College Football Realignment
I am so tired of the lack of playoffs in major college football. I have concocted a plan for 192 teams in sixteen 12-team conferences, each with two divisions. This creates a de facto 32-team tournament: the division champions meet for centrally located conference championships. The regular season does not become worthless, but there is no arguing for the whole offseason. I have created conferences based on tradition and/or geography, plus I have attempted to balance divisional power within conferences. Scheduling would include five games against the teams within the division plus three against the other division---including one against a permanent rival.
I have also included a sample 2012 schedule for my favorite team: Nebraska. I realize this looks like less revenue for schools, but with the playoffs, it is about the same thanks to television and revenue sharing.
Home games are in CAPS.
September 1st COLORADO STATE
September 8th Texas A&M
September 15th Air Force
September 22nd OFF
September 29th KANSAS
October 6th Colorado
October 13th KANSAS STATE
October 20th Texas Tech
October 27th OFF
November 3rd OKLAHOMA (permanent rival)
Conference Alignments
Atlantic Coast
Conference |
| Blue Ridge | Sunshine |
| Clemson | Duke |
| Georgia Tech | Florida State |
| North Carolina State | Maryland |
| Richmond | Miami (Florida) |
| Virginia | North Carolina |
| Virginia Tech | Wake Forest |
|
Big Twelve
Conference |
| Osborne | Switzer |
| Air Force | Colorado |
| Colorado State | Missouri |
| Kansas | Oklahoma |
| Kansas State | Oklahoma State |
| Nebraska | Texas |
| Texas A&M | Texas Tech |
|
Big East
Conference |
| Frontier | Yankee |
| Buffalo | Boston College |
| Georgetown | Connecticut |
| Marshall | Delaware |
| Pittsburgh | Rutgers |
| Syracuse | Temple |
| West Virginia | Villanova |
|
Big Sky
Conference |
| West | East |
| Idaho | Montana State |
| Idaho State | North Dakota |
| Montana | North Dakota State |
| Southern Utah | South Dakota |
| Utah State | South Dakota State |
| Weber State | Wyoming |
|
Big South
Conference |
| Bluegrass | Dixie |
| E. Kentucky | Alabama-Birmingham |
| Mid. Tenn. St. | Chattanooga |
| Morehead State | Jacksonville State |
| Murray State | Memphis |
| Vanderbilt | Samford |
| W. Kentucky | Troy |
|
Big West
Conference |
| Pueblo | Sierra |
| Brigham Young | Fresno State |
| New Mexico | Nevada |
| New Mexico State | Nevada-Las Vegas |
| Texas State | Northern Arizona |
| Texas-El Paso | San Diego State |
| Utah | San Jose State |
|
Cajunland
Conference |
| West | East |
| Baylor | Arkansas State |
| North Texas | Houston |
| Sam Houston State | Louisiana Tech |
| Southern Methodist | Louisiana-Monroe |
| Texas Christian | Rice |
| Tulsa | Stephen F. Austin |
|
Great Lakes
Conference |
| West | East |
| Drake | Ball State |
| Illinois State | Butler |
| Iowa State | Chicago |
| Northern Illinois | Eastern Illinois |
| Northern Iowa | Indiana State |
| Western Illiinois | Southern Illinois |
|
Great Midwest
Conference |
| KnuteBo | WoodyJoe |
| Iowa | Illinois |
| Michigan | Indiana |
| Michigan State | Ohio State |
| Minnesota | Penn State |
| Northwestern | Purdue |
| Notre Dame | Wisconsin |
|
Ivy
League |
| North | South |
| Brown | Columbia |
| Colgate | Fordham |
| Cornell | Marist |
| Dartmouth | Pennsylvania |
| Harvard | Princeton |
| Northeastern | Yale |
|
Mid America
Conference |
| North | South |
| Bowling Green | Akron |
| Central Michigan | Cincinnati |
| Dayton | Kent State |
| Eastern Michigan | Miami (Ohio) |
| Toledo | Ohio |
| Western Michigan | Youngstown State |
|
Pacific Twelve
Conference |
| North | South |
| Boise State | Arizona |
| California | Arizona State |
| Oregon | Hawaii |
| Oregon State | Southern California |
| Washington | Stanford |
| Washington State | UCLA |
|
Patriot
Conference |
| North | South |
| Army | Bucknell |
| Holy Cross | James Madison |
| Maine | Lafayette |
| Massachusetts | Lehigh |
| New Hampshire | Navy |
| Rhode Island | William & Mary |
|
Southeastern
Conference |
| Bryant | Dooley |
| Alabama | Arkansas |
| Louisiana State | Auburn |
| Louisville | Florida |
| Mississippi | Georgia |
| South Carolina | Kentucky |
| Tennessee | Mississippi State |
|
Southern
Conference |
| North | South |
| Appalachian State | Citadel |
| Charlotte | Coastal Carolina |
| Davidson | Furman |
| East Carolina | Georgia Southern |
| Elon | Georgia State |
| Western Carolina | Wofford |
|
Suncoast
Conference |
| East | West |
| Central Florida | Jackson State |
| Florida A&M | Louisiana-Lafayette |
| Florida Atlantic | McNeese State |
| Florida Int. | Southern Mississippi |
| Jacksonville | Southern University |
| South Florida | Tulane |
|
Conference Championships
Mid-November
Division
Champion A |
Conference |
Division
Champion B |
Game
Site |
| Clemson | ACC | Florida State | Charlotte, NC |
| Oklahoma | Big 12 | Kansas State | Kansas City, MO |
| West Virginia | Big East | Rutgers | Philadelphia, PA |
| North Dakota State | Big Sky | Utah State | Laramie, WY |
| Vanderbilt | Big South | Troy | Nashville, TN |
| Brigham Young | Big West | San Jose State | Las Vegas, NV |
| Northern Illinois | Great Lakes | Ball State | Champaign, IL |
| Notre Dame | Great Midwest | Ohio State | Chicago, IL |
| La.-Lafayette | Suncoast | Central Florida | New Orleans, LA |
| Baylor | Cajunland | Louisiana Tech | Dallas, TX |
| Harvard | Ivy | Princeton | East Ruth., NJ |
| Toledo | Mid America | Cincinnati | Detroit, MI |
| Oregon | Pacific 12 | Stanford | San Francisco |
| Army | Patriot | Navy | West Point, NY |
| Alabama | SEC | Florida | Atlanta, GA |
| East Carolina | Southern | Georgia Southern | Clemson, SC |
2012 NCAA
December Delirium
Round of 16 (Thanksgiving Weekend)
#16 Harvard @ #1 Alabama
#15 Navy @ #2 Notre Dame
#14 Georgia Southern @ #3 Oregon
#13 Toledo @ #4 Kansas State
#12 Louisiana-Lafayette @ #5 Utah State
#11 Rutgers @ #6 Baylor
#10 Northern Illinois @ #7 Clemson
#9 Brigham Young @ #8 Vanderbilt
Quarterfinals (December 9th and 10th)
#8 Vanderbilt @ #1 Alabama
#7 Clemson@ #2 Notre Dame
#6 Baylor @ #3 Oregon
#5 Utah State @ #4 Kansas State
Semifinals (Christmas Day)
#4 Kansas State vs #1 Alabama (Arizona)
#3 Oregon vs #2 Notre Dame (New Orleans)
Championship (New Year's Night)
#1 Alabama vs #3 Oregon (Miami)
National Champion: Alabama
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