Emailed to me by a friend. I don't know whose idea (originally) it is.
College football just needs to add divisions like the NFL. I feel more comfortable sharing this now that the players are getting paid. Everything is changing but there are still improvements to be made.
Here's my concept to finally fix college football:
8 Divisions
Let's just make D1 football about the top 80 teams. Put them in 8 divisions. That would be 10 teams per division.
Then for the playoff, you simply take the top team from each division. Using the NFL wild card system, teams can still make the playoffs even if they don't win their division.
- 8 spots for division champs. 8 wild card spots.
- Division champions (#1–8) get priority seeding.
- Wild cards (#9–16) are seeded based on their records.
Why This Works
Best Teams Compete: Wild card spots ensure no deserving team gets left out due to a tough division or unlucky breaks.
Records > Committees: Eliminates subjectivity by focusing on performance.
Playoff Excitement: Every game matters, and underdog wild card teams can shake things up.
Conference Championships
Create super conferences, just like the NFL:
Division 1 + Division 8 = Super-Conference A (e.g., Southeastern & Atlantic Coast)
Division 3 + Division 6 = Super-Conference B (e.g., Midwest & Southern Plains)
Division 5 + Division 4 = Super-Conference C (e.g., Western & Mountain)
Division 7 + Division 2 = Super-Conference D (e.g., Eastern & Mid-American)
- Winners of each division in a super-conference play in a conference championship game.
- These games decide which team earns the higher playoff seed. Both division winners still qualify for the playoff, but the champion gets better placement.
- Wild card teams are seeded after all division winners.
Playoff Qualifiers:
- Must play each team in division once. This removes the strength of schedule conversation.
- Must play at least 11 games (9 division + 2 non division)
- Games can only be against other teams in the B League. (No more FCS schools)
The B League:
Now for the remaining 54 teams, they become an entirely different league. Could be some other rule like once you win 3 championships in the B-league you automatically get moved up. (Think of NIT in college basketball but all season.)
Fans of Ball State could watch them have a dogfight with Nevada and it would keep the college football spirit alive.
Incentive for the B League team could be money or the upgrade to the big league.
College football just needs to add divisions like the NFL. I feel more comfortable sharing this now that the players are getting paid. Everything is changing but there are still improvements to be made.
Here's my concept to finally fix college football:
8 Divisions
Let's just make D1 football about the top 80 teams. Put them in 8 divisions. That would be 10 teams per division.
Then for the playoff, you simply take the top team from each division. Using the NFL wild card system, teams can still make the playoffs even if they don't win their division.
- 8 spots for division champs. 8 wild card spots.
- Division champions (#1–8) get priority seeding.
- Wild cards (#9–16) are seeded based on their records.
Why This Works
Best Teams Compete: Wild card spots ensure no deserving team gets left out due to a tough division or unlucky breaks.
Records > Committees: Eliminates subjectivity by focusing on performance.
Playoff Excitement: Every game matters, and underdog wild card teams can shake things up.
Conference Championships
Create super conferences, just like the NFL:
Division 1 + Division 8 = Super-Conference A (e.g., Southeastern & Atlantic Coast)
Division 3 + Division 6 = Super-Conference B (e.g., Midwest & Southern Plains)
Division 5 + Division 4 = Super-Conference C (e.g., Western & Mountain)
Division 7 + Division 2 = Super-Conference D (e.g., Eastern & Mid-American)
- Winners of each division in a super-conference play in a conference championship game.
- These games decide which team earns the higher playoff seed. Both division winners still qualify for the playoff, but the champion gets better placement.
- Wild card teams are seeded after all division winners.
Playoff Qualifiers:
- Must play each team in division once. This removes the strength of schedule conversation.
- Must play at least 11 games (9 division + 2 non division)
- Games can only be against other teams in the B League. (No more FCS schools)
The B League:
Now for the remaining 54 teams, they become an entirely different league. Could be some other rule like once you win 3 championships in the B-league you automatically get moved up. (Think of NIT in college basketball but all season.)
Fans of Ball State could watch them have a dogfight with Nevada and it would keep the college football spirit alive.
Incentive for the B League team could be money or the upgrade to the big league.
