College football reform
December 19, 2017
In a perfect world, there would be no debate over what college football teams are given the opportunity to be crowned champion. Unfortunately, we do not live in a perfect world. Regardless of what system has been used to determine the teams that get to play for the national championship, at the end of the year, there is always debate over whether the right teams have been selected. Prior to 1998, fans were not happy with how the national champion was selected, and wanted to take it out of human hands, so an algorithmic computer system was created to determine the top two teams of college football who would play in the national championship. This system was in place until the 2013 season, after which, the NCAA caved into their fans’ demands for a playoff system that would be ultimately decided by a committee. Four years later, many fans are displeased again, as they feel the committee has not selected the right four teams for the playoff, or that certain teams are not being given fair opportunities to play for the national title. Regardless of how their grievances vary, college football fans as a whole are calling for some form of change to the system that they were just begging for four years prior. There seems to be no feasible way to please college football fans, and there does not appear to be a way to employ a perfect system. However, the system below that brings together ideas from several different sporting leagues, may be as close to perfect as possible, despite how immensely unlikely it is.
DISCLAIMER: There is a 0% chance of any of this happening, it is simply a theory, enjoy.
1: Cut nine FBS teams(Kansas, Idaho, Tulane, UNLV, Eastern Michigan, Georgia State, Charlotte, UMass, Coastal Carolina) to have the top 120 teams.
2: The 120 teams will be divided into four separate leagues based on schools FBS win percentage over the past decade.
3: Four leagues/tiers: AAAA(tier one), AAA(tier two), AA(tier three), A(tier four).
4: Each League will have their own champion, determined by an 8-team playoff.
5: Playoff teams will be division winners with one wild card from each division.
6: Top four teams of each tier(semi-finalists) will be promoted to the next tier and the bottom four teams of each tier will be demoted to the next tier below.
7: Teams will still play a 12 game schedule with four division games, six games against teams within the same tier, and two games against teams from other tiers (meant for rivalry games if rivals are in different tiers).
8: The tiers will be divided into two conferences, the American and the National.
9: The American will have three divisions, the Sugar, the Cotton, and the Rose.
10: The National will have three divisions, the Orange, the Fiesta, and the Peach.
AAAA(ranked by win percentage over last decade)
- Alabama
- Ohio State
- Boise State
- Oklahoma
- Clemson
- Oregon
- LSU
- Wisconsin
- TCU
- FSU
- Southern Cal
- Georgia
- Oklahoma State
- Stanford
- Penn State
- Michigan State
- VA Tech
- Utah
- Florida
- BYU
- Houston
- Appalachian State
- West Virginia
- Auburn
- Missouri
- Navy
- Cincinnati
- Northern Illinois
- Nebraska
- Texas
Sugar Division
FSU
Florida
Alabama
Auburn
Georgia
Cotton Division
Oklahoma
TCU
Texas
Houston
Oklahoma State
Rose Division
Oregon
Utah
BYU
Stanford
Southern Cal
Fiesta Division
Ohio State
Wisconsin
Michigan State
Cincinnati
Northern Illinois
Peach Division
Appalachian State
Clemson
VA Tech
West Virginia
Penn State
Orange
Boise State
LSU
Nebraska
Navy
Missouri
AAA
- Louisville
- Iowa
- Toledo
- UCF
- South Carolina
- Notre Dame
- Kansas State
- Miami
- Texas A&M
- Northwestern
- Michigan
- San Diego State
- Ohio
- Georgia State
- Mississippi State
- Air Force
- Texas Tech
- Arkansas State
- Arizona State
- Pitt
- North Carolina
- Tulsa
- USF
- Baylor
- Louisiana Tech
- Troy
- Arkansas
- Arizona
- Washington
- Temple
Sugar Division
UCF
USF
Miami
Georgia Tech
Troy
Cotton Division
Baylor
Texas Tech
Tulsa
Kansas State
Texas A&M
Rose Division
Washington
San Diego State
Arizona State
Arizona
Air Force
Fiesta Division
Toledo
Northwestern
Michigan
Notre Dame
Ohio
Peach Division
Pitt
Temple
North Carolina
Louisville
South Carolina
Orange Division
Iowa
Mississippi State
Arkansas State
Arkansas
Louisiana Tech
AA
- Marshall
- Central Michigan
- Fresno State
- UCLA
- Nevada
- East Carolina
- Western Michigan
- Ole Miss
- Old Dominion
- Middle Tennessee
- NC State
- Tennessee
- Rutgers
- Boston College
- Western Kentucky
- Louisiana Lafayette
- Bowling Green
- Southern Mississippi
- UTSA
- Utah State
- Ball State
- Georgia Southern
- California
- Memphis
- Oregon State
- Colorado State
- Minnesota
- Kentucky
- Wake Forest
- UConn
Sugar Division
Memphis
Middle Tennessee
Tennessee
Southern Mississippi
Ole Miss
Cotton Division
UTSA
Louisiana Lafayette
Colorado State
Utah State
Western Kentucky
Rose Division
UCLA
Fresno State
Nevada
California
Oregon State
Fiesta Division
Central Michigan
Minnesota
Western Michigan
Ball State
Bowling Green
Peach Division
East Carolina
Georgia Southern
Kentucky
Wake Forest
NC State
Orange Division
Marshall
Old Dominion
Rutgers
Boston College
UConn
A
- Hawaii
- Duke
- Vanderbilt
- Maryland
- Wyoming
- Rice
- Louisiana Monroe
- Buffalo
- Illinois
- Virginia
- Syracuse
- Florida Atlantic
- Washington State
- SMU
- San Jose State
- South Alabama
- Indiana
- Florida International
- Purdue
- Army
- Kent State
- Colorado
- Iowa State
- UAB
- New Mexico
- UTEP
- Akron
- North Texas
- Miami(OH)
- Texas State
Sugar Division
Florida Atlantic
Florida International
South Alabama
UAB
Louisiana Monroe
Cotton Division
Rice
UTEP
North Texas
Texas State
SMU
Rose Division
Hawaii
Colorado
San Jose State
Washington State
New Mexico
Fiesta Division
Illinois
Iowa State
Akron
Miami(OH)
Purdue
Peach Division
Buffalo
Syracuse
Maryland
Army
Virginia
Orange Division
Duke
Vanderbilt
Indiana
Kent State
Wyoming
