Keith Gaddie, Hoffman Chair of the American Ideal, professor of political science in the AddRan College of Liberal Arts at TCU, and author of Bragging Rites: College Football’s Disputed Titles, recently commented on the state of the sport in 2025.
His comments offered insight into why the Alabama Crimson Tide were chosen over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the BYU Cougars, who each had two losses to Bama's three, for the College Football Playoff's 12-team 2025/2026 field.
"The biggest insight is that there is always a brand-tradition bias (‘pointing to your logo’) which inherently favors blue bloods, legacy blue bloods and recent dominant programs. The sport favors its favorite," Gaddie said to a question asking, "As college athletics undergo significant change, from conference shifts to postseason restructuring, what historical patterns from disputed-title eras provide the most insight into today’s landscape?"
Now, you may be wondering why the Notre Dame brand, one of the six biggest nationally that produces the majority of the revenue, would not benefit in this situation. There's a simple answer for that.
ESPN prefers brands it broadcasts when deciding the CFP
Technically, ESPN doesn't own and operate the CFP. It just broadcasts the tournament for a whopping $1.3 billion annually. That $1.3 billion price tag surely comes with a little sway with the selection committee.
The Tide are in the club that gets into the CFP with three losses, one during the conference championship, something no team has ever gotten in after, because they're one of the SEC's premier brands with the Georgia Bulldogs and Texas Longhorns.
The Fighting Irish are on that level with those three, the Michigan Wolverines, and the Ohio State Buckeyes, but they're not only a College Football independent, but they're exclusively partnered with NBC Universal. For years, Disney, which owns ESPN and the SEC Network, has had financial disputes with Comcast, which owns NBC. Disney has done major business with FOX Corp, though. Big Ten and Big 12 schools aren't seen as enemies the same way Notre Dame is.
As selection committee chair Hunter Yurachek is fumbling and bumbling trying to explain football reasons for Alabama making the CFP during these televised dog and pony shows on ESPN, the truth is that billionaires in suits have more of an influence on the 12-team field than anything that happens with the players in pads.