College football fans are discussed with college realignment, NIL, transfer portal and the new College Football Playoff structure and selection criteria.
The playoff selection process is polarizing college athletics, turning huge numbers of fans off. The CFP is failing the NCAA’s basic principles of deciding national champions on the field of competition.. That field is no longer level.
The Atlantic Coast and Big-12 conferences are being pushed down to essentially a second tier. To make matters worse for the ACC, it’s mired in internal court battles with member schools. The revenue gap between the ACC/Big12 and the “Super 2” continues to get wider.
So, how can the ACC/Big12 level up the playing field? Certainly not continuing to do the same things that got them here in the first place.
IF I were the Czar of the ACC and Big12, I would aggressively take the following 12 measures.
1. Merge the ACC & Big-12 conferences:
Both conferences should work together to strategically position a new conference with a national footprint. Combine the conferences geographically, with East, West, North and South divisions. Align the schools in divisions geographically. End the horrible travel requirements currently in place as a result of more than a decade of conference realignment.
2. Break away from the NCAA:
Form a new college athletic association. For talking purposes, we can call it CAA. Start with the current 33 schools from the combined ACC and Big12 to form the CAA. Quickly expand to 44-48 schools. This would give the new association power through numbers.
3. Form the CAA:
The CAA would have 44 to 48 member schools, organized geographically into four divisions, with 11-12 schools per division.
4. Expand Membership:
The CAA would start with the current 33 schools from the ACC and Big12. From there, the association would offer 11 to 15 schools from other conferences or the independent ranks. The membership criteria would include academic standing, athletic success and media markets.
That said, we would recommend the CAA offer the following schools full membership.
Notre Dame, UConn, Northwestern/Vanderbilt, Memphis, UNLV, San Diego State, Army, Navy, Liberty, Temple and Tulane
5. Get Notre Dame:
A major key to the formation of the CAA would be Notre Dame’s full membership. The new association must offer the Irish extra incentives. Like what? Financial and/or scheduling considerations. The CAA must get Notre Dame as the face of the association. We might not like it, but it’s reality.
6. Institute Innovative Revenue Sharing:
Institute a tiered revenue sharing plan based on merit. Every school would get a base revenue percentage. Then the playoff schools (+3) get a higher percentage of the media rights revenue. The remaining 40 schools split the rest of the rights revenue based on their field performance.
7. Change the Regular Season:
The regular season would be one or two games shorter. These weeks could be used for an additional bye week. Three bye weeks allow athletes more time to rebound from the physical toll of a long season.
OMG, something in the best interest of the student- athlete!?! How novel!
The CAA football season would begin on Labor Day weekend and end during Thanksgiving week. Playoffs would begin the second weekend in December and end on New Year’s Day.
Such a schedule would minimize the impact on the academic calendars and get the kids home for Christmas.
There we go again, doing something nice for the student athlete!
8. Simplify the playoff complexity:
The new CAA would conduct their own playoffs with the four division champions in the playoffs. No polls. No selection committee. Only your results on the field get you into the playoffs.
9. Establish Bowl Relationships:
The new conference could use traditional bowls, such as from the Citrus Bowl, Alamo Bowl, Holiday Bowl or Orange Bowl for their playoffs.
10. Re-establish geography in division structure:
The CAA would have four geographic-based divisions.
East: (11) Boston College, UConn, Syracuse, Army, Temple, Navy, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Virginia Tech, Virginia, Liberty,
South: (11) Duke, North Carolina, NC State, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Florida State, UCF, Miami, Wake Forest, Houston, Tulane
North: (11) Cincinnati, Louisville, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Utah, BYU, Colorado, Notre Dame, Memphis, Northwestern/Vanderbilt
West: (11) Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, TCU, SMU, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, California, Stanford, UNLV, San Diego State
11. Establish A New Headquarters:
Start fresh. Establish the CAA headquarters in Kansas City. Create a new culture of innovation, change, and trust.
12. Bold Leadership:
The CAA needs strong, bold and innovative leadership. Don’t get trapped. Stay away from the good ole boys!
BOTTOM LINE:
America is ready for big change in college athletics. It’s time.
GO CANES!
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