This is how you measure progress?
No bowl game is making a bigger transition into the new era than the Chick-fil-A.
As part of the “New Year’s Six,” it will no longer control its sponsorship agreement (turned over to ESPN), its operating budget (which will now be overseen by the College Football Playoff) or the teams playing in its game.
The 13-member CFP selection committee, which includes five athletics directors and other dignitaries like Archie Manning and Condoleezza Rice, will not only choose the four semifinalists but also determine matchups for the four other “contract bowls.”
For the Chick-fil-A, which has matched the ACC and SEC for 22 consecutive years (and had 17 consecutive sell-outs, which isn’t a coincidence) that means next season could very well see a team from the Big Ten or American Athletic Conference in their game.
But at least they’ll get to charge more. So there’s that.