How To Fix the 2024 (and Beyond) Conference Schedule and Determining a Rightful B1G Champion?
The division-less 2024 (and beyond) B1G football schedule bothers me... there's going to be wildly unbalanced conference schedules, the potential for 3+ teams to have identical conference records with 1+ teams unfairly being left out of the conference championship game, and the possibility that Michigan/Ohio St play each other again the very next week in the conference championship game. There has to be a better way. What do you guys think is the best way to determine the conference champion with an 18 team B1G? Or do you think the format for next year is fine and doesn't need fixing?
Here's my crazy idea - - -
Split the B1G into 4 divisions as follows:
NW Division: Washington, Oregon, Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin
SW Division: USC, UCLA, Iowa, Illinois, Northwestern
NE Division: Michigan, MSU, Ohio St, Rutgers
SE Division: Indiana, Purdue, Penn State, Maryland
9 conference games: 4 divisional games, 4 cross divisional games, and 1 Special conference game (either a conference championship semifinal, or a cross divisional showcase game for teams that don't qualify for the semifinal (yup, Seth's idea)).
Now, obviously the immediate problem with this format is that 2 divisions have 5 teams and 2 of the divisions have 4 teams. To deal with this, there would be a rotating 2 year home/away arrangement where all of the teams from the 4 team divisions will have to play 1 of the teams from one of the 5 team divisions. So, for example, in Year 1, teams from the NE Division would have to play Wisconsin for their 4th "divisional" game and teams from the SE Division would to play Iowa for their 4th "divisional" game. And the teams from the NW and SW divisions would rotate every 2 years who has to play in that 4th "divisional" game against their 4 team divisional counterparts.
There would also be a 2 year rotation for cross-divisional games, so that every team in a division will play the same conference teams. For example, in year 1, Perhaps the teams from the NE Division would play all the teams from the SW Division, and all the teams from the NW Division would play all the teams from the SE Division. Of course, for the aforementioned 4th cross-divisional game for the 4 team divisions, the division that they play for the cross-divisional games would have to not be from that same division, if that makes any sense.
Division winners are determined by traditional rules/tiebreakers (best overall conference record, head-to-head, etc).
This format would also result in a Conference Championship Semifinal to be played between the division winners of the SE and NE, and between the division winners of the NW and SW in the other semifinal (the division champions that play each other in the semifinals could also rotate on a 2 yearly basis). Semifinal games get played at the home stadium of the team that has the higher ranking in the CFP. Winners of these two games play in the Conference Championship game (rotates each year between the Rose Bowl and Indianapolis). The teams that do not qualify for the semi finals would play in a "showcase" conference game that weekend (Thanksgiving weekend) against a cross divisional team that they have not played yet that has a similar record/ranking.
Advantages to this format:
- Prevents Ohio St and Michigan from playing in the conference semifinal or champ game. (in the current 2024 format, Michigan/OSU could have to play each other in the conference champ game the very next week after The Game).
- Prevents ambiguous conference champions. (in the current 2024 format, 3 or more teams could end up with identical records with no fair tiebreaker to determine who makes it to the conference championship game).
- Prevents the 4 new PAC teams from having to play each other every year.
- The 4 divisions are mostly balanced with good teams, mediocre teams, and bad teams (except perhaps the SE division).
- The fact that there's a conference semifinal/showcase game does not add or remove any conference games... it's simply the 9th conference game of the year (would take place on Thanksgiving weekend).
- The semifinal and showcase games would add a lot of intrigue, viewers and $$$.
Disadvantages to this format:
- None!
- Just kidding. The NW and SW traditional B1G teams would have to travel to play 2 tough west coast teams every year, while teams from the NE and SE divisions may not have to do that (although to make it fair, every team in the B1G would be required to make at least 1 west coast trip to play a PAC team every year).
- Two divisions with 5 teams and two divisions with just 4 teams is not ideal.
- Iowa-Nebraska rivalry wouldn't be played every year.
TL;DR: My proposal is 4 divisions, with 9 conference games (4 divisional games, 4 cross-divisional games with every team from that division playing every team from a different division, 1 semifinal or showcase conference game). Division winners play in conference semifinals at the home stadium of the team that has the higher CFP ranking. Teams that don't qualify for the semifinals play their 9th conference game on the same day as the semifinals in a showcase against a conference team with similar record that they haven't played yet. Semifinal winners play each other in the conference championship game (rotates on a yearly basis between the Rose Bowl and Indy).
Anyway, go ahead and neg away if you think this is a stupid, ridiculous idea. I also want to hear what you think would be the ideal way to fix the conference schedule/championship issue with an 18 team B1G.
December 14th, 2023 at 8:38 PM ^
Don't have 18-team conferences.
8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14 --- those numbers all work. 8, 9, 10 & 11 work best w/o divisions. 12 & 14 work best with divisions.
18 is absurd --- that doesn't work with or without divisions (Quadrants & pods will eventually blow-up too, witness the late-1990s era WAC). Yet, that's our future.
December 14th, 2023 at 9:18 PM ^
The real answer is a single table, 17 game schedule.
Last place relegated to the MAC
December 14th, 2023 at 9:26 PM ^
Agreed. If your conference structure causes fans to write 950-word entreaties on how to fix it, you're too far gone already.
December 14th, 2023 at 10:12 PM ^
950 words is going to be short compared to the 10,000 word tiebreaker procedure that's necessary for a 18-team divisionless conference!
December 15th, 2023 at 12:51 AM ^
Just play a B1G Tournament like the basketball does. No tiebreaker necessary.
December 14th, 2023 at 11:37 PM ^
You're on point but you're forgetting that college title games and USC-OSU = $$$$ which is why Fox made it happen and we are all obsessed and so will watch anyways and random semi interested fans or NFL fans will watch because they've heard of these schools so the worst pretty is the Fox/ESPN plan is freaking working
December 14th, 2023 at 8:42 PM ^
If Florida State joins the B1G and they are the third team that is left out it will OK then
December 14th, 2023 at 8:44 PM ^
Kick out Rutgers, Maryland, Sparty and go from there
December 14th, 2023 at 8:45 PM ^
Simple solution: rotating divisions. Six divisions of three teams each (permanent rivals).
So for example, you have Pod A, B, C, D, E, and F. Put three together in divisions each year.
Year 1: A, B, C Year 2: A, D, E Year 3: A, F, B Year 4: A, C, D Year 5 A, E, F...etc for 10 years (see further down the thread for the full 10 years), then start over. Every team will play every other (non-rival) twice home and twice away in the 10 year period.
Only games for each division is against all other division opponents that year (8 conf games). That helps with fairness of schedule.
Two division winners play each other in the championship, and you never play your permanent rivals in the championship game.
December 14th, 2023 at 9:07 PM ^
Probably the best idea I've seen right here.
December 14th, 2023 at 9:19 PM ^
Who do you leave out of the Washington, Oregon, USC, UCLA pod?
December 14th, 2023 at 10:29 PM ^
I have actually thought about this.
I think there are two obvious three team pods.
- Michigan, Ohio State, Michigan State
- Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa (sorry Nebraska)
Then, there are four obvious pairs left over.
- Indiana, Purdue
- Illinois, Northwestern
- UCLA, USC
- Washington, Oregon
Then you have four "free agents"
- Rutgers
- Maryland
- Penn State
- Nebraska
For competitive / TV ratings reasons, I would do some combination of Nebraska and Penn State into the two west coast pods and then put the east coast teams into the Indiana / Illinois pods. This would create two historically weak pods, but they will always be paired with other pods so it's mostly ok. The seasons that the weak pods are in the same division would be a nice break for whoever got paired with them, but so it goes.
December 15th, 2023 at 6:37 PM ^
Pods are for Dolphins to group in and/or Marines to consume Tide in.
December 14th, 2023 at 10:55 PM ^
This is an intriguing and simple idea. I like it. It guarantees a true conference champion and prevents playing your rival again in the championship game.
December 14th, 2023 at 11:30 PM ^
Overall, your idea is a good idea, nice.
But one potential concern with that: While Pod A plays every other pod 2 years out of 5, Pods B&C (B&F, C&D, D&E, E&F) play 3 years out of 5, but Pods B&D (B&E, C&E, C&F, D&F) play 1 year out of 5.
There's nothing wrong with your construction, it's simply mathematically impossible to have all the pods play each other equally unless you go to a 10-year cycle.
Ensuring all non-same-pod matchups occur equally may not be a necessity (were the B1G to consider this), but it's a potential blocker.
December 15th, 2023 at 11:45 AM ^
You are correct, for a five year period. But it does work equally over a 10 year period:
1 ABC DEF
2 ABD CEF
3 ABE CDF
4 ABF CDE
5 ACD BEF
6 ACE BDF
7 ACF BDE
8 ADE BCF
9 ADF BCE
10 AEF BCD
With each school (outside of its rivalry pod) playing every other school twice home and twice away in a 10 year period.
December 14th, 2023 at 8:46 PM ^
Excuse the aside, but it's pathetic that we'll soon be a conference with 18 schools, only 6 of which play hockey. I half want to leave the Big Ten so we can rejoin the CCHA.
December 14th, 2023 at 9:17 PM ^
SEC + CCHA
🤯
December 14th, 2023 at 8:50 PM ^
Fuck the Big Ten
That is all
December 14th, 2023 at 8:53 PM ^
Best answer
December 14th, 2023 at 8:51 PM ^
Well if we're losing the Nebraska - Iowa rivalry game, I'm out.
This 11 year-old rivalry is just too important/historic
HOW WILL WE KNOW WHO ARE THE RIGHTFUL CHILDREN OF THE CORN?
December 15th, 2023 at 8:06 AM ^
If Frost really is Iowa's new OC - I want that game twice a year!
December 14th, 2023 at 8:56 PM ^
Honestly just ditch the conference championship. Play an extra game if the NCAA allows it, or even just get an extra week of rest. Have a very simple set of tiebreakers to determine the autobid (I'm talking the most obvious of head to head scenarios) and past that just give it to the highest ranked team.
December 14th, 2023 at 9:00 PM ^
One issue with this is the calendar. There is only one week scheduled for the conference championship. The final week of the regular season is the week before, and the first week of the playoff is the week after. The only way to have a 4-team playoff within the conference with the current FBS calendar would be to shorten the conference regular season by one game to 8 games and have the semifinal in the final week of the regular season and count as a conference game. That would create chaos though because the other 14 teams that do not make the conference 4-team playoff would still need one more conference regular season game that would have to be determined in the final week of the season. Some of those 14 teams might be borderline playoff teams so that final game could be crucial for them.
December 14th, 2023 at 9:08 PM ^
Great points.
The kids need a rest week. Right now they get 3-4. The new schedule and the playoff sucks. No rest weeks. They wont cancel the B10 Championship because of money.
The playoff could have easily been 8 teams. Or 6 teams with 2 byes. But no, let’s use up every free week and make them play 3 more unpaid games and ruin their body. Money is a virus that turns people into greed zombies.
December 14th, 2023 at 9:09 PM ^
The week with conference semi-finals every team would get matched up with a team they didn't play. Similar to the covid year.
December 14th, 2023 at 10:52 PM ^
The conference semifinals replace the traditional 9th conference game, and any teams that don't make the semifinal would instead play a showcase B1G conference game against a B1G team that they hadn't played yet with a similar record. So, regardless of your record, you'll still be playing that 9th conference game... 4 teams will be playing that 9th game in the semifinals, while the other 14 teams play the 9th conference game as a showcase. In other words, there are no added weeks/games to the regular season.
December 14th, 2023 at 9:00 PM ^
Yeah I forsee it being a mess. Simple solution, two 9 team divisions. 8 divisional games, 3 OOC games and one crossover division game to finish the season with matchups determined after game 11.
December 14th, 2023 at 9:03 PM ^
Two nine-team divisions means essentially reconstituting and subsidizing the Pac-12. It makes no sense and isn't what the TV networks are paying for anyway.
December 14th, 2023 at 9:22 PM ^
Two divisions and one crossover game may seem neat and simple, but that means you only host each team from the other division every 18 years. I don't find that acceptable. It no longer feels like a conference.
18 is an awkward number and we are going to get stuck with an awkward, messy solution until they add two more schools. Then four pods of five teams will work reasonably well.
December 14th, 2023 at 11:02 PM ^
It's 18 teams, it's already too big to be a conference on a 12 game schedule.
December 15th, 2023 at 7:08 AM ^
I like 9 team divisions with relegation and promotion. Put the top 9 teams in the Leaders division, and the bottom 9 teams in the Laggards division. Bottom 3 Leaders teams get relegated and top 3 Laggards get promoted.
this gives the networks great games among the top teams every year.
December 14th, 2023 at 9:02 PM ^
Seems like we’re testing fate by putting Northwestern in the Southwestern Division
December 14th, 2023 at 9:04 PM ^
Two 9-team divisions with a relegation system-the champion comes from the premier division. No "post season" championship game played.
December 14th, 2023 at 9:26 PM ^
Two Divisions
East Divisions: Michigan, OSU, Indiana, Purdue, Illinois, Northwestern, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota and State
West Division: USC, UCLA, Washington, Oregon
Boot out Penn State, Nebraska, Maryland and Rutgers
Add Stanford, Cal, Oregon St, Washington St, Arizona and Arizona St
No interdivisional play
East champion plays West champion on New Years Day in the Rose Bowl at 2 pm PST.
No other playoff but other teams may be invited to toilet bowls.
Sportswriters determine national champion.
December 14th, 2023 at 10:11 PM ^
I see what you did there. Can we cut across your lawn?
December 14th, 2023 at 11:45 PM ^
I think Penn St, Nebraska, Maryland and Rutgers could band together with Oklahoma, OK St, ISU, KSU, KU, Mizzou and Colorado and also Pitt, Cuse, BC, WVU and either Louisville or VT and they could split into two Big divisions one East the other 8 in the west and their championshio game could be in the Orange bowl on NYD
December 15th, 2023 at 3:54 AM ^
Well in that case the winner of your Orange Bowl championship could play the winner of Team 101’s Rose Bowl championship in a national championship game. Everyone else gets left out because they just don’t look like a champion caliber conference.
December 14th, 2023 at 9:48 PM ^
I think the answer is relegation. Otherwise, we will be stuck with these kinds of milquetoast divisional matchups with Rutgers, Indiana, Purdue, etc., when what we really want to see are games that will matter.
(For the record, besides being a Michigan alum I have a Masters from Purdue, so I’m sympathetic to their side in this as well. I also don’t bet on games—below—for the record. This is just how I see things playing out).
Since legal online gambling seems unlikely to go away, there will be increasing pressure on television to broadcast games people will really want to see—they’ll be betting on them—and in the B1G they’ve clearly engineered this to happen on Saturdays from 9am PT to 3am ET. The conferences will have little choice but to find a way to reward those who play the big games, because the peanut butter spread of revenues will likely come to an end.
So there could be a premier tier and then a lower tier, or lower tiers, all vying to being in the upper tier, depending on records. Then there could be drama around relegation and promotion at the bottom and top ends of the various tiers.
December 14th, 2023 at 10:47 PM ^
Everyone hates relegation for college fb. It's suggested ad nauseum (no offense to you personally!). No school would ever agree, and there is no real benefit. Doesn't change the # of schools in the conference and creating another MAC and calling it a b1g tier doesn't work.
December 14th, 2023 at 9:59 PM ^
Thanks for thinking about this. But the last thing we need is a conference semi-final. With the CFP, teams will already be playing up to 16 games a season -- we don't need to add one more, especially when they need rest for the playoffs. Plus, if you're going to redo divisions, the balance between them needs to be addressed, i.e., UM and OSU not in the same division. I like the 3 division structure which has OSU in the East and UM in the Norris division. The division champs with the 2 best records play for the title.
December 14th, 2023 at 10:50 PM ^
The conference semifinal wouldn't be an extra game. It would replace the traditional 9th conference game, and any teams that don't make the semifinal would instead play a showcase B1G conference game against a B1G team that they hadn't played yet with a similar record. So, regardless of your record, you'll still be playing that 9th conference game... 4 teams will be playing that 9th game in the semifinals, while the other 14 teams play the 9th conference game as a showcase.
December 14th, 2023 at 10:25 PM ^
Just get rid of the conference title game. It’s going to be dumb and not make any sense.
December 14th, 2023 at 11:08 PM ^
I disagree, as long as they do something smart like any of the above ideas. Two reasons:
- Having one clear winner seems necessary when the reward is a CFP bye
- Being the undisputed champion of a 18 team mega conference is a legitimately impressive accomplishment and should be a big deal
December 15th, 2023 at 6:55 AM ^
Personally, I don’t necessarily see a problem with how things are going to be for 2024. You MIGHT have an issue like FSU and the CFP this year, where a third or fourth team with the same “record” gets left out of the conference championship game, but it is just as likely that there will be a clear delineation between the top two and the next one or two teams.
If you aren’t going to go that route, however, then the next best thing is a 3-division conference. Each team plays their own division every year, and then two cross-over games with each of the other two divisions, rotating every year. In that manner every team plays every team in the conference at least once every three years. Jettison one of the non-conference games for an 11 game regular season, the three division winners and then the next best team based on CFP rankings, no matter the division, play a semifinal on thanksgiving weekend while the other 14 play those “showcase” games, then the normal conference championship final as it would normally be. That’s at least 10 conference games for each team, and a definitive conference winner for the CFP playoff bye.
December 15th, 2023 at 7:16 AM ^
Pods+ Crossover= Profit
December 15th, 2023 at 7:29 AM ^
The networks, who alas, are really the final word on all of this, don't particularly care if the B10 title comes down to some BS tiebreaker rules among, e.g., 4 one loss teams. But they do care about having M and tOSU playing the LA schools. Any system that reduces the volume of that won't fly, however much sense it might otherwise make.
December 15th, 2023 at 9:55 AM ^
10 game conference schedule.
I want to see more of the new schools, they're good.
3 game Seth's showcase with the 1 playing at 8 on Sat, the 2 or 3 playing at noon sat, and the 3,4,or 5 playing on Friday night at 8.
December 15th, 2023 at 1:34 PM ^
Michigan and Ohio State will not play each other in consecutive weeks very often I would think. The loser will likely drop below whoever is #3 more often than not would be my guess.
December 15th, 2023 at 4:40 PM ^
Continuing to be in the Big Ten bothers me. These other schools clearly have no appreciation for what Michigan brings to the Conference from an educational and athletic prestige standpoint.
I say begin taking the steps to move on. Please. If there is one thing I have learned in life is that if I am not wanted somewhere, then I don’t want to be there. It’s not worth it. Sometimes it takes other people’s actions for you to see that you cared more about them than they cared about you. Move on. This is true with any relationship in life, business or personal.
There are greener pastures ahead without the likes of Illinois, Sparty, Purdue and Rutgers.