With college football seeing the return of the Big Ten and Pac-12 to the fall, it’s a win for the XFL.
In the last two weeks, multiple conferences like the Big Ten, Pac-12, MAC, and Mountain West have announced their return to the college football season. They will either be starting in late October or early November as it will make them eligible for the college football playoffs.
Most football fans would agree they were happy to see those conferences return just for more football to watch on Saturdays. This move makes college football more exciting due to the craziness of what the playoffs could look like. Somebody else should be happy with the move: the XFL.
The league has not said much of late, but every indication has been the planning process is truly underway. College football’s movements should have an impact on their decisions moving forward. The XFL should be pleased.
Why Should The XFL Be Excited
In the simplest terms: competition. There had to be concerns about how college football would at least take TV ratings from the XFL since both play on Saturdays. If the XFL allows fans to come to their games, conferences like the Big Ten and Pac-12 would have attracted more fans to their games than the XFL.
The move now gives the XFL the window to be the only football league in town after the Super Bowl again. They found success with the ratings in their first month proving that fans still want more football after NFL/college football season.
There have been questions as to whether the XFL should return in 2021 or 2022. A deciding factor could have been whether division one college football was going to be played at the same time. Now with the major conferences out of the way, the XFL is back in the driver seat in the spring.
This could help the league with figuring out their next TV deal. College football in the spring would have been popular which could have scared off other networks. The XFL needs less competition to still drive those TV deals and this puts them in a better position at the negotiation table.
It’s still unknown whether the XFL will play in 2021 at any time, but college football has cleared the football schedule for them. Fans should be optimistic of the chances of the XFL starting on time next year.
