Divisions in Conferences

[dochalladay32]

Yea, they had to have changed the rules since the last time I was looking at it, because just in the last 15 years, conferences debuted with <8 teams. So if 8 is the minimum, I'm glad EA went with 4 or doing realignments still would have been just a matter of moving a few teams here and there.

And yes, the 6 has to do with basketball and other collegiate sports in general, but I remember back when the Sun Belt was just starting and sending 5-6 champions to bowls there was talk that they might lose their automatic bowl bid for the champion. The conference improved and it never mattered again, but the NCAA does seem to have an influence.

[Jeff George]

Six teams is the conference minimum for basketball, and eight is the minimum for football (in real life, of course). The WAC will be allowed to move forward with seven teams due to the NCAA granting them a waiver. I assume the NCAA did the same when C-USA was starting up, or when the Sun Belt was going through a massive overhaul, or when the Big West was getting picked apart in the '90s.

And the SWAC (in I-AA) has two five-team divisions and a championship game at Legion Field. But I'm guessing EA will cater to the more common 12-team rule in place for I-A.