So yeah we are now getting those threads that would never have been posted any other time of the year. You know the ones. Just take a look at the main board and try to find a topic that isn't either esoteric, nitpicking contracts that we don't have possession of to read, or talking about a sport that at your tailgate where people actually know who you are you would be afraid to bring up as a topic for discussion. Ah, many of you just blushed so you know who you are.

So here's an exercise for every list loving son of a gun among you. It's an exercise for every wouldbe conference commissioner or NCAA Tsar. I want you to take the current FBS schools of the G5 and P5 (or A5 for the anal among you) and divide them up as you think they should be divided.

If you want to check attendance figures, gross revenue figures, or other pertinent stats on the schools like the WSJ's valuation of the schools then feel free to visit the pinned section of the SEC board where I keep that kind of stuff on hand. It might save you constant searches on the web.

Then explain why you want the number of conferences that you would like and list the teams in them.

If you are poster who would like to read the thread, but don't care to make a list, you may vote on who has the best alignment when the thread is completed or when it has met its deadline which will be the end of this month. On June 1st the thread will be closed and I'll start a new thread asking you to state the name of the poster who submitted the best alignment.

Here are the very simple rules.

1. You may only post 1 alignment and you will have through the end of the month to edit it as you see fit, but it can be your only post in the thread.

2. You may move schools out of the P5 or G5 or remove them completely from the FBS altogether.

3. You may promote FCS schools you feel can compete well at the FBS level.

4. You may have as many conferences, or as few as you deem fit, but explain why you did that at the end of your alignment.

5. While you may promote or demote schools this is FBS only. Do Not Post alignments for FCS or lower tier schools. If you want to do that start another thread about the FCS and lower tiers.

6. If you don't like my rules start your own thread but don't gripe in this one since it's just for fun.

The winning alignment will get a +3 from me. The runner up a +2. And good efforts and 3rd place will get a +1. The good efforts are at my discretion but places 1,2,& 3 will be decided by vote only.

But, Rep is not limited to just my awards. If you see a posted alignment you really really like then giving them rep is A okay. Neg repping in a fun exercise is not allowed.

If any dummy tries to use this "FUN" exercise to gripe about things we are all sick of hearing about I'll give them another prize, a timeout from board participation.

Things are as boring as they have ever been in an off season so have fun! Any questions then PM me.

First things first, the Big 8 and SWC need to be revived.

Big 8 - 7 Game Round Robin
Colorado
Nebraska
Iowa State
Missouri
Kansas
Kansas State
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State

SWC - 8 Game Round Robin
Arkansas
Texas
Texas A&M
Texas Tech
Texas Christian
Southern Methodist
Baylor
Rice
Houston

Second things second, with Colorado back home, let’s revive the Utah/BYU rivalry.

PAC 12 - 9 Games
Washington
Washington State
Oregon
Oregon State
Stanford
California
Southern California
Arizona
Arizona State
Utah
Brigham Young

Now let’s take the top 48 remaining schools divide them by geography and culture into the ACC (east), B1G (midwest), and SEC (south).

ACC - 10 Games
Boston College
Rutgers
Army
Navy
Maryland
Virginia
Virginia Tech
Duke
Wake Forest
North Carolina
North Carolina State
East Carolina
South Carolina
Clemson
Central Florida
South Florida

B1G - 10 Games
Syracuse
Penn State
Pittsburgh
West Virginia
Cincinnati
Ohio State
Michigan
Michigan State
Notre Dame
Northwestern
Purdue
Indiana
Illinois
Iowa
Minnesota
Wisconsin

SEC - 10 Games
Kentucky
Louisville
Memphis
Vanderbilt
Tennessee
Georgia
Georgia Tech
Florida
Florida State
Miami
Auburn
Alabama
Ole Miss
Mississippi State
Louisiana State
Tulane

The BCS and its crystal ball are returning. Those are your 6 BCS conferences. Objective computers - not humans subject to agendas - will determine the rankings and which 4 teams will compete in the playoff.

Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Temple will drop football to focus on restoring their hoops glory indefinitely. UConn to Big East; UMass/Temple committed long term to A10.

There will be 3 more conferences for a total of 9. The American and Sun Belt have ceased to exist. The fewer the FBS teams, the more rivalry games and fewer bodybag games teams will play.

Mountain West - 9 Games
El Paso
New Mexico
New Mexico State
Air Force
Wyoming
Colorado State
Utah State
Boise State
San Jose State
Fresno State
San Diego State
Hawai’i
Nevada
UNLV

MAC - 9 Game Round Robin
Western Kentucky
Middle Tennessee
Marshall
Ohio
Miami
Bowling Green
Toledo
Central Michigan
Western Michigan
Northern Illinois

Conference USA - 8 Game Round Robin
Florida Atlantic
Troy
Birmingham
Southern Miss
Arkansas State
Louisiana
Louisiana Tech
North Texas
San Antonio

ODU and Charlotte to A10 (which will drop Fordham/Duquesne and lose Dayton/SLU, but add ODU/Charlotte/Temple/Buffalo).
All other dropouts will find regional homes for hoops (Tulsa, Ball, EMU, Akron, Kent, Texas St, La-Mo, S Alabama, Ga St, Ga So, FIU, CoaCa, App St, Liberty).

That’s it. 9 Conferences. 110 Teams.

No divisions in any conference. Instead, each ACC/B1G/SEC/PAC/MW team will have 3 “protected” annual rivalries. All other games will rotate. Top 2 finishers play for conference title. B8/SWC/MAC/CUSA will only hold title game if there’s a tie for first.

Protected in-conference and out-of-conference rivalry games will be edited in later.

BCS will have 5 games: Orange, Sugar, Cotton, Fiesta, Rose. Cotton will return to natural grass at Cotton Bowl. National title game will rotate between Rose Bowl Stadium and Cotton Bowl Stadium each year to ensure it’s played outdoors - on natural grass - at the 2 most historic venues.

10 BCS teams will be 6 BCS champs, top MAC/MW/CUSA champ, and 3 at-large’s.

30 Bowls (tv schedule edited in later)
Orange, Sugar, Cotton, Fiesta, Rose
Sun, Gator, Citrus, Liberty, Peach
Independence, Holiday, Outback, Cactus, Bluebonnet
Las Vegas, Alamo, Potato, Music City, Dixie (Mobile)
Pinstripe, New Orleans, Emerald, Hawai’i, Queen City
Armed Forces, Birmingham, New Mexico, Military, Boca Raton

Sponsored bowl titles banned.
All 7-5 teams must be picked before 6-6 teams in bowl selection.
No jumping a team with a better conference record in bowl pecking order unless they have a worse overall record than you.

If you're bringing back the Big 8 and SWC, you gotta bring back the Pac-8, too.

And while you're at it, why not the OG WAC: Arizona, ASU, Utah, BYU, CSU, Wyoming, UNM, UTEP.

I buy what IWokeUpLikeThis is posting, but I am changing the MAC and going to 12.

MAC 2.0

New York
Temple
UMass
Delaware
James Madison
Ohio

NIU
Illinois State
WMU
BGSU
Toledo
Miami

MAC 2.0 rebrands itself as the social media / ESPN / interactive conference, with a focus on the East Coast and the Midwest.

Stadium and arena seating is reduced, sight lines for cameras are prioritized, and all production is of the highest quality. Social media (as a catch all definition) fan interactions, interviews, player profiles - everything is done with an eye toward high quality media and instant dissemination to popular websites, news media and social media for all sports. School commercials are produced with assistance from top-notch advertising agencies. Radio shows are sponsored by the MAC. Press releases. Video. Marketing marketing marketing. MAC 2.0 goes paraphernalia crazy. Every hyper-market / supercenter / Lidz / bookstore / gas station, residence, warehouse, farmhouse, henhouse, outhouse and doghouse in the areas between the Quad-Cities and New York City gets MAC end-caps with high quality school stuff. You get the idea.

Themes:
1. No conference bigger than 12 teams
2. Bring back old rivalries
3. Pick the best programs not in A5 and put into new A6
It looks a lot like 2011 lineups.

Pac 12-no change
North-Washington, Washington St., Oregon, Oregon St., Stanford, Cal
South-USC, UCLA, Arizona, Arizona St., Utah, Colorado

Big 10-give up two
West-Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Northwestern
East-Indiana, Purdue, Michigan St., Michigan, Ohio St., Penn St.

SEC-give up two
West-Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi, Mississippi St., LSU, A&M
East-Kentucky, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina

Big 12
North-Iowa St., Kansas, Kansas St., Oklahoma, Oklahoma St., Missouri
South-Texas, TCU, Baylor, Texas Tech, Arkansas, Houston
(not sure any of the Big 12 would want Mizzou back, but its where they best fit)

ACC
Coastal-Miami, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Duke, Virginia, Virginia Tech
Atlantic-FSU, Clemson, North Carolina St., Wake Forest, Central Florida, South Florida

Big Atlantic
North-Notre Dame, Pitt, Boston College, Syracuse, UConn, BYU football only
South-Louisville, West Virginia, Maryland, Rutgers, Cincinnati, Temple
(Arkansas, Houston and Mizzou fit better in the Big 12 than BYU-Colorado needs to be in the Pac 12, so BYU gets stuck over here-and no one has to fiddle with their no Sunday play in non-rev sports. Plus you have them with a couple of Catholic schools)

MAC-no change
West-Northern Illinois, Ball St., WMU, CMU, EMU, Toledo
East-Miami, Bowling Green, Ohio, Akron, Kent, Buffalo

MWC-replace one
West-Hawaii, San Jose St., Fresno St., San Diego St., UNLV, Nevada
East-Boise St., Utah St., Wyoming, Colorado St., New Mexico, UTEP

AAC
East-Tulane, Memphis, East Carolina, Southern Miss, FAU, FIU
West-Tulsa, SMU, Navy-fb, Army-fb, Air Force-fb, Rice
(Air Force joins WCC for other sports, Wichita St., St. Louis and Dayton are non-football members of AAC)


CUSA
East-UMass, Marshall, ODU, UNCC, Appalachian St., Coastal Carolina
West-WKU, Middle Tennessee, UAB, Troy, Georgia St., Georgia Southern
(geographically realigns, giving up its western wing for eastern SB school)

Sun Belt
East-South Alabama, ULM, ULL, Louisiana Tech, Liberty football only
West-UTSA, Texas St., North Texas, New Mexico St., Arkansas St.
UTA and Arkansas Little Rock stay for basketball

Okay, so I've always been a fan of 9-team conferences, so I based my scenario on all conferences being 8, 9 or 10 teams. However, all the conference have paired up for championship games and tv packages, so what you really have are 16-20 team conferences that act as smaller units for scheduling purposes. I've italicized the relocated teams. To trim leagues down, more often than not I removed the most recent additions.

Each team in this universe would play 10 games against there conference and sister conference and 2 OOC (out of conference or sister conference) games for a 12-game base schedule.

ACC (Sister conference = SEC)
Clemson
Duke
Florida State
Georgia Tech
Maryland
NC State
North Carolina
South Carolina
Virginia
Wake Forest

SEC (Sister Conference = ACC)
Alabama
Auburn
Florida
Georgia
Kentucky
LSU
Mississippi
Mississippi State
Tennessee
Vanderbilt

The ACC and the SEC each play a round-robin for their first 9 games, and then there's one cross-conference game for a 10-game "conference schedule". The ACC champs would then face the SEC champs in Atlanta to decide which team goes to the playoff.

B1G (Sister Conference = Pac 10)
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Michigan
Michigan State
Minnesota
Northwestern
Ohio State
Purdue
Wisconsin

Pac 10 (Sister Conference = B1G)
Arizona
Arizona State
California
Oregon
Oregon State
Stanford
UCLA
USC
Washington
Washington State

As with the ACC/SEC partnership, the B1G/Pac10 plays 9 games against their own conference and one cross-conference game. The B1G champs face off against the Pac10 champs for a playoff berth in a title game that alternates between an west coast location and a midwest location each year.

Big Nine (formerly Big 12) (Sister Conference = SWC)
BYU
Colorado
Iowa State
Kansas
Kansas State
Missouri
Nebraska
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State

Southwest Conference (Sister Conference = Big 9)
Arkansas
Baylor
Houston
Rice
SMU
TCU
Texas
Texas A&M
Texas Tech

Each of these two 9-team conferences plays 8 games within their conference and 2 crossover games. Jerry hosts the title game with a playoff spot on the line.

Big East (Sister conference = American)
Boston College
Miami
Penn State
Pittsburgh
Rutgers
Syracuse
Temple
UConn
Virginia Tech
West Virginia

American (Sister conference = Big East)
Army
Cincinnati
East Carolina
Louisville
Memphis
Navy
South Florida
Tulane
Tulsa
UCF

In what's sure to be the most controversial of these alignments, the Big East and the American partner up. 9 conference games and 1 crossover. Penn State and Louisville fans are probably the most disappointed in this scenario. Title game in Philadelphia with a trip to the playoffs on the line will cheer everyone up!

Mountain West (Sister conference = WAC)
Air Force
Boise State
Colorado State
Fresno State
New Mexico
San Diego State
UNLV
Utah
Wyoming

WAC is BACK! (Sister conference = Mountain West)
Hawaii
Idaho
Nevada
New Mexico State
San Jose State
Texas State
Utah State
UTEP
UTSA

8 conference games and two crossovers for these guys. Good to see the WAC up and running again, even if the loss of BYU and TCU meant the MWC still stole Boise State and Fresno State. Idaho stays FBS and New Mexico State finds a home. Title game in Denver to send a team to the playoffs!

C-USA (Sister conference - Sun Belt)
Charlotte
Florida Atlantic
Florida International
James Madison
Louisiana Tech
North Texas
Old Dominion
Southern Miss
UAB

Fun Belt (Sister conference - C-USA)
Appalachian State
Coastal Carolina
Georgia Southern
Georgia State
Louisian Monroe
Louisiana
South Alabama
Troy
Arkansas State

8 conference games and 2 cross overs for this pair. JMU joins the FBS ranks to create an in-state rivalry with ODU. I'm thinking Charlotte or Birmingham might make a nice home for this title game, but wouldn't Boca be a nice destination too? Probably not enough support there. Perhaps these conferences would play their championship game at a home park to boost attendance. At any rate, winner goes to the playoffs.

MAC (Sister conference = Appalachian)
Northern Illinois
Central Michigan
Eastern Michigan
Western Michigan
Ball State
Bowling Green
Miami (OH)
Toledo

Appalachian Conference (Sister conference = MAC)
Akron
Buffalo
Kent State
Marshall
Middle Tennessee
Ohio
UMass
Western Kentucky

These two are the smallest conferences at 8 teams each, but their schedule of 7 conference games and 3 cross overs would keep a lot of MAC rivalries alive.

So, we've got the 7 championship games to give us 7 playoff teams. What about the 8th playoff spot? It goes to Notre Dame, the lone independent school. Every year. Even if they go 0-12. It was the only way we could get everyone to buy in. It had to be done.

So, here's a sample of what the playoffs could look like in any given year.

Championship Week:

35 Florida State knocks off Florida in the SEC-ACC title game.
3 Ohio State defeats USC in the B1G-PAC showdown.
8 Oklahoma edges Houston in the B12-SWC match-up.
7 UCF beats Penn State in the Big East-American game.
25 Boise State tops Utah State in the Mountain WAC game.
30 FAU beats Appalachian in a C-USA-SBC thriller.
67 Marshall tops Toledo in the MAC-APP match-up.
9 Notre Dame is Notre Dame. Bow, please.

The 8 playoff teams are seeded based on the old BCS formula, which gives us round 1:

1 Ohio State
8 Marshall

4 Notre Dame
5 Boise State

2 UCF
7 Florida

3 Oklahoma
6 FAU

And from there, we narrow it down to 4, then 2, then our 1 true National Champion.

I really want to see the Pod system work. I think it has the potential to really streamline the postseason and maintain the "Eye-test" component that makes CFB special, while having a clear path for the majority of the programs in D1 FBS to reach the pinnacle.

This post will not only reorganize all of FBS into 8 conference of 16, with 4 divisions of 4 each, it will also completely restructure the postseason into Playoff Brackets of varying levels, essentially getting rid of bowls as we know it


Champions Bracket
First and foremost, There will be a NCAA recognized, BCS-Ranking driven "Champions Bracket" that will pit the top 5 Conference Champions and 3 at large programs against each other in the highest level of playoff.

"NIT" Bracket
The other 3 Champions, if they haven't attained an at large selection into Bracket 1, will automatically be placed in Bracket 2, with 5 other at large programs.

Regionals
All subsequent brackets will be filled based on geography and matchup, for a maximum of 4 Regional Brackets (32 teams), based on End of Season ranking. There is no minimum amount of wins required, but with only 48 postseason eligible programs, it's unlikely all 6 or even 7 win programs will make it to the postseason. Regional Brackets are seeded by Final Rankings, which rely heavily on Strength of Schedule, Strength of Record, and Head-to-Head matchups.

Conference Championship Games
In an effort to keep the number of games in a season down, the pods will not be placed in a semifinal format. The Champions will be selected by the conference under a uniform set of rules, given to all conferences in FBS. Essentially, the highest ranked Division Champions will face off against each other in a single Championship game. Neutral site or at the higher seeds home stadium, doesn't matter.

Conference
These are not perfect, but some consideration was taken, primarily on team history and secondarily on geography / conference fit.

Conference will play all their division rivals (3), and (2) each from the other divisions (6) for a total of 9 conference games. Protected rivalries are up to the conference. 3 OOC games are allowed, and that brings the maximum possible schedule to 16 games for the NCAA FBS Champion.

SEC
• Vanderbilt
• Tennessee
• Kentucky
• Arkansas
• FSU
• Florida
• Georgia
• LSU
• Auburn
• Alabama
• Ole Miss
• Miss State
• Texas A&M
• Texas
• Oklahoma
• Oklahoma State
  

ACC
• Umass
• Army
• UConn
• Boston College
• Pitt
• WVU
• Penn State
• Temple
• UNC
• Wake Forest
• Maryland
• Duke
• Virginia
• Syracuse
• VT
• Rutgers
  

B1G
• Wisconsin
• Minnesota
• Nebraska
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Mizzou
• Illinois
• Iowa State
• Buffalo
• Michigan
• Michigan State
• Ohio State
• Northwestern
• Notre Dame
• Purdue
• Indiana
  

Pac-16
• Stanford
• Cal
• UCLA
• USC
• Oregon
• Oregon State
• Washington
• Washington State
• Arizona
• Arizona State
• Utah
• Colorado
• Boise State
• SDSU
• BYU
• Fresno State
  

BXVI
• Georgia Tech
• UCF
• USF
• Miami
• SCAR
• Clemson
• ECU
• NC State
• TCU
• Navy
• Houston
• Texas Tech
• Memphis
• Cinci
• Louisville
• Kansas State
  

MWC
• Tulsa
• Tulane
• SMU
• Rice
• UNT
• UTSA
• Baylor
• Texas State
• UNLV
• UNR
• UNM
• UTEP
• CSU
• AFA
• Wyoming
• Utah State
  

C-USA
• ULM
• ULaLa
• Arkansas State
• LA Tech
• USM
• UAB
• Troy
• USA
• GaSt
• GaSo
• FIU
• FAU
• Coastal
• App State
• ODU
• Charlotte
  

MAC
• Akron
• Toledo
• BGSU
• Kent State
• Miami (OH)
• Ball State
• Ohio
• Marshall
• JMU
• Liberty
• WKU
• MTSU
• CMU
• WMU
• EMU
• NIU
  

The makeup of the conferences aren't too terribly important. I think the biggest crux of conference makeup is where to place Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M. Does aTm stay in the SEC while the others + TTech slide to PAC-12? That decision shakes up everything and has huge ramifications everywhere else down the line. The important part is the number of teams in the conference, and the postseason rules and format.

TL;DR
I personally think this system will combine the best aspects of the professional, on the field format that the NFL and every other pro-league in the world utilizes, while style maintaining the glamour and "every game matters" aspect that makes CFB great, while reinvigorating the postseason with actual games that matter to play. Rather than 35+ "Bowl Champions" you would have only 4 Regional Champions, 1 NIT Champion, and 1 Grand National Champion. Payouts are issued similar to NCAA basketball tournament rules.

Here's my entry! Geography is the name of the game. My favorite alignment structure is 8 conferences of 16, each with 4 divisions of 4. Nice symmetry, allows for 2-round conference playoffs if desired, and each school can play every conference mate at least twice in a 4-year period with a 9-game conference schedule. FBS retains its two de facto tiers (here the P4 and G4).

ACC
East: Duke, NC State, North Carolina, Wake Forest
North: Maryland, Virginia, Virginia Tech, West Virginia
South: Florida, Florida State, Miami-FL, South Florida
West: Clemson, Georgia, Georgia Tech, South Carolina

Big 16
East: Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Syracuse
North: Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ohio State
South: Illinois, Indiana, Northwestern, Purdue
West: Iowa, Iowa State, Minnesota, Wisconsin

Pac-16
East: TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech
North: Oregon, Oregon State, Washington, Washington State
South: Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Utah
West: California, Stanford, UCLA, USC

SEC
East: Kentucky, Louisville, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
North: Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Nebraska
South: Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi State, Ole Miss
West: Arkansas, LSU, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State

CUSA
East: East Carolina, Navy, Old Dominion, Temple
North: Army, Boston College, Connecticut, Massachusetts
South: Central Florida, Coastal Carolina, FAU, FIU
West: Appalachian State, Charlotte, Georgia Southern, Georgia State

MAC
East: Akron, Buffalo, Kent State, Youngstown State
North: Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Toledo, Western Michigan
South: Cincinnati, Marshall, Miami-OH, Ohio
West: Ball State, Middle Tennessee, Northern Illinois, Western Kentucky

MWC
East: Air Force, BYU, Colorado State, Wyoming
North: Boise State, Nevada, UNLV, Utah State
South: New Mexico, New Mexico State, Tulsa, UTEP
West: Fresno State, Hawaii, San Diego State, San Jose State

Sun Belt
East: Memphis, South Alabama, Troy, UAB
North: Arkansas State, Baylor, North Texas, SMU
South: Louisiana Tech, Louisiana-Lafayette, Southern Miss, Tulane
West: Houston, Rice, Texas State, UTSA

Here's a map for the P4: https://imgur.com/qXPHTdN

And a map for the G4: https://imgur.com/NYUS7B1

Unlike the 4 distinct divisions of each of the P4 conferences, the 4-team pods in each of the G4 conferences alternate between two 8-team divisions biennially (WAC-16 style). The P4 conferences each have 2-round playoffs to determine their champion. The 3 highest-ranked P4 champs are automatically eligible for the CFP. Each of the G4 conferences elect to hold a single CCG. The 4 champs of the G4 conferences face off in a 2-round G4 playoff, the winner of which plays the lowest-ranked P4 champ to determine the 4th spot in the CFP. Thus all FBS schools have a route to the CFP, although it's of course a lot harder for the G4 schools. Here's what a combined playoff bracket might look like (which conferences end up where will vary): https://imgur.com/nGBnv2k

Some notes:
* As for why USF in the P4 and not UCF, it's "6 of 1, half a dozen of the other" to me. I just needed one extra Florida team to fill out the ACC South.
* The Army-Navy game is played earlier in the season when it's a scheduled conference game.
* Florida and Georgia play an OOC game in years when they're not scheduled in conference. When they do play in conference, Georgia plays OOC against Auburn.
* Alabama alternates OOC games against LSU and Tennessee, depending on which they play in conference in a particular year.

Notable annual interconference matchups: Air Force/Army, Air Force/Navy, BYU/Utah, Central Florida/South Florida, Colorado/Colorado State, Notre Dame/USC, Oklahoma/Texas, Pittsburgh/West Virginia, SMU/TCU

(05-10-2018 02:27 PM)Kruciff Wrote:  I really want to see the Pod system work. I think it has the potential to really streamline the postseason and maintain the "Eye-test" component that makes CFB special, while having a clear path for the majority of the programs in D1 FBS to reach the pinnacle.

This post will not only reorganize all of FBS into 9 conference of 16, with 4 divisions of 4 each, it will also completely restructure the postseason into Playoff Brackets of varying levels, essentially getting rid of bowls as we know it


Champions Bracket
First and foremost, There will be a NCAA recognized, BCS-Ranking driven "Champions Bracket" that will pit the top 5 Conference Champions and 3 at large programs against each other in the highest level of playoff.

"NIT" Bracket
The other 4 Champions, if they haven't attained an at large selection into Bracket 1, will automatically be placed in Bracket 2, with 4 other at large programs.

Regionals
All subsequent brackets will be filled based on geography and matchup, for a maximum of 4 Regional Brackets (32 teams), based on End of Season ranking. There is no minimum amount of wins required, but with only 48 postseason eligible programs, it's unlikely all 6 or even 7 win programs will make it to the postseason. Regional Brackets are seeded by Final Rankings, which rely heavily on Strength of Schedule, Strength of Record, and Head-to-Head matchups.

Conference Championship Games
In an effort to keep the number of games in a season down, the pods will not be placed in a semifinal format. The Champions will be selected by the conference under a uniform set of rules, given to all conferences in FBS. Essentially, the highest ranked Division Champions will face off against each other in a single Championship game. Neutral site or at the higher seeds home stadium, doesn't matter.

Conference
These are not perfect, but some consideration was taken, primarily on team history and secondarily on geography / conference fit.

Conference will play all their division rivals (3), and (2) each from the other divisions (6) for a total of 9 conference games. Protected rivalries are up to the conference. 3 OOC games are allowed, and that brings the maximum possible schedule to 16 games for the NCAA FBS Champion.

SEC
• Vanderbilt
• Tennessee
• Kentucky
• Arkansas
• FSU
• Florida
• Georgia
• LSU
• Auburn
• Alabama
• Ole Miss
• Miss State
• Texas A&M
• Texas
• Oklahoma
• Oklahoma State
  

ACC
• Umass
• Army
• UConn
• Boston College
• Pitt
• WVU
• Penn State
• Temple
• UNC
• Wake Forest
• Maryland
• Duke
• Virginia
• Syracuse
• VT
• Rutgers
  

B1G
• Wisconsin
• Minnesota
• Nebraska
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Mizzou
• Illinois
• Iowa State
• Buffalo
• Michigan
• Michigan State
• Ohio State
• Northwestern
• Notre Dame
• Purdue
• Indiana
  

Pac-16
• Stanford
• Cal
• UCLA
• USC
• Oregon
• Oregon State
• Washington
• Washington State
• Arizona
• Arizona State
• Utah
• Colorado
• Boise State
• SDSU
• BYU
• Fresno State
  

BXVI
• Georgia Tech
• UCF
• USF
• Miami
• SCAR
• Clemson
• ECU
• NC State
• TCU
• Navy
• Houston
• Texas Tech
• Memphis
• Cinci
• Louisville
• Kansas State
  

MWC
• Tulsa
• Tulane
• SMU
• Rice
• UNT
• UTSA
• Baylor
• Texas State
• UNLV
• UNR
• UNM
• UTEP
• CSU
• AFA
• Wyoming
• Utah State
  

C-USA
• ULM
• ULaLa
• Arkansas State
• LA Tech
• USM
• UAB
• Troy
• USA
• GaSt
• GaSo
• FIU
• FAU
• Coastal
• App State
• ODU
• Charlotte
  

MAC
• Akron
• Toledo
• BGSU
• Kent State
• Miami (OH)
• Ball State
• Ohio
• Marshall
• JMU
• Liberty
• WKU
• MTSU
• CMU
• WMU
• EMU
• NIU
  

The makeup of the conferences aren't too terribly important. I think the biggest crux of conference makeup is where to place Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M. Does aTm stay in the SEC while the others + TTech slide to PAC-12? That decision shakes up everything and has huge ramifications everywhere else down the line. The important part is the number of teams in the conference, and the postseason rules and format.

TL;DR
I personally think this system will combine the best aspects of the professional, on the field format that the NFL and every other pro-league in the world utilizes, while style maintaining the glamour and "every game matters" aspect that makes CFB great, while reinvigorating the postseason with actual games that matter to play. Rather than 35+ "Bowl Champions" you would have only 4 Regional Champions, 1 NIT Champion, and 1 Grand National Champion. Payouts are issued similar to NCAA basketball tournament rules.

Actually you are 8X16, not 9.

(05-10-2018 09:03 PM)Nerdlinger Wrote:  Here's my entry! Geography is the name of the game. My favorite alignment structure is 8 conferences of 16, each with 4 divisions of 4.

I like the rivalries this arrangement has. I think the rivalries fuel the passion behind college sports, and proximity fuels the rivalries. Realignment is killing that. Nebraska is not playing Oklahoma but is playing...Rutgers? Texas and Texas A&M don't play anymore -what?!

In basketball, how is Creighton not playing Wichita? Man, there was blood on the court when those 2 teams played. It's hard to get excited about Seton Hall...nothing against them.

Nebraska would beat Kansas in football (usually) and Kansas would win in basketball (usually). But there were some great upsets. And the alumni took that passion with them when they graduated and moved to Kansas City and hung school banners in their yards and sing the school fight songs to each other at work.

I wish the NCAA, the Conferences, and the TV networks could some how sort it out and get back to sanity.

But this thread is about the closest we're going to get to that.

Gipper Conference:
Notre Dame

The rest of youse can do whatever.

BTW, this is a joke (sorta),. I'll get my conference together in a few days

(05-10-2018 10:17 PM)bullet Wrote:  

(05-10-2018 02:27 PM)Kruciff Wrote:  TL;DR
I personally think this system will combine the best aspects of the professional, on the field format that the NFL and every other pro-league in the world utilizes, while style maintaining the glamour and "every game matters" aspect that makes CFB great, while reinvigorating the postseason with actual games that matter to play. Rather than 35+ "Bowl Champions" you would have only 4 Regional Champions, 1 NIT Champion, and 1 Grand National Champion. Payouts are issued similar to NCAA basketball tournament rules.

Actually you are 8X16, not 9.

Thank you, fixed!

Do you have any other criticisms of the format? Honest question

(05-11-2018 12:15 AM)MidWestMidMajor Wrote:  

(05-10-2018 09:03 PM)Nerdlinger Wrote:  Here's my entry! Geography is the name of the game. My favorite alignment structure is 8 conferences of 16, each with 4 divisions of 4.

I like the rivalries this arrangement has. I think the rivalries fuel the passion behind college sports, and proximity fuels the rivalries. Realignment is killing that. Nebraska is not playing Oklahoma but is playing...Rutgers? Texas and Texas A&M don't play anymore -what?!

In basketball, how is Creighton not playing Wichita? Man, there was blood on the court when those 2 teams played. It's hard to get excited about Seton Hall...nothing against them.

Nebraska would beat Kansas in football (usually) and Kansas would win in basketball (usually). But there were some great upsets. And the alumni took that passion with them when they graduated and moved to Kansas City and hung school banners in their yards and sing the school fight songs to each other at work.

I wish the NCAA, the Conferences, and the TV networks could some how sort it out and get back to sanity.

But this thread is about the closest we're going to get to that.

I like that everything is regional in his format, but I don't like that he relegates half of FBS to a G5 Playoff with a different name. Forcing G5's to play an extra game is a huge disadvantage to entry into the system

Four Conferences with the conference divisions round the weekend after Thanksgiving (on campus). Conference Championship weekend after at neutral site then go to the final four on New Years and national championship as it is now.

ACC (Championship - Charlotte, NC)
WEST: Notre Dame, Cincinnati, Louisville, West Virginia, Pitt
NORTH: Boston College, Syracuse, Temple, Navy*, Virginia
EAST: Virginia Tech, UNC, Duke, NC State, Wake Forest
SOUTH: Clemson, Georgia Tech, Florida State, USF, Miami

SEC (Championship - Atlanta, GA)
EAST: ECU, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, UCF
CENTRAL: Kentucky, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Alabama, Auburn
SOUTH: LSU, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Memphis
WEST: Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M

BIG (Championship - Indianapolis, IN)
EAST: UConn, Rutgers, Army^, Penn State, Maryland
CENTRAL: Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Indiana, Purdue
NORTH: Illinois, Northwestern, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota
WEST: Iowa State, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, Kansas State

PAC-20 (Championship - Glendale, AZ)
NORTH: Washington, Washington State, Oregon, Oregon State, Boise State
WEST: Cal, Stanford, USC, UCLA, UNLV
SOUTH: Arizona, Arizona State, BYU, Utah, Colorado
EAST: Air Force, New Mexico, Texas Tech, Baylor, Houston

*Navy would be football only with Georgetown being the 16 school for Olympic sports
^Army would be football only with Villanova being the 16 school for Olympic sports

Let's try and see how the Alabama schedule would have worked out for this past year if my system had been implemented. I'll try to stick to real world results as much as possible

Alabama 2017 Football Season
• vs. Florida State (No longer OOC, but now Inter-pod Conference Game #1)
• vs. Fresno State (OOC #1)
• vs. Colorado State (OOC #2)
• @ Vanderbilt (Inter-pod #2)
• vs. Ole Miss (Intra-pod #1)
• @ Texas A&M (Inter-pod #3)
• vs. Arkansas vs. Oklahoma (Inter-pod #4), Arkansas dropped and will be played home-away in two years
• vs. Tennessee (Inter-pod #5)
• vs. LSU (Inter-pod #6)
• @ Miss State (Intra-pod #2)
• vs. Mercer (FCS Cupcake OOC)
• @ Auburn (Intra-pod #3)
  

Now because Alabama didn't win their division, one with Auburn in it, let's assume the same remains, but I'm willing to bet that Oklahoma would have been higher rated than Auburn in their conference so the SECCG turns into...

Oklahoma vs. Georgia

Here are my anticipated results of the other 7 Championship games

• ACC - Penn State vs. Virginia Tech
• B1G - Ohio State vs. Wisconsin
• PAC-16 - USC vs. Utah
• BXVI - Take your pick (2) between UCF, Miami, Clemson, and TCU
• MWC - CSU vs. UNT
• SBC - FAU vs. Troy or App State
• MAC - Toledo vs. JMU
  

Among those, the Champions bracket would be seeded...

1. SEC Winner - Georgia?
2. BXVI Winner - UCF (Hey I made this, and I still think UCF could have rolled with Clemson)
3. B1G Winner - Ohio State
4. SEC Loser - Oklahoma
5. BXVI Loser - Clemson
6. ACC Winner - Penn State
7. P16 Winner -USC
8. B1G Loser - Wisconsin

• 1 Georgia vs. 8 Wisconsin
• 2 UCF vs. 7 USC
• 3 Ohio State vs. 6 Penn State
• 4 Oklahoma vs. 5 Clemson
  

I like this arrangement, because it pretty much limits the champions bracket to only champions of the conference, or champions of the divisions that may have deserved a second shot. No Alabama's that can't even win their pod

If you like this idea, try and fill out the other 5 brackets!

(05-11-2018 09:24 AM)Kruciff Wrote:  

(05-10-2018 10:17 PM)bullet Wrote:  

(05-10-2018 02:27 PM)Kruciff Wrote:  TL;DR
I personally think this system will combine the best aspects of the professional, on the field format that the NFL and every other pro-league in the world utilizes, while style maintaining the glamour and "every game matters" aspect that makes CFB great, while reinvigorating the postseason with actual games that matter to play. Rather than 35+ "Bowl Champions" you would have only 4 Regional Champions, 1 NIT Champion, and 1 Grand National Champion. Payouts are issued similar to NCAA basketball tournament rules.

Actually you are 8X16, not 9.

Thank you, fixed!

Do you have any other criticisms of the format? Honest question

Personally, I don't like pods. I don't like the idea of 4 team division winners getting an autobid for the championship. Too many bad teams. And I don't like the conferences getting larger. Rivalries get too diluted with the Big 10 and SEC. Not as much with the other conferences.

If you are going to do 16 team conferences, I don't have many objections to your organization of the teams.

(05-11-2018 11:48 AM)bullet Wrote:  

(05-11-2018 09:24 AM)Kruciff Wrote:  

(05-10-2018 10:17 PM)bullet Wrote:  

(05-10-2018 02:27 PM)Kruciff Wrote:  TL;DR
I personally think this system will combine the best aspects of the professional, on the field format that the NFL and every other pro-league in the world utilizes, while style maintaining the glamour and "every game matters" aspect that makes CFB great, while reinvigorating the postseason with actual games that matter to play. Rather than 35+ "Bowl Champions" you would have only 4 Regional Champions, 1 NIT Champion, and 1 Grand National Champion. Payouts are issued similar to NCAA basketball tournament rules.

Actually you are 8X16, not 9.

Thank you, fixed!

Do you have any other criticisms of the format? Honest question

Personally, I don't like pods. I don't like the idea of 4 team division winners getting an autobid for the championship. Too many bad teams. And I don't like the conferences getting larger. Rivalries get too diluted with the Big 10 and SEC. Not as much with the other conferences.

If you are going to do 16 team conferences, I don't have many objections to your organization of the teams.

The thing I love about pods is it's one of the ways it allows conferences to have more members in the fold, while still playing every member in the conference on a regular basis. That's the appeal to me, not the size, but that the members you choose to associate with actually play you, unlike the SEC operates now. The way they have it now, there are some teams that haven't even played each other since the conference reached this form, for example Texas A&M and Kentucky. Florida hasn't played Auburn since 2011 and won't again until 2019. That's just ridiculous. With pods, you see every opponents stadium, and they visit yours once every 4 years.

I am really bummed. Just as I was about to post my (lengthy) reply, a pop up survey bumped me out of the forum. Now I have to start all over again. This time, I think I'll type it in Word so I can save it as I go before cutting and pasting here. [/i] Maybe this time it will let me use colored fonts.

FBS down to 109 schools and 5 conferences. The remaining 21 schools (no hard feelings) dropped to FCS or create a new middle subdivision with FCS call-ups.

PAC
North: Washington, Washington St, Oregon, Oregon St, Arizona St
West: California, Stanford, USC, UCLA, Arizona
East: Nebraska, Iowa St, Missouri, Kansas, Kansas St
South: Colorado, Oklahoma, Oklahoma St, Texas, Texas Tech

B1G
West: Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Northwestern
North: Indiana, Purdue, Michigan, Michigan St, Ohio St
East: Penn St, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Syracuse, Boston College
South: Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Duke, Georgia Tech

SEC
West: TCU, Texas A&M, Arkansas, LSU, Mississippi
South: Mississippi St, Alabama, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Florida St
North: Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia Tech, North Carolina St, Miami
East: Auburn, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, Clemson

AAC
West: San Diego St, UNLV, Boise St, Utah, BYU*, Colorado St
South: Air Force, New Mexico, Tulsa, SMU, Baylor, Houston
East: Tulane, Memphis, Central Florida, South Florida, East Carolina, Wake Forest
North: Louisville, Cincinnati, Temple, Connecticut, Army*, Navy*
*football-only; BYU (WCC), Army/Navy (Patriot)

CUSA
West: Hawaii, Fresno St, Nevada, Utah St, Wyoming, UTEP
South: UTSA, North Texas, Rice, Arkansas St, Louisiana Tech, UL Lafayette
East: Southern Miss, UAB, Middle Tennessee St, Western Kentucky, Florida Atlantic, Florida International
North: Old Dominion, Marshall, Northern Illinois, Toledo, Ohio, Buffalo

IND: Notre Dame

OUT: Akron, Appalachian St, Ball St, Bowling Green St, Central Michigan, Charlotte, Coastal Carolina, Eastern Michigan, Georgia Southern, Georgia St, Kent St, Liberty, Massachusetts, Miami OH, New Mexico St, San Jose St, South Alabama, Texas St, Troy, UL Monroe, Western Michigan

(05-11-2018 01:00 PM)ken d Wrote:  I am really bummed. Just as I was about to post my (lengthy) reply, a pop up survey bumped me out of the forum. Now I have to start all over again. This time, I think I'll type it in Word so I can save it as I go before cutting and pasting here. [/i] Maybe this time it will let me use colored fonts.

There’s also a “Save as Draft” feature when you post. Kept using that when typing mine because my phone is unreliable.