There were a few stories this year regarding the scheduling in the SEC with A&M and UGA playing for the first time this year. I've seen a few that have recommended the 3+5 schedule in a divisionless format if that can be approved for championship games (3 permanent rivals, rotates other 5 teams - plays all conference opponents at home and road in 4 years) and it is the one I prefer should the conference stay at 14 members.

But what if it expands? Adding 2 members to 16 allows for continued division play, but with 7 division games that means only 1 rotating opponent, maybe 2 if expanding to 9 conference games each year. Splitting into 4 pods creates similar issues to current, as you can't have Florida play Georgia, Georgia play Auburn, Auburn play Bama, and Bama play Tennessee every year as 5 teams can't fit in a 4 team pod.

There also doesn't seem to be a nice 3+5 type format that works very well with 16 teams.

You could do a 5+3 format if you only expanded by 1 team, which would result in playing every team within 3 years, or home/road within 6 years.

Expanding to 17 teams allows a 4+4 format, playing 4 teams every year, with the other 12 rotated in a 3/6 year cycle. I actually like this, perhaps adding OU, FSU, and Clemson? Or perhaps OU, UT and let little brothers OSU and Tx Tech fight for final spot?

Expanding to 18 teams doesn't seem to fit very well in an 8 game schedule either, although there is the 3 divisions of 6 teams each option (would be rotating 10 non-division teams). Having 3 division winners would likely require conference semi-final games before a championship, and I don't see that getting approved any time soon. Allowing championship games in a divisionless format without full round-robin seems much more likely to get approved than adding an entire week of play.

I haven't played with the numbers for expanding beyond 18 yet, but I don't think expansion will include more than 4 members at once, so that can be tabled for later.

(12-23-2019 05:14 PM)Phlipper33 Wrote:  There were a few stories this year regarding the scheduling in the SEC with A&M and UGA playing for the first time this year. I've seen a few that have recommended the 3+5 schedule in a divisionless format if that can be approved for championship games (3 permanent rivals, rotates other 5 teams - plays all conference opponents at home and road in 4 years) and it is the one I prefer should the conference stay at 14 members.

But what if it expands? Adding 2 members to 16 allows for continued division play, but with 7 division games that means only 1 rotating opponent, maybe 2 if expanding to 9 conference games each year. Splitting into 4 pods creates similar issues to current, as you can't have Florida play Georgia, Georgia play Auburn, Auburn play Bama, and Bama play Tennessee every year as 5 teams can't fit in a 4 team pod.

There also doesn't seem to be a nice 3+5 type format that works very well with 16 teams.

You could do a 5+3 format if you only expanded by 1 team, which would result in playing every team within 3 years, or home/road within 6 years.

Expanding to 17 teams allows a 4+4 format, playing 4 teams every year, with the other 12 rotated in a 3/6 year cycle. I actually like this, perhaps adding OU, FSU, and Clemson? Or perhaps OU, UT and let little brothers OSU and Tx Tech fight for final spot?

Expanding to 18 teams doesn't seem to fit very well in an 8 game schedule either, although there is the 3 divisions of 6 teams each option (would be rotating 10 non-division teams). Having 3 division winners would likely require conference semi-final games before a championship, and I don't see that getting approved any time soon. Allowing championship games in a divisionless format without full round-robin seems much more likely to get approved than adding an entire week of play.

I haven't played with the numbers for expanding beyond 18 yet, but I don't think expansion will include more than 4 members at once, so that can be tabled for later.

Actually at 16 rules are already on the book to allow for greater rotation. The old WAC had approved when they moved to 16 the formation of 4 half divisions where the 3 other members of your half division were played every year and you rotated the other 3 half divisions on your schedule every year and switched home and homes on the changeover of the cycle.

So for the sake of argument let's say we added Kansas and Oklahoma

Your half division might look like this:

Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma
L.S.U., Mississippi, Mississippi State, Texas A&M
Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina

With an 8 game schedule you would play everyone in your half division every year. Your division would consist of your half division and the division rotating in for you to play.

So year 1 the half division that A&M is in would play Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma
Year 2 you would play Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
Year 3 you would play Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina.

Each year your 4 and the rotating 4 make a full division and the winner of that division plays the winner of the other 2 half divisions combined in the CCG.

The four pods do work for the most part, however in your setup that would require the ending of the yearly Auburn-Georgia rivalry. We've obviously seen yearly rivalries end from realignment before, but I was trying to make it so that none of them would have to end as those internal rivalries have all been preserved by the SEC so far.

(12-24-2019 08:22 AM)Phlipper33 Wrote:  The four pods do work for the most part, however in your setup that would require the ending of the yearly Auburn-Georgia rivalry. We've obviously seen yearly rivalries end from realignment before, but I was trying to make it so that none of them would have to end as those internal rivalries have all been preserved by the SEC so far.

Keep in mind that 3 pod-mates + 1 other pod of 4 = only 7 SEC games... still 1 to go, which could be an annual rival with some finagling.

Actually what works best is 9 conference games, with one annual rival in each pod - that way you end up with 3+3 = 6 permanent rivals + 3 rotating.

To stay at 8 games you could go with 3 pod-mates + 1 pod + 1 rival, but if you're playing your rival's pod that year you have a secondary rival.

Personally I think the 3 permanent/5 rotating idea is the best one I've seen out there. Keeps nearly all of the crucial rivalries intact and allows for so much more variety each year.

I am preferable to the 3+5 option. 3 permanent rivals, rotate the rest. OR, just go to 9 games already. I'm so sick of seeing 2-3 cupcakes on these schedules. If they were actually being filled with quality teams, I would say stick with 8, but when your OOC schedule includes Kent State, Mercer, and Southern Miss, you need to fix the ish.

Not sure where to place this post.

Georgia vs Clemson kickoff 2021 football in Charlotte.

https://fbschedules.com/clemson-georgia-...charlotte/

Charlotte is an excellent market. Bank of America Stadium has done well hosting ACC vs SEC games.

When talking expansion, North Carolina need not be a state to overlook. Yeah, GoR stuff, et. al. Deals are not impossible, though.

(02-19-2020 11:28 AM)OdinFrigg Wrote:  Not sure where to place this post.

Georgia vs Clemson kickoff 2021 football in Charlotte.

https://fbschedules.com/clemson-georgia-...charlotte/

Charlotte is an excellent market. Bank of America Stadium has done well hosting ACC vs SEC games.

When talking expansion, North Carolina need not be a state to overlook. Yeah, GoR stuff, et. al. Deals are not impossible, though.

I'll be very happy if South Carolina never plays another Charlotte game again. I've been to the last 4 games there and each one was sub-par

(02-20-2020 02:44 PM)Gamecock Wrote:  

(02-19-2020 11:28 AM)OdinFrigg Wrote:  Not sure where to place this post.

Georgia vs Clemson kickoff 2021 football in Charlotte.

https://fbschedules.com/clemson-georgia-...charlotte/

Charlotte is an excellent market. Bank of America Stadium has done well hosting ACC vs SEC games.

When talking expansion, North Carolina need not be a state to overlook. Yeah, GoR stuff, et. al. Deals are not impossible, though.

I'll be very happy if South Carolina never plays another Charlotte game again. I've been to the last 4 games there and each one was sub-par

Ha! It was probably some deal between ESPN and Charlotte to get a tax break on the SECN being located there.

I will say that one problem with divisionless formats I see is the need to do a "X-Y" formatting. For example, 3-5 or 7-2. I think we're selling creativity short. At 16, I like the rotating pod format. What about divisionless with something like 3 permanent, 4/4 biannual, and 1/1/1/1 every four years? That maintains an 8-game schedule and you play everyone every 4 years.

Example: SEC expands with Oklahoma and Kansas; possible scheduling for Texas A&M

Year 1: Oklahoma, Arkansas, LSU; Kansas, Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina; Tennessee
Year 2: Oklahoma, Arkansas, LSU; Missouri, Mississippi St, Auburn, Kentucky; Vanderbilt
Year 3: Oklahoma, Arkansas, LSU; Kansas, Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina; Georgia
Year 4: Oklahoma, Arkansas, LSU; Missouri, Mississippi St, Auburn, Kentucky; Florida

It's a good venue for avoiding doing those home-to-home setups that some schools resist for a variety of reasons. Usually, payouts are about equal, and some balance in ticket distributions is intended.

(02-20-2020 04:08 PM)BePcr07 Wrote:  I will say that one problem with divisionless formats I see is the need to do a "X-Y" formatting. For example, 3-5 or 7-2. I think we're selling creativity short. At 16, I like the rotating pod format. What about divisionless with something like 3 permanent, 4/4 biannual, and 1/1/1/1 every four years? That maintains an 8-game schedule and you play everyone every 4 years.

Example: SEC expands with Oklahoma and Kansas; possible scheduling for Texas A&M

Year 1: Oklahoma, Arkansas, LSU; Kansas, Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina; Tennessee
Year 2: Oklahoma, Arkansas, LSU; Missouri, Mississippi St, Auburn, Kentucky; Vanderbilt
Year 3: Oklahoma, Arkansas, LSU; Kansas, Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina; Georgia
Year 4: Oklahoma, Arkansas, LSU; Missouri, Mississippi St, Auburn, Kentucky; Florida

The rotating half division system works best.

For instance you don't even have to be that fancy.

Every year you have 3 games with your half division, 4 games with a rotating division and in each other half division you can have 1 permanent rival. When you play another half division that game falls into the rotation. So with 9 conference games you play the rotating half division, the three from your half division, and the 2 permanent rivals no in the half division that has rotated on to your schedule.

With 9 conference games everyone plays everyone else every 3 years and each school has 6 permanent conference games on their schedule.

(02-20-2020 04:26 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(02-20-2020 04:08 PM)BePcr07 Wrote:  I will say that one problem with divisionless formats I see is the need to do a "X-Y" formatting. For example, 3-5 or 7-2. I think we're selling creativity short. At 16, I like the rotating pod format. What about divisionless with something like 3 permanent, 4/4 biannual, and 1/1/1/1 every four years? That maintains an 8-game schedule and you play everyone every 4 years.

Example: SEC expands with Oklahoma and Kansas; possible scheduling for Texas A&M

Year 1: Oklahoma, Arkansas, LSU; Kansas, Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina; Tennessee
Year 2: Oklahoma, Arkansas, LSU; Missouri, Mississippi St, Auburn, Kentucky; Vanderbilt
Year 3: Oklahoma, Arkansas, LSU; Kansas, Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina; Georgia
Year 4: Oklahoma, Arkansas, LSU; Missouri, Mississippi St, Auburn, Kentucky; Florida

The rotating half division system works best.

For instance you don't even have to be that fancy.

Every year you have 3 games with your half division, 4 games with a rotating division and in each other half division you can have 1 permanent rival. When you play another half division that game falls into the rotation. So with 9 conference games you play the rotating half division, the three from your half division, and the 2 permanent rivals no in the half division that has rotated on to your schedule.

With 9 conference games everyone plays everyone else every 3 years and each school has 6 permanent conference games on their schedule.

I understand that. I am a fan of the even game conference schedule so teams have half home and half away games except for a very select few like Florida-Georgia and Texas A&M-Arkansas.

(02-20-2020 02:48 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(02-20-2020 02:44 PM)Gamecock Wrote:  

(02-19-2020 11:28 AM)OdinFrigg Wrote:  Not sure where to place this post.

Georgia vs Clemson kickoff 2021 football in Charlotte.

https://fbschedules.com/clemson-georgia-...charlotte/

Charlotte is an excellent market. Bank of America Stadium has done well hosting ACC vs SEC games.

When talking expansion, North Carolina need not be a state to overlook. Yeah, GoR stuff, et. al. Deals are not impossible, though.

I'll be very happy if South Carolina never plays another Charlotte game again. I've been to the last 4 games there and each one was sub-par

Ha! It was probably some deal between ESPN and Charlotte to get a tax break on the SECN being located there.

I think Spurrier thought it was going to become another WLOCP between SC and rotating NC schools but it just never took off. So you end up with 45k fans watching lackluster football at 3 PM in August. Ticket prices being significantly higher than a normal home game never helped either. It just never clicked with any of the fanbases.

(12-31-2019 08:32 AM)Guardian Wrote:  I am preferable to the 3+5 option. 3 permanent rivals, rotate the rest. OR, just go to 9 games already. I'm so sick of seeing 2-3 cupcakes on these schedules. If they were actually being filled with quality teams, I would say stick with 8, but when your OOC schedule includes Kent State, Mercer, and Southern Miss, you need to fix the ish.

True. We really need to fix the OOC scheduling. Just looked at Missouri's 2020 schedule. Our four OOC games are Central Arkansas, Eastern Michigan, BYU, and La-Lafayette. I am all for a big payday for a small school, but it has a bad look for the strongest conference in the country.

(02-25-2020 03:07 PM)USAFMEDIC Wrote:  

(12-31-2019 08:32 AM)Guardian Wrote:  I am preferable to the 3+5 option. 3 permanent rivals, rotate the rest. OR, just go to 9 games already. I'm so sick of seeing 2-3 cupcakes on these schedules. If they were actually being filled with quality teams, I would say stick with 8, but when your OOC schedule includes Kent State, Mercer, and Southern Miss, you need to fix the ish.

True. We really need to fix the OOC scheduling. Just looked at Missouri's 2020 schedule. Our four OOC games are Central Arkansas, Eastern Michigan, BYU, and La-Lafayette. I am all for a big payday for a small school, but it has a bad look for the strongest conference in the country.

I think that 8 conference games +2 P5 OOC is the best format. Gives everyone 5 home, 5 away, and two buy games.