Dan Lanning has a plan to fix the college football calendar
By David Wasson
Published:
The college football calendar has gotten more and more crowded in recent years, with the College Football Playoff morphing into a 4-week affair and the advent of the transfer portal making December and January a hectic time full of turnover and uncertainty.
But don’t worry, Oregon coach Dan Lanning is on the case.
Lanning was asked about the current lay of the big-time college football land in advance of Thursday’s Orange Bowl matchup between his Ducks and the Texas Tech Red Raiders (noon ET, ESPN) and offered this:
“There’s clearly a better way,” Lanning began. “Every Playoff game should be played every single weekend until you finish the season. Even if it means you start Week 0 or eliminate the bye, the season ends Jan. 1. Then the portal opens, and coaches who are moving on can move on to their next opportunities.”
Lanning went on to criticize how college football has surrendered some scheduling turf to the National Football League, which has an effect on everyone in the system.
“I have a ton of respect for the NFL, but we are a prep league for the NFL. We are the minor league a lot of ways, but there is no money paid to take care of college football. And in that sense, we’ve given up some of our days to the NFL,” Lanning said. “Saturdays should be sacred for college football. Every Saturday through the month of December should belong to college football, in my opinion.”
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. He also hosts Gulfshore Sports with David Wasson, weekdays from 3-5 pm across Southwest Florida and on FoxSportsFM.com. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
