While I agree that you should actually have at least a winning record to make a bowl game, all they are doing is hurting themselves with this. Like so many of these rules different leagues come up with it's foolish.
The SEC is stupid for not having the exact same academic standards as the Sun Belt or C-USA. Who really cares that a football player graduates with a 3.7 in something like Human Studies or some other major no one knows about? I mean, we are all very proud of our guys when they graduate, myself included, but let's be honest please? Coach Saban wants these guys to have that degree, to be able to help themselves and their families financially down the road, but his primary concern is that they stay academically eligible while on the football team, right? He never wants to have to worry about not having every single player available to him come the bowl season when we are playing for a title. Remember when you used to have to wait to see who all was going to make the bowl trip? Not so much now.
The ACC, Big Ten, Pac 12 all want to brag about how many great academic institutions they have as members, but what did the kid from tOSU say? We ain't here to play no school? He was the most honest person on the television that day. To 99% of the viewing public, those folks who buy the tickets, support the advertisers, etc., they (we) could care less what that star linebacker's major is, but he damn sure better not miss any tackles on Saturday. So if everyone WAS honest with one another there would be an across the board minimum standard for scholarship athletes in all sports at all schools, period. The idea of having some sort of higher standard for kids who want to play at LSU than what they'd be allowed at LaTech is idiotic to me. That a guy can be denied entrance to Alabama but can go straight to Southern Miss, yet they can turn around and play against Alabama that next fall, that both schools can call themselves 'DI' is ridiculous.
All the PAC 12 is doing is costing themselves more television revenue and costing that school that may have gotten into a bowl at 5-7 those 20 practices and that chance to get to a bigger bowl game later on, which could potentially make that conference a LOT of money. For what? For some sort of trumped up standards when they are just as willing to play the Weber State's of the world as anyone (no offence to Weber State. I am sure it's a fine school). If they wanted to climb WAY up on their high horse they could just say we refuse to play anyone who doesn't adhere to the same academic standards that all PAC 12 schools must. Now THAT would be pretty cool.
jmo rtr