10 conferences - 120 teams

[Craptacular]

This isn't overly creative, but what do you guys think about this conference alignment? I took into account the changes that have been announced recently, moved a few other teams around, and added three more schools to get to 120. Florida Atlantic and Florida A&M are moving up to D1 anyway, and I added Villanova to the Big East.

The changes I made to the current BCS conferences were:
* adding Notre Dame to the Big 10
* adding Hawaii and Fresno St to the Pac 10
* keeping Temple, and adding Army, Navy, and Villanova to the Big East

New alignment:


ACC

Florida St
NC State
Maryland
Clemson
Virginia
Ga Tech
Wake Forest
Duke
North Carolina
Miami
Virginia Tech
Boston College

Big 12

Nebraska
Kansas St
Missouri
Kansas
Colorado
Iowa St
Oklahoma
Texas
Texas Tech
Oklahoma St
Texas A&M
Baylor

Big East

Pittsburgh
West Virginia
Syracuse
Rutgers
Connecticut
South Florida
Louisville
Cincinnati
Army
Navy
*Villanova
Temple

Big Ten

Ohio St
Purdue
Michigan
Minnesota
Michigan St
Iowa
Wisconsin
Northwestern
Indiana
Penn St
Illinois
Notre Dame

Conference USA

TCU
Southern Miss
Memphis
UAB
Houston
Tulane
East Carolina
Marshall
Rice
SMU
Tulsa
Central Florida

MAC

Miami (OH)
Akron
Kent St
Ohio
Buffalo
Northern Illinois
Bowling Green
Toledo
Ball St
Western Michigan
Eastern Michigan
Central Michigan

Mountain West

Utah
Air Force
New Mexico
BYU
Wyoming
San Diego St
Colorado St
UNLV
Boise St
Nevada
San Jose St
Idaho

Pac 10

Washington St
USC
UCLA
Oregon St
Oregon
Washington
California
Stanford
Arizona St
Arizona
Hawaii
Fresno St

SEC

Florida
Georgia
Tennessee
South Carolina
Kentucky
Vanderbilt
Mississippi
LSU
Auburn
Arkansas
Alabama
Mississippi St

Sun Belt

North Texas
Arkansas St
Utah St
Middle Tenn St
La Lafayette
New Mexico St
UTEP
La Monroe
*Florida A&M
Troy State
La Tech
*Florida Atlantic

As for the schedule, now every conference can have two divisions of six teams. Each team plays the other five in their division, three of the six from the other division, and three non-conference games. Each conference has a title game. The bowl vs. playoff argument is a whole other story, but at least this arrangement eliminates the problem of some conferences having title games while some don't.

Thoughts??

By those of you not consumed by FOF2004 that is. :)

edit: Added Florida Atlantic to D1, in the Sun Belt conference, which is the conference they are joining anyway.

[Huckleberry]

I've heard rumors of Division 1 breaking up into two levels within the next decade. 60 or 64 teams would break off into a "Super Division 1". I have no idea how that structure would work, though.

Hopefully 60 teams in 5 12-team conferences. Maybe that would be the impetus to create a playoff. Then an 8-team playoff would be more agreeable and the 5 conference champions and 3 at-large teams would be entered.

[vex]

Why do we have to keep Baylor?:)

[Huckleberry]

To beat up on Colorado. ;)

More seriously, Baylor should be getting better, and they already are, sadly, in football. But if we kick them out, it just means someone else takes over as being the whipping boy of the conference. I don't see the point in getting rid of them. Besides, we can store our conference records in Waco and because it's a private institution, they're immune to Open Records Act requests.

[vex]

TCU would be better, right?


EDIT: Not that I think they'd be a powerhouse or anything.

[Huckleberry]

By virtue of teammates not killing each other, probably. But they'd regress, too. Baylor used to be a Texas Tech level football program. All they need is administrative improvements and they can be there again. There are lots of second-level recruits in this part of the country whose mothers would love to send their sons to a Christian school in the Big XII.

Plus Baylor has very competitive programs in other sports, such as baseball.

[tucker342]

It looks good to me. I would really enjoy having Notre Dame in the Big Ten, it would be really fun to watch Iowa beat their ass every year:D

[WSUCougar]

Interesting stuff, Crap.

For the Pac-10, the most recent talk involves BYU and Colorado State, although I really doubt it would happen. I've also heard Colorado mentioned before.

[HornedFrog Purple]

Baylor being in the Big-12 had very little to do with how good or bad Baylor was, it had a lot to do with who was the governor of Texas at the time, Ann Richards who was a Baylor alum. People forget that TCU shared the SWC title with Texas Tech in 1994.

10 conference champs decided by title games + 6 at-large which would give the so called power conferences 2 teams each on average. It would be nice but would never fly.

[mckerney]

Originally posted by Craptacular
* adding Notre Dame to the Big 10

NO!!! Those assclowns don't deserve the Big 10.

[Huckleberry]

Originally posted by HornedFrog Purple
Baylor being in the Big-12 had very little to do with how good or bad Baylor was, it had a lot to do with who was the governor of Texas at the time, Ann Richards who was a Baylor alum. People forget that TCU shared the SWC title with Texas Tech in 1994.

I'd always heard that Jim Bullock had a lot more to do with it than Ann Richards, who takes the heat because she was the governor. As for 1994, you forgot to mention that in addition to TCU and Texas Tech, Texas, Rice and Baylor also shared that 5-way conference "championship". And only because TAMU, who went 7-0-1 in conference, was on probation. Either way, it's hard to use that as an argument for TCU's entry instead of Baylor because Baylor also shared that title.

[HornedFrog Purple]

I think you mean Bob Bullock not Jim. He was the Lt. Gov at the time. If you have ever been to Baylor they are plastered all over campus.

A&M was 10-0-1 (6-0-1 unless they beat themselves once) and ranked 8th yet ineligible.

I am not making any case why TCU should have been invited instead, simply that Baylor was not any better to any serviceable degree in any sport at the time including basketball, football, track & field or baseball. It is pretty obvious why it ended up the way it did.

[Huckleberry]

Hey now. They would have been 7-1-1 if they beat themselves once.

Mea culpa on the Jim/Bob thing. Jim/Bob. That's so Texas.

[HornedFrog Purple]

Heh yeah it is pretty Texas. In a way I am glad they disbanded the SWC because it was just a matter of time before everybody in it was going to be on probation. The NCAA made an example of SMU, then the SEC then back to the SWC after Arkansas left. The punishments were way out of wack.

I read some article in SI sometime ago about the whole SMU thing and the NCAA basically said they would keep the death penalty in the books but never use it again which is ironic because what Alabama did a few years back was the same thing SMU was destroyed for.

[Craptacular]

With all the talk of change in college football, I just wanted to bump this for the crowd that never looked at the old College Football forum.

This plan would create a conference championship in every conference. IMHO, it is only fair if each conference has one or each conference doesn't have one.

[cthomer5000]

personally, I think conference title games are stupid. I think 9 team conferences would be the best size. That way you can play all your conference opponents every year, and be as big as possible.

but, it's all about money anyway.

[sterlingice]

Originally posted by vexroid
Why do we have to keep Baylor?:)

Same reason Vandy and Northwestern are where they are- they need to boost the conference SAT scores and GPA.

SI

[dawgfan]

Originally posted by WSUCougar
Interesting stuff, Crap.

For the Pac-10, the most recent talk involves BYU and Colorado State, although I really doubt it would happen. I've also heard Colorado mentioned before.

The talk I've heard is that the Pac-10 isn't interested in expanding just for football's sake. The conference takes pride in the academic status of their member schools.

If Colorado somehow became available they'd be likely candidates, but the question would be who to grab for the 12th team.

Of course, as more and more conferences expand and pressure mounts for conferences to have championship games, things may change, but for right now there is a stubborn reluctance within the Pac-10 school presidents to expand the conference.

[Huckleberry]

I still like the 60 teams scenario, except now I want to see 6 10-team conferences. That way each conference can play a full round robin and the 6 champions could move on to the playoffs with 2 at-large teams. Much like my other playoff scenario except without the first round.

[judicial clerk]

Fresno State reluctently accepts your offer to join the Pac Ten on the condition that you share whatever it is you are smoking

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally posted by Huckleberry
I've heard rumors of Division 1 breaking up into two levels within the next decade. 60 or 64 teams would break off into a "Super Division 1". I have no idea how that structure would work, though.

That's an idea I've been solidly behind for several years. Unfortunately, I don't think it has a snowball's chance of happening.

originally posted by vexroid
Why do we have to keep Baylor?


If you get to trade Baylor, then the ACC would like to trade Clemson for Vanderbilt. Both would be a better fit in their new conference IMO.

[Samdari]

Originally posted by Craptacular
With all the talk of change in college football, I just wanted to bump this for the crowd that never looked at the old College Football forum.

This plan would create a conference championship in every conference. IMHO, it is only fair if each conference has one or each conference doesn't have one.

I like this. One thing that needs to happen IMO is to pare it down to 96 team. 8 12 team conferences feeds beautifully into a playoff.