(06-04-2022 10:34 AM)XLance Wrote: This may not be perfect, but it should illustrate how conferences could be organized to allow for a rational playoff system so that every school could be involved and therefore profit from the system.
But every school isn't involved. And as long as that is true, then not all of the schools you include need to be involved.
I could see a very rational configuration of schools that would produce a worthy national champion and include all the schools in the two dominant conferences (because no rational playoff can exist without them in it).
B1G:
Ohio State, Notre Dame, Penn State, Pitt, Syracuse, Indiana, Purdue, Maryland, Rutgers
Wisconsin, Michigan, Michigan St, Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, Northwestern, Iowa St, Illinois
Oregon, Stanford, Washington, USC, Utah, UCLA, Cal, Arizona, Colorado
SEC:
Alabama, Georgia, Auburn, Florida, South Carolina, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Kentucky, Vandy
Clemson, Florida St, Miami, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, UNC, NC State, Duke, Virginia
Oklahoma, LSU, Oklahoma St, Texas A&M, Miss St, Texas, Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas
These two conferences include the top 18 and 19 of the top 20 football programs of the past ten years, all the "name brands", all the basketball blue bloods.
There are enough schools from both the PAC (9) and ACC (12) to dissolve those conferences without waiting for current contracts to expire.
The top two finishers in each division and two at large teams in each conference make a rational 8 team Conference Championship Tournament, and the 2 conference champions make a compelling and logical National Championship game.