Brendan's Conference Realignment Guide

[steelersd26]

Hey Brendan, how would you set up protected rivals in a Big XII with this division alignment?

East: Cincy-Houston-ISU-Kansas-UCF-WVU

West: Baylor-BYU-Kansas State-OSU-TCU-Texas Tech

Kansas-Kansas State is a no-brainer, but I'm curious how you'd set it up for the remaining teams.

[bwburke94]

I'd just omit the protected rivals entirely to keep the conference at nine games. Kansas State swaps with Houston to keep them in the same division as Kansas.

[thebest625]

Time to add BYU, Houston, UCF, and Cincinnati to Big12

Quote: Originally Posted by bwburke94

This is a guide for realistic conference alignments, as close to real life as possible given the limitations of NCAA 12-14. The intent of this guide is for each conference to play the correct number of conference games, even if it requires the "protected rivals" setting to be changed. If a conference expands to 12+ members and a championship game location is not listed, you should ideally set it to be played at home field. Special Note on Pending SEC Realignment At the time of this edit, the SEC's alignment after Texas and Oklahoma join is unknown, as is the year the move will take place. Special Note on Season 1 Setup Do NOT enter the realignment screen in season 1 if you did not add TeamBuilder teams and do not intend to realign your first year! This will force the schedule to regenerate, as the game believes you realigned even if you really didn't. Note for Users of the Dynasty Editor (NCAA 14 only) Spoiler Conference USA is glitched and has two #2 tie-ins. The Hawaii Bowl should be changed to #6 if you're willing to use the editor. If you're removing the American's BCS at-large bid in 2014, you should change the conference's four existing tie-ins in the editor (the Russell Athletic, Belk, BBVA Compass, and Beef O'Brady's bowls) to compensate for this. The game won't do it automatically. Finally, I recommend giving the leftover Poinsettia Bowl tie-in to the Sun Belt, as they have only two "normal" tie-ins. Convert to 2020 Conference Alignment (NCAA 12) Spoiler (The WAC still exists in this game, so one team will have to be its fourth member. They can't be from the Sun Belt, which is also reduced to four.) Move Temple from MAC [East] to Big East. Move Navy from Independent to Big East. Move Missouri from Big 12 to SEC [East]. Move Texas A&M from Big 12 to SEC [West]. Move TCU from MWC to Big 12. Move West Virginia from Big East to Big 12. Move Pittsburgh from Big East to ACC [Coastal]. Move Louisville and Syracuse from Big East to ACC [Atlantic]. Move UConn from Big East to WAC. (Real life independent, in the WAC to fill out the conference.) Move Maryland from ACC [Atlantic] to Big Ten [temporarily Legends]. Move Rutgers from Big East to Big Ten [temporarily Leaders]. Move ECU, Houston, Memphis, SMU, Tulane, Tulsa, and UCF from C-USA to Big East. (Move the fourth member into the WAC, if they weren't a real life WAC member.) Move Fresno State, Hawaii, Nevada, San Jose State, and Utah State from WAC to MWC. Move Louisiana Tech from WAC to C-USA. Move FIU, Florida Atlantic, Mid Tenn State, North Texas, and Western Kentucky from Sun Belt to C-USA. In the Big Ten, swap Maryland, Michigan, and Michigan State to the Leaders and Illinois, Purdue, and Wisconsin to the Legends. Rename Leaders to East and Legends to West. If your MWC has 12 members, align geographically, with the Mountain Time teams in the Mountain Division, and the Pacific Time teams and Hawaii in the West Division. If you're confused about the geography, it's Boise State in the Mountain and Nevada/UNLV in the West. Disable protected rivals in the ACC and SEC. (Optional; to maintain 8-game conference schedule) Enable protected rivals in the MAC and MWC if they have 12 members, and set them however you like. (Optional; to maintain 8-game conference schedule) If you kept protected rivals in the Big Ten, set them however you like; see the bottom of the post for real-life rivals. If you kept protected rivals in the SEC, switch Missouri's rival to Arkansas and South Carolina's rival to Texas A&M. Move the Pac-12 championship to Las Vegas Bowl. (To represent Allegiant Stadium) Remove BCS bid from Big East. Change Big 12's BCS tie-in from Fiesta Bowl to Sugar Bowl. Convert to 2020 Conference Alignment (NCAA 13) Spoiler Move UMass from MAC [East] to WAC. (Real life independent, in the WAC to fill out the conference.) Move Navy from Independent to Big East. Move Pittsburgh from Big East to ACC [Coastal]. Move Louisville and Syracuse from Big East to ACC [Atlantic]. Move UConn from Big East to WAC. (Real life independent, in the WAC to fill out the conference.) Move Maryland from ACC [Atlantic] to Big Ten [temporarily Legends]. Move Rutgers from Big East to Big Ten [temporarily Leaders]. Move San Jose State and Utah State from WAC to MWC. Move Texas State from WAC to Sun Belt. The next section can be done in several different orders; this is the one I prefer. Move North Texas from Sun Belt to C-USA [West]. Move Mid Tenn State and Western Kentucky from Sun Belt to C-USA [East]. Move Southern Miss from C-USA [East] to C-USA [West]. Move UCF, Houston, and SMU from C-USA to Big East. Move Florida Atlantic from Sun Belt to C-USA [East]. Move Louisiana Tech and UTSA from WAC to C-USA [West]. Move FIU from Sun Belt to C-USA [East]. Move ECU, Tulane, Tulsa, and Memphis from C-USA to Big East. In the Big Ten, swap Maryland, Michigan, and Michigan State to the Leaders and Illinois, Purdue, and Wisconsin to the Legends. Rename Leaders to East and Legends to West. In the MWC, align geographically, with the Mountain Time teams in the Mountain Division, and the Pacific Time teams and Hawaii in the West Division. If you're confused about the geography, it's Boise State in the Mountain and Nevada/UNLV in the West. Disable protected rivals in the ACC and SEC. (Optional; to maintain 8-game conference schedule) Enable protected rivals in the MAC, C-USA, and MWC, and set them however you like. (Optional; to maintain 8-game conference schedule) If you kept protected rivals in the Big Ten, set them however you like; see the bottom of the post for real-life rivals. If you kept protected rivals in the SEC, switch Missouri's rival to Arkansas and South Carolina's rival to Texas A&M. Move the Pac-12 championship to Las Vegas Bowl. (To represent Allegiant Stadium) Remove BCS bid from Big East. Change Big 12's BCS tie-in from Fiesta Bowl to Sugar Bowl. Convert to 2020 Conference Alignment (NCAA 14) - This is the one most of you want. Spoiler Move Maryland from ACC [Atlantic] to Big Ten [temporarily Legends]. Move Rutgers from American to Big Ten [temporarily Leaders]. Move Louisville from American to ACC [Atlantic]. Move UConn from American to Independent. Move UMass from MAC [East] to Independent. Move Navy from Independent to American. Move Old Dominion from Independent to C-USA [East]. Move Southern Miss from C-USA [East] to C-USA [West]. Move ECU, Tulane, and Tulsa from C-USA to American. (Make sure you've moved ODU and UConn before you do this!) Move Western Kentucky from Sun Belt to C-USA [East]. Move UAB from C-USA [East] to C-USA [West]. In the Big Ten, swap Maryland, Michigan, and Michigan State to the Leaders and Illinois, Purdue, and Wisconsin to the Legends. Rename Leaders to East and Legends to West. Disable protected rivals in the ACC and SEC. (Optional; to maintain 8-game conference schedule) Enable protected rivals in the MAC and MWC, and set them however you like. (Optional; to maintain 8-game conference schedule) If you kept protected rivals in the Big Ten, set them however you like; see the bottom of the post for real-life rivals. If you kept protected rivals in the SEC, switch Missouri's rival to Arkansas and South Carolina's rival to Texas A&M. Move the Pac-12 championship to Las Vegas Bowl. (To represent Allegiant Stadium) Remove BCS bid from American. Change Big 12's BCS tie-in from Fiesta Bowl to Sugar Bowl. Year-by-year: 2012 (NCAA 12) Spoiler Move Temple from MAC [East] to Big East. Move Missouri from Big 12 to SEC [East]. Move Texas A&M from Big 12 to SEC [West]. Move TCU from MWC to Big 12. Move West Virginia from Big East to Big 12. Move Fresno State, Hawaii, and Nevada from WAC to MWC. Disable protected rivals in the SEC. (Optional; to maintain 8-game conference schedule) Enable protected rivals in the MAC, and set them however you like. (Optional; to maintain 8-game conference schedule) Year-by-year: 2013 (NCAA 12) Spoiler (The WAC still exists in this game, so two teams will have to stay behind. They can't be from the Sun Belt, which is soon to be reduced to four itself.) Move Pittsburgh from Big East to ACC [Coastal]. Move Syracuse from Big East to ACC [Atlantic]. Move San Jose State and Utah State from WAC to MWC. (Move the fourth member into the WAC, if they weren't a real life WAC member.) The next section can be done in several different orders; this is the one I prefer. Move North Texas from Sun Belt to C-USA [West]. Move FIU and Florida Atlantic from Sun Belt to C-USA [East]. Move Louisiana Tech from WAC to C-USA [West]. (If Louisiana Tech stays behind in the WAC, move Mid Tenn State from the Sun Belt instead.) Move Memphis, UCF, Houston, and SMU from C-USA to Big East. Move Mid Tenn State from Sun Belt to C-USA [East]. (If Louisiana Tech stays behind in the WAC, this is a division swap with Southern Miss.) If your MWC has 12 members, align geographically, with the Mountain Time teams in the Mountain Division, and the Pacific Time teams and Hawaii in the West Division. If you're confused about the geography, it's Boise State in the Mountain and Nevada/UNLV in the West. Disable protected rivals in the ACC. (Optional; to maintain 8-game conference schedule) Enable protected rivals in the MWC and C-USA if they have 12 members, and set them however you like. (Optional; to maintain 8-game conference schedule) Year-by-year: 2013 (NCAA 13) Spoiler (The WAC still exists in this game, so one team will have to be its fourth member. I recommend UTSA because they're a new transition.) Move Pittsburgh from Big East to ACC [Coastal]. Move Syracuse from Big East to ACC [Atlantic]. Move UMass from MAC [East] to WAC. (To fill out the conference.) Move San Jose State and Utah State from WAC to MWC. (Move the fourth member into the WAC, if they weren't a real life WAC member.) Move Texas State from WAC to Sun Belt. The next section can be done in several different orders; this is the one I prefer. Move North Texas from Sun Belt to C-USA [West]. Move FIU and Florida Atlantic from Sun Belt to C-USA [East]. Move Louisiana Tech from WAC to C-USA [West]. Move Memphis, UCF, Houston, and SMU from C-USA to Big East. Move Mid Tenn State from Sun Belt to C-USA [East]. Move UTSA from WAC to C-USA [West]. (Of course, don't do this if they're the fourth WAC member.) If your MWC has 12 members, align geographically, with the Mountain Time teams in the Mountain Division, and the Pacific Time teams and Hawaii in the West Division. If you're confused about the geography, it's Boise State in the Mountain and Nevada/UNLV in the West. Disable protected rivals in the ACC, SEC, and C-USA if you have not already done so. (Optional; to maintain 8-game conference schedule) Enable protected rivals in the MAC and MWC if they have 12 members, and set them however you like. (Optional; to maintain 8-game conference schedule) Year-by-year: 2014 Spoiler Move Maryland from ACC [Atlantic] to Big Ten [temporarily Legends]. Move Rutgers from American to Big Ten [temporarily Leaders]. Move Louisville from American to ACC [Atlantic]. Move Old Dominion from Independent to C-USA [East]. Move Southern Miss from C-USA [East] to C-USA [West]. Move ECU, Tulane, and Tulsa from C-USA to American. (Make sure you've moved ODU before you do this!) Move Western Kentucky from Sun Belt to C-USA [East]. (NCAA 14 only) Move Idaho and New Mexico State from Independent to Sun Belt. (In NCAA 12/13, they stay in the WAC to maintain the conference.) In the Big Ten, swap Maryland, Michigan, and Michigan State to the Leaders and Illinois, Purdue, and Wisconsin to the Legends. Rename Leaders to East and Legends to West. Disable protected rivals in the ACC and SEC. (Optional; to maintain 8-game conference schedule) Enable protected rivals in the MWC, and set them however you like. (Optional; to maintain 8-game conference schedule) If you kept protected rivals in the Big Ten, set them however you like; see the bottom of the post for real-life rivals. If you kept protected rivals in the SEC, switch Missouri's rival to Arkansas and South Carolina's rival to Texas A&M. Move the Pac-12 championship to Fight Hunger Bowl. (To represent Levi's Stadium) Remove BCS bid from American. Change Big 12's BCS tie-in from Fiesta Bowl to Sugar Bowl. Year-by-year: 2015 Spoiler Move Navy from Independent to American. (NCAA 14 only) Move UAB from C-USA [East] to C-USA [West]. (They were temporarily non-football at the time, so Independent is also an option.) Realign the American as follows: EAST: Cincinnati, Connecticut, ECU, Temple, UCF, USF WEST: Houston, Memphis, Navy, SMU, Tulane, Tulsa Enable protected rivals in the American and C-USA, and set rivalries however you like, if they have 12 teams and you have not done so already. (Optional; to maintain 8-game conference schedule) Year-by-year: 2016 Spoiler (NCAA 14 only) Move UMass from MAC [East] to Independent. (In NCAA 13, they will have already moved to the WAC; keep them there.) Enable protected rivals in the Big Ten and (in NCAA 14 only) MAC, and set them however you like. For the Big Ten, see the bottom of the post for real-life rivals. (Optional for MAC; to maintain 8-game conference schedule.) Year-by-year: 2017 Spoiler Move UAB to C-USA [West] if they aren't already there. (Unless you need to keep C-USA [East] at six members or the WAC at four members.) Year-by-year: 2018 Spoiler (NCAA 14 only) Move Idaho and New Mexico State from Sun Belt to Independent. Year-by-year: 2020 Spoiler Move UConn from American to Independent. (In NCAA 12/13, move them to the WAC instead, and move the WAC's previous fourth member to the appropriate conference. Move the Pac-12 championship to Las Vegas Bowl. (To represent Allegiant Stadium) Year-by-year: 2020 (COVID-19 changes) These changes should be undone in 2021. Spoiler Move Notre Dame from Independent to ACC [Atlantic]. (NCAA 14 only) Move Old Dominion from C-USA [East] to Independent. Year-by-year: Some year between 2022-25 Spoiler Move Oklahoma and Texas from Big 12 to SEC, and align the divisions however you like. If protected rivals are enabled, ensure that Oklahoma and Texas are set to play each other. Protected Rivals in the American (with UConn) Spoiler My preferred protected rivals in the American are: Cincinnati/Memphis, UConn/SMU, ECU/Tulane, Temple/Navy, UCF/Tulsa, and USF/Houston. Protected Rivals in the Big Ten Spoiler The real life Big Ten protected rivals for 2016-21 were: Indiana/Purdue, Maryland/Minnesota, Michigan/Wisconsin, Michigan State/Northwestern, Ohio State/Nebraska, Penn State/Iowa, and Rutgers/Illinois. The real life Big Ten protected rivals for 2022-27 are: Indiana/Purdue, Maryland/Northwestern, Michigan/Nebraska, Michigan State/Minnesota, Ohio State/Wisconsin, Penn State/Illinois, and Rutgers/Iowa. My preferred protected rivals if not using the real-life set are: Indiana/Purdue, Maryland/Iowa, Michigan/Minnesota, Michigan State/Wisconsin, Ohio State/Illinois, Penn State/Nebraska, and Rutgers/Northwestern. Protected Rivals in C-USA (NCAA 13/14) Spoiler I'm looking only at NCAA 13/14 here, because NCAA 12 variants of C-USA are too numerous due to the WAC problem. My preferred protected rivals in a 12-team C-USA are: FIU/UTEP, Florida Atlantic/Rice, Marshall/Southern Miss, Mid Tenn State/North Texas, Western Kentucky/Louisiana Tech, and the sixth East team/UTSA. These are rather arbitrary, save for MTSU/UNT, so you could easily come up with your own. Protected Rivals in the MAC Spoiler My preferred protected rivals in the MAC are: Akron/EMU, Bowling Green/Toledo, Buffalo/Northern Illinois, Kent State/WMU, Miami U/Ball State, and Ohio/CMU. Protected Rivals in the Mountain West Spoiler My preferred protected rivals in the Mountain West in NCAA 12/13 are: Air Force/Fresno State, Boise State/Hawaii, Colorado State/UNLV, New Mexico/San Diego State, Utah State/San Jose State, and Wyoming/Nevada. My preferred protected rivals in the Mountain West in NCAA 14 are: Air Force/Fresno State, Boise State/Nevada, Colorado State/UNLV, New Mexico/San Diego State, Utah State/San Jose State, and Wyoming/Hawaii. The switch between NCAA 13 and NCAA 14 exists because of a change to in-game listed rivalries. Various Oddball Realignments Within a Conference Spoiler I've seen a few oddball division realignments, realistic or not, in the past. Here are some suggestions. There are several ways to monkey with the ACC. My favorite alternate alignment puts Clemson with the VA/NC schools, but it's far from the only one I've seen. Inner/Outer format for the Big Ten, with the Illinois/Michigan/Indiana schools and Ohio State in the Inner, and everyone else in the Outer. This is usually used in gimmick alignments which add a 15th team to the conference, but it works in a 14-team format as well and preserves a good number of rivalries. In the Pac-12, switch Colorado/Utah to the North and Cal/Stanford to the South. This puts all four California teams in the same division, and was a proposed alignment for the conference before they settled on the real-life alignment. It also evenly splits the old Pac-8, with four in each division. Divide the MAC into "Ohio" and "not Ohio" divisions, which in effect means switching Toledo and Buffalo. If UMass or Temple is included, they switch as well.

[Landonio]

Is there any way to have less than a 9-game conference schedule in the SEC or any large conference WITHOUT having to remove protected rivalries or using the dynasty editor? It seems like no matter what I'm forced to play 9 conference games for some reason. I don't get it.

[steelersd26]

Quote: Originally Posted by Landonio

Is there any way to have less than a 9-game conference schedule in the SEC or any large conference WITHOUT having to remove protected rivalries or using the dynasty editor? It seems like no matter what I'm forced to play 9 conference games for some reason. I don't get it.

Unfortunately not. I’ve learned to just accept playing a 9 game conference schedule because I see that as a much better alternative to losing the Third Saturday in October every year.

[Landonio]

Quote: Originally Posted by steelersd26

Unfortunately not. I’ve learned to just accept playing a 9 game conference schedule because I see that as a much better alternative to losing the Third Saturday in October every year.

Damn, does that game really turn into a rotational? That's REALLY dumb and unfortunate. SEC has never played a 9-game conference schedule. So why would they force you to play one in the game? Makes no sense. Idk what EA was thinking with that one.

[Colorado_Kid]

Quote: Originally Posted by Landonio

Is there any way to have less than a 9-game conference schedule in the SEC or any large conference WITHOUT having to remove protected rivalries or using the dynasty editor? It seems like no matter what I'm forced to play 9 conference games for some reason. I don't get it.

I believe the Mountain West has a 8 game conference schedule with no protected rivals. A team from one division will play three teams from another division two years in a row alternating home and away games. The following two years they will play the other three teams from the other division in the same fashion.

If you play a team from the Pacific 12 you can set your conference to start your conference games to began at week 5 which will give you only 8 games in conference but you will end up with a messed up schedule where you may play 5 home games in a row then play 6 road games in a row.

[steelersd26]

Quote: Originally Posted by Colorado_Kid

I believe the Mountain West has a 8 game conference schedule with no protected rivals. A team from one division will play three teams from another division two years in a row alternating home and away games. The following two years they will play the other three teams from the other division in the same fashion. If you play a team from the Pacific 12 you can set your conference to start your conference games to began at week 5 which will give you only 8 games in conference but you will end up with a messed up schedule where you may play 5 home games in a row then play 6 road games in a row.

For 12 team conferences, protected rivals on will result in an 8 game schedule and turning it off results in a 9 game schedule.

For 14 team conferences like the SEC and ACC, protected rivals on results in a 9 game schedule. You have to make a choice between 8 game conference schedule or keeping the annual cross-division game in these two conferences.