Saban: Creating parity in college football is much harder than NFL
Alabama head coach Nick Saban believes that creating parity is much more difficult in college football than in the NFL.
"It's harder to do in college football because we have so many different teams, and the fundamentals are different at the University of Alabama as opposed to another school," Saban said on "The Joel Klatt Show: A College Football Podcast." "An I-AA school, a Division II school, even a lower-half Division I school. The money is different, the dynamics are different, the investment that's made in the athletes and the program are different. The value created for the athletes is different."
Saban said a possible solution to creating more parity would be working with a smaller, more refined group of teams to help even the sport's playing field. He also noted that an NFL comparison is different because the league attempts to create parity through its draft order and scheduling.
"Parity creates a lot of excitement," he added.
The seven-time national title-winning coach is optimistic there will be a better balance within the SEC when Texas and Oklahoma join the league in 2024. Saban suggested it could lead to six or seven teams being ranked in the top 20 playing each other annually.
Saban added that he'd also like to have a better process of determining the best teams at the end of the season. Alabama's coach said he doesn't feel the current selection process puts enough emphasis on the quality of the opponent and margin of victory when determining the College Football Playoff rankings.
While Saban explained that he's not critical of anybody regarding the selection process, he said he remains confused about the criteria used to determine who the top teams in the country are at the end of the season.
"When they told me that we would be favored against three out of the four teams that got in the playoffs, I'm like, why aren't we in the playoffs?" Saban said.
The Crimson Tide were ranked fifth in the CFP rankings last season, narrowly missing the four-team playoff after posting an 11-2 record that included last-minute losses in each of their defeats. Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan, and TCU made up the playoff field last year.
Despite his perceived need for parity, Saban said he won't let a desire for balance dampen his competitive spirit.
"Our fan base, they want to dominate," he said.
Alabama owns an astounding 194-27 record over Saban's 16-year tenure. The Crimson Tide have won six national championships with the high-profile coach on the sideline.