The 2020 college football season was one that we have never seen before. Three conferences decided to play initially in the ACC, Big 12, and SEC. The Big Ten and Pac-12 both chose to cancel their seasons before later deciding to play once again. In a year that needed uniformity more than any other, there was none. Five different voices made five different decisions.
According to 247Sports, Alabama head coach Nick Saban is calling for a Power Five commissioner.
“One of the things that I think this year has proven more than anything else is we should have a commissioner for college football, at least for the Power 5 conferences, because all these conferences made different rules for how we should play the season,” Saban said.
Saban: "One of the things that I think this year has proven more than anything else is we should have a commissioner for college football, at least for the Power 5 conferences, because all these conferences made different rules for how we should play the season."
— Charlie Potter (@Charlie_Potter) December 18, 2020
The Big 12 decided on a 10-game schedule that involved one nonconference game. The ACC also allowed for a nonconference game on the schedule, while the Big Ten, Pac-12, and SEC all opted for a conference only schedules. We also saw the ACC cancel games towards the end of the year to ensure a Notre Dame-Clemson game could be played and to protect two of the top four teams in the College Football Playoff rankings.
Saban believes there should be Power Five commissioner to run the conferences in unison. Given that the individual commissioners run their conference as they see fit, it would probably be a good idea. This would put everyone on the same page and we wouldn’t be in a situation that the CFP committee is in trying to decide who is in and out with all the variances.
Who knows if the next college football season will have similar circumstances surrounding it, but a single commissioner over the five major conferences doesn’t sound like a bad idea.