Pods over Divisions?

[kswgrad2012]

I was thinking about this today while working on my Tulane dynasty.

If you were to create a 16-team superconference in a dynasty, it would obviously be aligned as two 8-team divisions (with/without permanent crossovers). The 16-team conference idea sounds cool, except I fear it may get boring over time playing the same 7 division mates over-and-over again. Now if you like your division teams then fine, but I like variety in my dynasties. Particularly ones I play over many seasons.

Which led me to this thought. What if you created a Pod System instead of the standard divisions? In this case you would have four 4-team pods that rotate play against each other. In a true pod system each team would play the other 3 members of its pod, followed by 2 members of each of the other 3 pods. The 2 teams w/ the best conference records play in the CCG. Now the obvious issue with this right away is that the game is programmed to have 2 hard-set divisions. Thus you can't completely simulate rotation between the pods. But I think I found a solution.

For the sake of this discussion, let's create a fictitious conference & call it "The SuperConference." The SuperConference will contain four 4-team pods, for a total of 16 teams. It would look as follows:

Pod A
Team 1
Team 2
Team 3
Team 4

Pod B
Team 5
Team 6
Team 7
Team 8

Pod C
Team 9
Team 10
Team 11
Team 12

Pod D
Team 13
Team 14
Team 15
Team 16

Now as I mentioned, the game won't allow a true pod rotation since it's programmed to have divisions. My solution: you don't rotate members of each pod, but instead rotate entire pods. For example, in Year 1 of The SuperConference, Pod A will play Pod B, while Pod C plays Pod D. Here's how it would look overall:

Year 1: Pod A vs. Pod B, Pod C vs. Pod D
Year 2: Pod A vs. Pod C, Pod B vs. Pod D
Year 3: Pod A vs. Pod D, Pod B vs. Pod C

This system rotates every 3 years.

In this system, everyone is guaranteed to play each of their 15 conference mates once every 3 years. To make this work we have to place the pod matchups in divisions. So I suggest creating two "default divisions" (Division A, Division B), and placing each pod matchup in a division. For example, in Year 1, Division A will consist of Pods A & B, while Division B will have Pods C & D. Since the pod matchups change every year, the divisions will change every year as well. The "division winners" will be the teams in each pod matchup that have the best conference record. In this example, the Year 1 CCG will feature the best team in either Pod A or B, and the best member of either Pod C or D.

CCG Year 1: best of Pods A&B vs. best of Pods C&D
CCG Year 2: best of Pods A&C vs. best of Pods B&D
CCG Year 3: best of Pods A&D vs. best of Pods B&C

Since a 16-team conference guarantees a 9-game conference schedule, there are still two conference games to account for. We can't just play one team from each of the two remaining pods since the game randomly generates 2 cross-division games for teams to play. So thus each team's conference schedule will consist of the 3 members of their pod, the 4 members of their pod matchup, and 2 random teams from the other 2 pods. Some may say this system is overkill, but I don't think it's a lot of work. As long as the conference you construct has a lot of rivalries, the Pod System can work such that you play all your rivals, while cycling through your conference mates more frequently. That was the key for me. That and not having to play the same 7 division teams over-and-over.

So guys, tell me what you think. Like it? Hate it? Any & all suggestions will be appreciated.

[whughes]

I like it. The rotating match ups would definitely keep things interesting.

[kswgrad2012]

Quote: Originally Posted by whughes

I like it. The rotating match ups would definitely keep things interesting.

That's what I was going for, really. Cycling thru conference mates frequently should keep things fresh.

[mattrd39]

I also wonder if doing it this way might "break up" some of the monotony of playing conference teams in almost the same order or in nearly the same week every year as well. Give it a try and let us know what you find out!

[Flipper55]

Interesting idea. I would turn on protected rivals, and have a set of rivals for each of the 3 years, so you only have one random game.

One thing you will run into is that you'll have stretches where you'll play some teams at your place, or at theirs... the way around it is to use the ea db editor to switch home and away.

As for the overall scheme, I like do like super conferences, brings back old school 8 team conferences with the new school conference championship twist. Don't mind playing the same teams every year... that was what college football was like when I was growing up.

[kswgrad2012]

Quote: Originally Posted by mattrd39

I also wonder if doing it this way might "break up" some of the monotony of playing conference teams in almost the same order or in nearly the same week every year as well. Give it a try and let us know what you find out!

OMG, I cannot tell you how much that drives me crazy. In my dynasty, Cincinnati & SMU are always early November games, Houston is always in late September, and ECU is always my last game of the year. The exact dates may change, but it's always in the same order. Hoping this changes.

Quote: Originally Posted by Flipper55

Interesting idea. I would turn on protected rivals, and have a set of rivals for each of the 3 years, so you only have one random game. One thing you will run into is that you'll have stretches where you'll play some teams at your place, or at theirs... the way around it is to use the ea db editor to switch home and away. As for the overall scheme, I like do like super conferences, brings back old school 8 team conferences with the new school conference championship twist. Don't mind playing the same teams every year... that was what college football was like when I was growing up.

I'm worried about how the computer will treat home-and-away's in this case. If I play a team at home one year, then play them again three years later, will it remember to make it a road game this time? I'd rather not break into the editor, but if I have to I'll consider it.

My dynasty was with an American Athletic Conference team, and the conference wasn't getting better at all. I got tired of beating up on the same 9 teams year in & year out, which is why I thought of this idea.