Unfair? Hardly. They play the best that they can schedule year in and year out. There is a level of difficulty in a national schedule that you don’t see regionally. A conference schedule can also preclude playing the best teams in other regions. Notre Dame plays a lot of them. This conference championship game is a recent development, and the games are often rematches (Texas v. Oklahoma), or worthless jokes (Clemson v. Pitt, or Northwestern v. Ohio State). Yes, the SEC had a great contest, but in some years it has been a rematch (Bama v. LSU). A rematch is always very unfair just by its nature. There is nothing sacred about a conference championship game.
There is nothing sacred about a conference championship game?? Tell that to “THE COMMITTEE” because it is high up on their protocol in the decision of “WHO’S IN?”.