College Football Reorganized
OK folks. Since we now have no football this fall it's time for silly thoughts regarding how to improve the game in this time of great uncertainty and financial insecurity. So, borrowing some ideas from English football, how about this:
- Create a 20 team Super League. Think the English Premier League. These are the top 20 programs. Split into two conferences.
- Then create 4 ten team so-called A Leagues geographically based.
- Create a promotion/relegation system whereby the champions of each A League are promoted to the Super League and the bottom two teams in each conference of the Super League are relegated.
- At the end of each season are playoffs. The top two teams in each Super League conference qualify. The top 4 teams in each A League qualify. TV will go nuts. The Super League playoffs will be just like the current playoffs with spectacular ratings. But the A Leagues would have four separate playoffs of their own that would have real stakes (promotion!!) which would generate nationwide interest.
- Every team would play 11 game schedules with two bye weeks. The first two games of the season would be a Super League team against an A League team. Using these games to schedule historic rivals (see Michigan and Michigan State below, heh...heh) would be encouraged. A League teams not playing a Super League team would play A League teams not in its own conference. The next nine games would be a complete round robin in your Super League conference or A League. Standings for playoff purposes would be based on the 9 game conference or league record.
There is real equity at work here. You won't have big boys scheduling cupcakes. You will have conference or league schedules that are balanced (complete round robins) and only conference or league games count for determining playoff eligibility.
What's are the biggest problems getting this to happen? Existing conference financial fiefdoms for one. But the dollars that would be generated by the 12 playoff games held by the A Leagues could well overcome that. If the dollars are there people will follow. The bigger problem is likely an inability to agree on who belongs in the initial Super League. Lots of schools will be butt-hurt. Regardless, here's my take and feel free to tell me I'm full of shit:
Super League
Tastes Great Conference Less Filling Conference
Clemson Washington
Alabama Oregon
Auburn USC
Georgia Texas
Tennessee Oklahoma
LSU Notre Dame
Florida Michigan
Penn State Wisconsin
FSU Texas A&M
North Carolina Ohio State
A League
East West
Maryland Cal
Virginia Stanford
Va Tech UCLA
NC State Arizona State
Rutgers Arizona
Duke Utah
Boston College Colorado
Vanderbilt TCU
Pittsburgh Texas Tech
Georgia Tech Washington State
Central South
Michigan State Miami
Iowa Baylor
Illinois South Carolina
Indiana Ole Miss
Minnesota Mississippi State
Iowa State Arkansas
Purdue Oklahoma State
Louisville Nebraska
Missouri Kansas
Kentucky Texas Tech
I realize the A League East is weak but whoever gets promoted one year can be relegated the next. And I suppose you could quibble about Kansas instead of Kansas State. Or neither Kansas team and, say, Houston instead.
This could be a lot of fun.
August 12th, 2020 at 7:18 PM ^
I love this. Fun read. I'll be very interested in what others have to say, but I think you'd have a hard time justifying Tennessee, Wisconsin, North Carolina, FSU, and TX A&M over Nebraska and Miami.
Don't get me wrong, NEB and Miami suck right now, but enough to put them out over some of the other teams?
I'll give WI a pass because of how good/consistent they are and have been.
FSU, to me, is just as "on brand" as NEB and Miami, so that's a wash.
Tenn. and TX A&M are very debatable.
North Carolina? I don't get that one over the other two.
Again, I'm interested in other opinions, but I think you just about hit the top 20, and if there is an ability to "play in" to the Super League, then why not. If Miami, Standford, Colorado or Rutgers (JK....LOL) play well enough over two or three years to move up, then sure, it makes it even more fun. On the other hand, if Texas, FSU or say North Carolina suck, or continue to suck, they move down.
Thanks again, fun read.
August 12th, 2020 at 9:20 PM ^
Good stuff Robbie. I think you’re right about the quibbling and I’d join in that with the lack of Group of Five schools.
It would be nice to be able to see some of the Navy and Memphis type schools get a shot if they are proven over the course of a season.
Im not usually a fan of these kind of things but it’s a really refreshing take.
August 12th, 2020 at 10:12 PM ^
I could make arguments that North Carolina, Tennessee, Notre Dame, Texas or (frankly) we don't belong in the Super league. I could further argue that VA Tech, Stanford, Utah or Baylor have stronger claims. In the regional leagues Nebraska is an obvious oversight. Also, the advocates of the Service Academies may have a point. However, as a retired Officer I would like to see them step down from the top level of competition in "revenue sports." I've seen too many compromises of the real mission of the Academies, and the Ivies seem to have done just fine stepping down a level.
I do like the idea of promotion and relegation. In fact, I'd like to see it applied to different divisions of the NCAA. Not just for one bad season, but consistent excellence or ineptitude (with some grandfathering of scholarships for students of schools that get shoved down). I dearly love to see some of the powerhouses in my pet sport (Div 3 swimming) get kicked upstairs (looking at you Kenyon).
August 12th, 2020 at 11:59 PM ^
Kenyon? But what of cross state rival Denison?
August 13th, 2020 at 2:09 PM ^
I really like everything you have proposed and it's always a neat thought experiment. I see some of the issues in the chat and have multiple points that may improve this:
The Super League is actually 40 teams divided into 4 quadrants of 10 teams (with each quadrant winner advancing to the playoff). If you really want money, make it an 8 team playoff! You could also then have direct promotion/relegation from each A League to each Super League quadrant, which means less reshuffling each year and more longterm rivalry formation. You could also have the first 2 weeks always involve the same Super League and A League pairings, so travel costs wouldn't balloon all the time. Expanding from 60 to 80 teams also means you get Group of 5 teams in the mix.
You can add B Leagues below the A Leagues (would likely start with Group of 5) and C Leagues below that to link all the divisions (or simply rejoin the FCS and FBS into Division 1). This gives teams like NDSU and James Madison a chance to become national powerhouses naturally without having to forfeit seasons of bowl ineligibility to make the jump.
I know a lot of people hate the single year relegation/promotion as having too much variance (and allowing a Rich Rod year to derail decades of progress). There is precedent for this in the Mexican Soccer League (Liga MX) where they use win percentage (technically ratio of points to games played) over the past 3 years. This allows for stabilization and prevents newly promoted teams from getting immediately nuked by the powerhouses.
Really interested to hear others thoughts on this as well.
August 13th, 2020 at 3:37 PM ^
Like your thoughts. English Football levels are Premier League, The Championship (level 2), then League One and League Two. What you advocate is a Super League (of 40 teams) followed by an A League, B League and C League. Why not? It would create the theoretical possibility of a B League or C League team making a run to the Super League. Would that be cool or what?
I would prefer the 20 team Super League. And I have no problem having promotion or relegation based on one years results. As for the Rich Rod factor, I guess you better be real careful who you hire. If your AD spends time out of touch on his yacht during the search process maybe you get what you deserve.
August 13th, 2020 at 2:50 PM ^
Just have a league of the willing 2020 !!
For the Fall of 2021 try going back to the same conference make-ups, although the covid will still be around. Those unwilling to play now will have some explaining to do in the fall 2021 when they miraculously claim it's ok to play then!?. Remember the vaccine is projected to be 50% efficacy (and with 40% of the population taking it). Not a total game changer!
August 15th, 2020 at 1:13 AM ^
These leagues will be safer in the bubble. No contact with the outside world and only online classes. I think if the NCAA was more creative we could have had a season like the NBA.
August 16th, 2020 at 10:22 AM ^
How about you have 12 geographic conferences, a 16 team playoff with 12 conference champs and four at-large teams (at-large must be conference second place) and a salary cap for coaching staffs.
August 17th, 2020 at 10:42 AM ^
Sounds too NFL like to me. While I'd love to see OSU, Bama, Clemson, etc. to stop being so dominant. The unintended consequence could be a bunch of losing seasons for UM. Not worth it for me. I'd prefer we go back in time, keep the B1G the same, get rid of divisions, get rid of conference championship games, and have the conference winner go the Rose. I could care less we had to split the NC in '97. At least we got one. In this system, UM is never getting one.
August 19th, 2020 at 11:20 AM ^
yep. The soccer promotion and relegation model is absolutely awesome.
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