know all of that, because again I know, and
I guess i'm the way I view it also is
that I think one of the things for college athletics
and this apprehension as far as being able to move
(15:13):
more towards like a pro league, is that there's something
about college versus pro and that's just been ingrained in
our mind for so long that you this amateurism and
you know, all of that. So it's just like the
propaganda that we see on the conference side with the SEC,
it just means more and it will take us a
(15:34):
while to get out of that mindset of thinking of that.
And I think that's the same thing with college athletics.
I mean, it's going to take a while before we
truly are past that point of remembering amateurism. I mean,
we're going to remember amateurism for a long time. And
I think that's what is holding us back to a
certain degree, is that it's hard for us as human
(15:55):
beings to let things go like that.
Speaker 5 (15:57):
Right, well, especially something as long and historic as college
athletics be. Like it's it's not like, oh, well, you
know college athletics came up in the nineties and so
it's only been like thy years. No, no, dude, this
is it's been around so long that like it's ingrained.
I mean, your grandfather did college athletics, Like, yes, you're
a great grandfather.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
That's right, yes, And that's why it's it's not just
as easy. And that's why I you know, there's times
I talk about it and it might come across flippantly
that I'm saying, oh, you can do this, you can
do that. Oh, and it's just not that easy because
there are obviously logistics that go into it, but also
the complete shift in behaviors associated with how long we've
(16:38):
done things a certain way, and that's just you know,
the reality of it. But the point is is that
get some of the people that are most intimately involved.
I don't know why I didn't start there exactly.
Speaker 3 (16:50):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
We have all of these outsiders that are trying to
make these decisions, but are they the best equipped to
be able to make these decisions? And that's that's why
can't you look at a Dan Lanning and try to
understand his viewpoint And maybe he does have a good idea.
It might not be the immediate answer or the perfect answer,
(17:13):
but it's something worth exploring. And obviously you know how
I feel about week zero, So I'm all about, Yes,
I'm all about pushing Dan Lanning's proposal just because he's
addressing week zero.
Speaker 5 (17:27):
That's what I love, right well, I mean, at the
very least, I feel like we should have the conversation,
even if it's a bad idea, or even if people
don't agree with it, or maybe from a marketing standpoint,
they want to keep week zero or whatever the ideas are.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
They're floated by these head coaches.
Speaker 5 (17:43):
We should at least have like the conversation should at
least be there and be open because you never know
what you're gonna hear. But if you close it all off,
if you don't listen to him at all, then you're
not gonna hear anything. Then it doesn't right. But at
least you get the good ideas, the bad ideas and
everything in between if you listen.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
Exactly if you listen, and how many times do we
hear that in life? How important it is to listen.
And some of the best conversations, or I should say
best interviews, The best interviewers are the ones who listen
the best because they're not thinking about, Okay, what's my
(18:19):
next move, what's my next comment that I'm going to make,
and they're almost thinking in advance what to say. And
I know, from a relationship standpoint, you have to be
able to slow that process down and try to truly
listen to the person that you're in a relationship with,
whether that's being married or just friends. And when you
have some type of disagreement or you know you have
(18:42):
some type of confrontation, right, you have to be able
to listen. So it is a major point that I
think we need to get to, especially when you're looking
at some of these big changes that are going to
be coming. But he also talks about where he does
feel that college football season should end January the first,
(19:02):
and he feels that that could solve a lot of
the problems that exist, and especially when you're having these
type of long layoffs. Think about this, and it's I
didn't remember this until he's talking about it, but remember
Oregon was the number one seed and they had twenty
five days off before they played Ohio State in the
(19:26):
corner Fine in the quarterfinals. And it's what we talked
about rest versus rust. And I think there's something to
be said when you have twenty five days off. I mean,
that's way too much straight. I mean, if the NFL
can do it, why can't college do it exactly well?
Speaker 5 (19:42):
And you also, when you start stretching it out like that,
you're you're you obviously run the risk college basketball is
going on. I mean, I get that football is taking priority.
That's people are going to navigate, naturally, navigate or gravitate.
Excuse me, towards football, but you've got basketball going on,
You've got the playoffs that are going on for the NFL,
you competing with that, and at the same time, like
(20:03):
it just it's too long, Like at age, it just
it just is that's right, Yes, And that's why I'm
all about, Hey, move the season up.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
No more week zero, just go to week one. I
love what Dan Lanning's talking about there. And I love
the fact that could you end on January first, the
culmination It's New Year's Day and the excitement of just
being able to watch all college football that day and
you know you're deciding, you know, a national championship, and
you know, I think there's something to be said about that.
(20:34):
And I know college basketball come January, that's when most
conferences will start the meat of their conference schedule. You know,
some will play a game or two in December just
based on the size of their league and they have
to get X number of games in before the end
of the regular season. But to your point, the NFL,
(20:55):
it's going to take all the headlines, oh, because you're
you're getting into the NFL playoffs, and we think the
NFL regular season people are tuned into that it's a
different story when you talk about the NFL playoffs. And
this is even when your team is not in the playoffs,
(21:15):
you're still watching it. Oh, yes, exactly. I just I
like the idea you got.
Speaker 5 (21:21):
You make a really good point about January first, kind
of the culmination of everything.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
I like that a lot.
Speaker 5 (21:26):
I also, I don't know, like there's all this talk
last year. You know, oh, well, we're going to twelve teams,
but do we really have the best of the best.
Speaker 2 (21:37):
And yeah, there's a lot of that narrative.
Speaker 5 (21:39):
And I almost wonder if you do speed it up
a little bit, if you move it forward and there's
more focus on college football and people aren't having to
be distracted by a college basketball or NFL playoffs or
anything like that, maybe they can really just sit and
enjoy the playoffs for what it is.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
Yes, exactly. And maybe January first is is a little
aggressive as far as ending, because I do like the fact,
you know, could you at least have the semi finals
that day on January first, and then a week later
then that's when you crown your national champion. But the
other side to that is that don't do it on
(22:16):
a Monday. Do it yes, right, do your national championship
on a Saturday. That is college Football's day is Saturday,
it's not Monday. Leave that to the NFL. Let them
have that day because they've already claimed it, Trey, They're
not exactly give it up. And you know where I'm
(22:36):
going with this too. You could do it on Saturday.
And you don't have to start at nine o'clock at night,
though you can. You can start at seven o'clock. Seven
would be a okay, remember the super Bowl? Think what
started at six thirty? Is that when the super Bowl
takes off?
Speaker 3 (22:53):
Right?
Speaker 2 (22:53):
Yea, yeah, somewhere around in an hour.
Speaker 3 (22:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
So again, I just look at if the super Bowl
can do it. I mean, if the NFL can do it,
come on college you you can't tell me you can't
do it. And that's why I just don't understand. While
we get into some of these decisions at the end
of the day, though, we do know there's something involved,
and that's called money, and that can dictate a lot
(23:19):
of things. And it's that race to see how many
dollars you can get. But I just think there's an
opportunity for viewership could actually increase by reducing some of
the downtime and the big layoffs, and again what Dan
Lanning talked about his twenty five day layoff between the
end of the season, they're winning a Big Ten championship
(23:42):
and until he played Ohio State in the quarterfinals. There
the other four teams, the other three teams that I
should say that also had to buy, they all lost.
So four teams that had to buy. We're zero and four.
And I know it's a very small sample size. I
get that. And you know, we can debate back and
forth at rest versus rust, right, but you can't tell
(24:04):
me there's not something. I mean, there's some data that
is at least showing. Can't we say a trend? I
think that's fair.
Speaker 5 (24:12):
I also like a lot of times, I feel like
when we talk about rest versus rust, you're talking about
I don't know, a week, a week and a half maybe, yes,
exactly twenty five days. I think it's justifiable to look
at it and be like, maybe they were shaking some
rust off that. I mean, that's all that's almost a
month of not of no football. I mean, I'm sure
they're practicing, but there's no game.
Speaker 2 (24:33):
There's no game, and just think about I mean, you're
talking about that twenty five days that's almost equivalent to
the beginning of the season when you report to fall camp.
Oh yeah, and your first game. R I mean that
it's absolutely absurd. And yeah, obviously it's a little bit
different at the beginning of August when you're getting things
going because everybody's all amped up, you're ready to go.
(24:55):
You know, you've had summer and you want to get
practice going. I get all of that, and at the
end of the season there is definitely somewhat of a
recovery period, and I think that's where the rest versus
rust is really dangerous at the end of the season,
because you're already so banged up, right, and then you're like, okay,
you're starting that recovery process, and then all of a
(25:17):
sudden you've got to flip that switch and get amped
up again for a big time game, lose, go home
type of scenario, and man, that can be difficult at times.
Speaker 5 (25:30):
I also have to imagine that twenty five day period
has got to be torture. I mean, you're sitting there like,
I'm obviously not a player, so I don't get it
from that perspective, but I can only imagine you finish
and then they're like, oh yeah, but we're not gonna
We're not gonna do anything for twenty five days.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
I think about it.
Speaker 5 (25:47):
You've got to ruminate on it, You've got to hit
this from every possible angle, and all you want to
do is go out there and hit somebody and play.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
Just you know, they just want to continue playing. Yes,
that's the beauty of it, Like, hey, let's just keep
this going, just ride this wave of momentum. Let's let's
get it going. Or yeah, maybe hey, a week off
would be great. Let my body recover a little bit
to let me, you know, kind of realign myself and
get ready, you know, for this next game. And I
(26:15):
think there's something to be said that, hey, let's let's
try to move things a little bit in terms of
move them up, just like Dan Laye's talking about, let's
go week zero should just be week one and try
to condense things because again, I think there's that scarcity
type of an urgency thing that we talk about with
(26:37):
the NFL and how that can impact fans and viewership
and all of that. So I think it's something to
be said. But we'll continue as our one right here,
on the Richmond Weavers Show presented by Ingles Markets. And
we're going to talk with rich Clark, the executive director
of the College Football Playoff. Yes, we'll get his thoughts
on expansion and more right after this, continuing here in Charlotte.
(27:01):
This is the Thursday edition of The Richmond Weaver Show,
presented by Ingles Markets, our one broadcasting from Charlotte. And
it is our honor. Now there's so much talk going
on college football, college football Playoff expansion. Well we're going
right to the source, Rich Clark, executive director of the
(27:21):
College Football Playoff. It's an honor. Thank you, sir, greatly appreciated.
And I know you're making your rounds here and your
head is probably spinning.
Speaker 3 (27:29):
No, it's great. I love it. I appreciate you having
me on. I love talking about football, of course, especially
college football, and especially college football playoffs. So thank you
for having me, of course.
Speaker 2 (27:38):
All right, so I have to walk back in a
little bit of history though with you, though, Okay, I
want to go back to sports and your first memories
of that and why you fell in love with football.
Speaker 3 (27:48):
Oh that's easy. I mean I played it since I
was a little kid. I played at the Air Force
Academy for four years. Yes, and I got so much
out of college football, just the love of the game,
first of all, but the lessons you learned, the leadership,
the team building, the just everything that comes with it,
(28:09):
the ups and downs. It's like a football game is
like a microcosm of life, you know, and you go
through the whole cycle in a game, except you live,
you know, hopefully. Yeah, but I don't know. I just
love it. It's exciting to me, and it's really a
privilege to be able to work in this space. I
was in the Air Force and I retired last year
(28:30):
last June, and to land here now is like a
blessing I could never have imagined. And it's just awesome
to be a part of this enterprise.
Speaker 2 (28:39):
Okay, I like how you said land because that's almost fun.
Speaker 3 (28:42):
Yes. Why the Air Force, though they recruited me to
play there. I went to high school in Richmond, Virginia,
and Ken Hatfield was the coach. He came to my house,
he visited my mom. I had no thoughts to go
to the Air Force. My family, it's not military. And
he talked to my mother and just sending me there
(29:05):
for one of it was my last visit. I had
one more visit and my mom said, oh, he's so nice,
just go And then I went out there. I fell
in love with the pleasures. Said, I didn't think you
were going to go there, and I did, and it
was great. I played four years with them, but I
and then I'd never imagined I would stay in the
Air Force that long. I wanted to be a pilot,
(29:25):
and that's what I got to do. And I love that.
And I ended up being in it about thirty three
years longer than I thought. So I was thirty eight
years in the Air Force.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
Yeah, and some combat hours. Also, sure describe what that's like.
Hard to describe, Yeah, if you can.
Speaker 3 (29:43):
Yeah, So it's it's sort of like, you know, walking
on the field for a football game, except it's not
a game and you're you Sometimes you don't know what
to expect. Yeah, you know what your job is. You
have tre for a mission. You've prepared yourself. You're working
with a team, You're working with the people around you,
(30:05):
and you're counting on them. They you know, they're counting
on you, and everybody is in it together, and you
go out and you execute the way that you trained.
We always say practice the way you're gonna fight, and
that's what we did. And being able to do that
with some amazing other teammates from the Air Force was
(30:25):
you know, it's something I won't forget. Interesting that you asked.
I've never been asked that, you know, but it's, uh,
you know, it's an experience. You don't really want to
have to do, course, but you're ready to do it
when you're called to do it. Yeah, you and you
just execute the best you can. You know what your
job is and you just go out there and do it,
and you you know, hopefully it works out well for you,
(30:48):
but you know that the people around you are with
you and you're in it together.
Speaker 2 (30:52):
You're talking about the correlation of the ultimate team sport.
I mean that is it right there? And how you're
depending on other individuals as Rich Clark, executive director of
the College Football Playoff, is our guest and again a
long tenured career in the military, so I have to ask, so,
now getting into this side, what a pivot in your
(31:13):
career going from military to now running an organization like
a college football Playoff?
Speaker 3 (31:19):
Yes, it is, uh, yeah, they So while I was
I was the superintendent of the Air Force Academy. Yes.
And while I was on the job, I get a
phone call from a search firm. Bill Hancock had announced
that he was going to be retiring and they were
looking for candidates. And they said, well, they're looking for
a long shot candidate. Traditional I was like, so, do
(31:40):
I have a shot? He's going you got a shot?
I said, so I have a shot. Let's go. That's this.
Speaker 2 (31:45):
You tell me there's a chance.
Speaker 3 (31:46):
You tell me there's a chance. And I went through
some interviews and I was fortunate enough to be selected
for the job. I retired on June first, and I
started at CFP on June fourth, and last year. Yes,
And so now I'm a year and two months into it,
and it's been awesome.
Speaker 2 (32:04):
Talking about making that transition, I mean, were you drinking
from a fire hose trying to catch up with everything?
Speaker 3 (32:10):
Yeah, water was squirting out of my ears. It was crazy.
I had a lot to learn. Fortunately, I have an
amazing team at CFP. Bill laid a great foundation. He
had a great team built. I walked in the door
and just tried to learn and listen and provide whatever
I could to help the team move forward. And we
(32:31):
we gelled together, you know, and it was a good
synergy with the team, and we I think we had
a great first year of the twelve team Playoff. It
was exciting, no doubt. We knew for one hundred percent,
with one hundred percent certainty that it wasn't going to
be one hundred percent right, but we wanted to get
it as right as we could so that then we
could make the tweaks and changes. After everybody saw what
(32:55):
right should look like, how do we make that even better?
Speaker 2 (32:57):
Yeah, I think from regardless of what fans can see
and not knowing what's going on behind the scenes, the
product itself, though, was no question something that the fans
I think thirsted for because of the exciting matchups and
all of that. And Rich Clark, executive director of College
Football Playoff, is our guest. So with that said, there's
(33:18):
obviously right now, I know you're in the midst of it,
a lot of talk, all the narratives going around about
the expansion, you know, after one year of twelve So
what's the pulse of the discussions right now and viewing
fourteen versus sixteen or just staying at twelve.
Speaker 3 (33:32):
Yeah, So there's a lot of discussions and the commissioners
I will say they are doing due diligence on this
because I know a lot of people want a decision now.
Of course, they are doing their best to not bite
on let's just have a fast decision, let's get it right.
And there's a lot of discussions. They're very collaborative on this,
(33:53):
and they're looking at the pros and cons of all
the options. You have the automatic qualification option, yeah, we
have the five plus eleven that you may have heard,
five conference champions plus eleven at large based on the
rankings of the selection committee. You have twelve teams, is
it fourteen? Is it sixteen? We're looking at all of that, right,
(34:13):
and they will come to a decision. But I'll say
one of their decisions is the decision to stick with
the status quot Yeah, and that is also on the table.
So it could be that they don't change it and
they stick with the twelve team format that we have.
Speaker 2 (34:28):
Now, do you have ultimate say? Can you have a veto?
This is what I feel is best. I do not
have a veto on this. I am involved in the discussion.
I provide my recommendations. I help them think through the problem.
But In the end, it's really up to the ten
(34:49):
FBS commissioners plus the University of Notre Dame Athletic Director
to come to an agreement on what this decision needs
to be. I just have to facilitate that, and I
am involved in it, but ultimately I don't have veto
power to say.
Speaker 3 (35:03):
Nope, this is what that doesn't happen. And if I
did say that, I'd probably get fired and I'd be
and all this dream comes to a crashing halt. So
all right, we won't do that. That's right.
Speaker 2 (35:12):
No, we will not make sure to have any type
of hot take out here, right right, right. And so
you talk about being able to you know, working with
all of these conference commissioners and athletic director at Notre Dame.
How is your military career and you know, the high
stakes operations and all of those things, and what how
you were trained. How has that helped you being able
(35:33):
to somewhat corral all of these different opinions and bring
everybody together to the table.
Speaker 3 (35:39):
Yeah, that's a that's a really good question, rich And
what I'll say is, here's the commonality between them. You
have a lot of disparate ideas and people coming from
different places that you have to pull together towards a
common goal. Yes, right, that is something that we do
in the military all the time. You have people coming
from all over the You bring them in, we discuss,
(36:02):
we talk, we train, we prepare, But in the end,
we all have to go to the comic goal to
achieve the objective. Right, that is what this is all about.
You have several commissioners. They all come from a conference
that they are obligated to support, right, they owe their
allegiance to their conference. That's what they get to do,
(36:23):
that's what they are hired to do. But they also
have to keep in mind what's good for the greater
good of college course, so we try to bring them
into the room, try to guide a discussion and try
to help them to think through some of the problems.
And sometimes they have some of these discussions offline, you know,
outside of the group. But in the end, we're all
going to the same objective and we all have to
(36:43):
come to a common agreement on what we're going to
do and then execute and then get it done, get
it done. And so once we get that decision, it's
just like in the military, you're told from on high,
this is the mission we need you to do. Once
I get that, I'm gonna go. I have taken an
oath to do it. In this case, I've accepted a job.
(37:05):
I'm gonna do it, and my team and I are
going to make it happen.
Speaker 2 (37:08):
Yeah, do you take any and all ideas like a
thirty teen playoff forty eighteen playoff?
Speaker 3 (37:14):
Let's not get crazy. I don't want to hear that
it's right, you know, I think we have never put
that on a slide. The most the biggest number we've
seen is sixteen. Okay, there comes a point where you
don't have enough weekends to play a game. That's right,
you don't have enough TV spots to play a game.
You're extending the season too far for your student athlete
(37:37):
health and security and well being in safety, and there's
a line, and I am I think that sixteen is
that that's kind of the limit, the it of it.
But I will say, you're not the first to go,
what about thirty two, Let's go to sixty four? I
think no, not even close. I mean, I love college
(37:58):
basketball for what it is. It's a different an entity,
you know, with their march badness. I get that.
Speaker 2 (38:03):
I feel that sixteen seems to be a natural fit.
But I would be okay with twelve also, I really would.
I'm just glad that there was expansion to be able
to pull you know, other teams with an opportunity. Like
back in your day with air Force, you guys were good,
oh man, And what would that been like if you
had an opportunity?
Speaker 3 (38:21):
You know what if we had the twelve team playoff
back then, we were ranked fifth, We were ranked fifth
in the nation. If we were going with the format
we're going to play this year, we would have got it.
We would have had a home game. That's amazing, first
round game at air Force. It would have been the
most historic game we ever had. Of course, and we
you know, I'm not bragging or anything, but we were
(38:42):
twelve and what yeah, we BET's okay. We beat ut
University of Texas our very last game. We beat Notre
Dame that year. We I mean it was remember, yes,
and if this playoff were alive, we would have been
in it. That's right. It would have been pretty spectacular,
all right.
Speaker 2 (38:59):
Wrapping up, then, what's your favorite memory, favorite game as
a player at air Force.
Speaker 3 (39:05):
I have to say our Notre Dame game our senior year,
because we came down to the wire and we almost
they almost got us, and we had beaten them three
years in a row. That was the fourth year and
it came down to it and we won it on
a block field goal that one of our defensive backs
ran back for a touchdown. And you know, you can't
(39:28):
script that. They could have made another movie that we
could have played side by side with Rudy. We would
have called it Rich now it was. That was really
an exciting game. And Notre Dame is just so amazing.
I mean, they are the storied you know, yeah, yeah,
and so to beat them four years in a row
(39:51):
was really special, and that last one was tough. But
then the next year they pretty much wiped us off
the map. I wasn't on the that's right. You see
what happens when I leave, That's right. I love it.
Speaker 2 (40:06):
Rich Clark has been our guest, the executive director of
the College Football Playoff. Rich can't thank you enough. I
know you got to make the rounds the rest of
the way, and best of luck, I know you got
a lot of things to decide, and I know you'll
make the best informed decision.
Speaker 3 (40:19):
Thank you, Rich. I appreciate you having man. Thanks for
what you do for college football to help elevate it
and help our fans tie in and understand what's going on.
We appreciate you too. Thank you.
Speaker 2 (40:29):
Yes, sir, that is rich Clark, executive director of the
College Football Playoff. And we'll continue this Thursday edition of
the Richmond Weaver Show presented by Ingles Markets in our
number two coming up next
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Special Summer Offer: Exclusively on Apple Podcasts, try our Dateline Premium subscription completely free for one month! With Dateline Premium, you get every episode ad-free plus exclusive bonus content.