NCAA needs Pac-12 National Champion team, say Washington Football?

Crowning the NCAA national champion is a huge honor for any football team. But after years of east coast dominance, college football would benefit greatly by crowning a Pac-12 team as champion, say Washington Football?

There is a little known secret in the Pacific Northwest. The Washington Football team is good. Good enough to be in the conversations over the the national title?  Perhaps.  But convincing the rest of the nation is a constant and perennial uphill battle. Thanks to time zones and televised programming, the choicest programming slots run to the eastern seaboard teams.

Now, the NCAA National Football Champion stands as of the most coveted and famous college titles. For good reason, as teams must endure a season which begins in the summer, and carries them through to the cusp of spring. All the while, all teams launch players to the NFL via the draft, recruit new talent, and start it all over again.

Right now, the NCAA is in a bit of a rut. Since 1991 – a year Miami and Washington shared the national title – the Pac-12 has claimed the top prize of NCAA football just twice. In 2003-04, USC has laid claim to the title. During those 17 years, the lion’s share of the championships have been claimed by Alabama six times, Florida State three times, Nebraska three times, and Florida three times.

With each “run” of national titles under one collegiate banner, the overall sport diminishes. Why? Well an outcome with a certain percentage of certainty merely falls within expectations.  That does little to shock fans, and without that component of shock, it’s not newsworthy.

Most certainly, the headlines will cover it. But the interest of fans, the true market for NCAA football, soon turns their attention to other matters of less certainty. Ultimately, the NCAA needs a Pac-12 champion. Here are five reasons why: