The I-AA playoffs have been around for 25 years or so. I'm not saying that playoffs are not the best way to determine a champion, just that this is the way it has always been done and the system is not that flexible to change. There is alot of money from alot of cities, schools, and companies that has gone into bowl games for a long time. It also gives alot of lower ranked I-A schools a shot at a nationally televised game with a prize. Also, just like in the bowl system the playoff system would leave out the bubble teams. At least with bowl games, more teams get to play a postseason game. Playoffs would dramatically reduce that number.