Berry Tramel: The $12 million field goal and a college football playoff

“Eight million dollars would have come to the WAC if he makes the kick,” WAC commissioner Karl Benson told the New York Times. “That's the reality of it.”

The NCAA most definitely is interested in wiping out that kind of financial pressure on any one player.

Recall that in the 1990s, the NCAA reconfigured its distribution of basketball tournament revenue. It did away with the million-dollar free throw. It sought to wipe out the huge financial implications of any one game.

That would be more difficult to do in football, where the entire system is based on giving schools like Boise State and TCU limited access to BCS bonanzas.

Start talking about a $12 million field goal, start talking about some poor guy in Boise, Idaho, whose right foot is responsible for the financial security of a school and a conference, and university presidents and NCAA decision-makers will listen.

You want a playoff? Sell the NCAA on a financial distribution plan that isn't so much proud of how much money it makes, but how much pressure it alleviates on any one game, any one coach and any one kicker.

That will get people's attention. That will bring about a playoff much more quickly than the current method of standing in the grocery aisle, screaming for a certain kind of cereal.

You want a playoff? Try the back door.

Berry Tramel: Berry can be reached at (405) 760-8080 or at btramel@opubco.com. He can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including AM-640 and FM-98.1. You can also view his personality page at newsok.com/berrytramel.