I think the likelihood of additional conference realignment is slim, unless and until Texas and Oklahoma decide to leave the Big 12. And I think it is more likely than not that both stay in the Big 12.

My concept is to more or less abolish conferences as we know them. Form a national college league, akin to the NFL. Establish eight divisions of nine teams each. Each division plays eight division games, four home and four away. Three of the other four regular season games will rotate among the other seven divisions. The fourth game can accommodate an FCS opponent or some other opponent that does not make the 72-team cut. (For example, Utah might play Utah State for its 12th game.) At least two of those non-divisional games would be played against a geographically proximate division. All television contracts will be negotiated on a national basis, with the money divided more or less equally. If you want to gain an edge in revenue, build more seats or sell more merchandise like Jerry Jones.

I assume for purposes of my plan that we cannot convince a school like Wake Forest or Vanderbilt to step out of what amounts to power conference play, and that we cannot kick out schools that we may find a little distasteful (Baylor?). This is what my divisions look like.

East
1. Boston College
2. Syracuse
3. Rutgers
4. Penn State
5. Pitt
6. West Virginia
7. Maryland
8. Virginia
9. Virginia Tech

Mid Atlantic
1. South Carolina
2. Clemson
3. North Carolina
4. NC State
5. Duke
6. Wake Forest
7. Tennessee
8. Kentucky
9. Louisville

Southeast
1. Miami
2. UCF
3. Florida
4. Florida State
5. Georgia Tech
6. Georgia
7. Auburn
8. Alabama
9. Vanderbilt

Central
1. Ohio State
2. Indiana
3. Purdue
4. Notre Dame
5. Illinois
6. Northwestern
7. Michigan
8. Michigan State
9. Wisconsin

South
1. Ole Miss
2. Mississippi State
3. LSU
4. Arkansas
5. Texas A&M
6. Texas
7. Baylor
8. TCU
9. Texas Tech

Midwest
1. Oklahoma
2. Oklahoma State
3. Missouri
4. Kansas
5. Kansas State
6. Iowa
7. Iowa State
8. Minnesota
9. Nebraska

Northwest
1. Washington
2. Washington State
3. Oregon
4. Oregon State
5. Boise State
6. Colorado State
7. Colorado
8. Utah
9. BYU

West
1. California
2. Stanford
3. USC
4. UCLA
5. San Diego State
6. Nevada
7. UNLV
8. Arizona
9. Arizona State

So, Tech would play a round robin against the other members of the East division, four home and four away. It would play at least two of its non-division games against one team from two among the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic or Central divisions. It would play a third non-division game against one of the more "western" divisions. And it would play its fourth non-division game against, say, JMU or ECU.

The division winners would enter an 8-team playoff, with first round games played at the home of the four highest seeds, then neutral sites for the semi-finals and finals. The remaining teams would be eligible for bowls. There may be few bowls than exist today but the participants would all be members of the field of 72.

My plan protects the great majority of all notable rivalries. There are a few exceptions, but will anyone miss Tennessee-Vanderbilt? Minnesota-Michigan? UVa-UNC? The biggest rivalry squandered may be Alabama-Tennessee. Like the others, if they want to play, they can do it in the 12th game slot.

Who gets admitted to the club and who gets left out? Geographic considerations dictate the "admission" of more schools in the west than in the east.

So, beyond the current P5, the following schools get an invite: UCF, BYU, Boise State, Colorado State, San Diego State, UNLV and Nevada.

The most prominent schools I considered but that did not make my cut were: Cincinnati, Houston, Memphis, South Florida, UConn, Fresno State, Utah State and Wyoming. I wanted to include Houston and Cincinnati but simply didn't find a set of division configurations that I liked and that made sense. I also have a soft spot for Wyoming and considered selecting the Cowboys in lieu of Boise State or Colorado State. I do not view the service academies to be viable candidates to play at this level.

One can argue that some of the divisions are stronger than others. The same is true in every league, but one might hope that opportunity would allow more schools in the weaker divisions to grow.

Naturally, this is not going to happen. But think of the advantages if it did. I do not buy the argument that academic allegiances matter. If the current Big Ten schools want to affiliate for research purposes, that's fine. If Duke, Wake, Vandy, Northwestern and Stanford want to form some allegiance of private school academic elites, so be it. My plan caters to the fans. It gives fans the ability to watch truly regional rivalries. It creates entry points to a sensible playoff format.

And it kills my boredom for the day.



[Post edited by Tailgate Guru at 12/15/2018 4:51PM]