Front Office Football Central - View Single Post - What if College Football had promotion and relegation? (A BBCF Dynasty)

SecretAgentMan · 01-11-2024, 06:07 PM

Part 2: From the Desk of J.J. Moore:

********************************************************************

Dear college football fan:
There has been a lot of speculation recently about the future of college athletics. As I am now in a position of power to do something about that, it is vital that I explain directly to you, the fan, what you can expect.

INTRODUCING THE NCFA
First, it's not correct that I am now the president of the NCAA. The NCAA, under current administration, is going to stay in its' current form, with one exception- football. Let me therefore announce the creation of the NCFA, the National Collegiate Football association, which I shall oversee as its' first president. The NCFA will take over all Division 1 College football from the NCAA and run it in a way that makes sense for fans and coaches and athletes alike. I can tell you that some changes are going to happen to make college football better. I believe that college football is an amazing and wonderful thing, but I also believe that it has lost its' way in recent years. So, we will fix it. Simple as that. Let's explain how.

CONFERENCE STRUCTURE
I think large conferences are complete nonsense. So most of the NCFA will follow the 12-team, 2-division structure that has worked so well in the past for many conferences. A few conferences will also be 9 teams in a single division. That way, every team in the country gets 8 conference games- 4 home, and 4 on the road.

POWER 5: PRESERVING THE PAC-12
I also hate at the NCAA has allowed the traditions of the PAC-12 to wither away. So the NCFA is restoring the Pac-12 with 12 West region teams as an official "Power 5" conference. For that matter, each of the 5 regions in the country will have a "Power 5" conference with 12 teams. The ACC will serve the Atlantic East, the Big 10 will serve the Midwest, the SEC will serve the Southeast, and the Big 12 will serve the Great Plains region.

GROUP OF 5: SOME GEOGRAPHIC SENSE
We also value geography in the NCFA. The NCAA's conferences make no geographic sense at the Power 5 level, but they are actually even worse at the "Group of 5" level. So that will be fixed as well. Each Group of 5 conference will follow the same structure as the Power 5, with 12 teams from a particular region split into two divisions. So the American Athletic Conference will focus on the Atlantic East, the MAC will focus on the Midwest, the Sunbelt will focus on the Southeast, Conference USA will focus on the Great Plains, and the Mountain West Conference will focus on the West.

ENTRY 5: ELIMINATING THE FBS/FCS NONSENSE
Having two "Division 1s" makes no sense. Either call FCS "Division 2", or open it up and make a much bigger Division 1. We think "All Football is Good Football", so expanded Division 1 is the way to go. That means the "Entry 5" conferences will be part of Division 1 football. Each of these conferences will have 9 teams in a single division. The Colonial Athletic Association will represent the Atlantic East, the Missouri Valley Football Conference will represent the Midwest, the Southern Conference (SoCon) will represent the Southeast, the Southland conference will represent the Great Plains, and the Big Sky will represent the West. Now, if you are counting carefully, that means that Division 1 football will have 165 teams spread through 15 conferences.

PROMOTION & RELEGATION PROCESS
Perhaps the most radical change is the idea of promotion and relegation. It's also the change that requires the most honesty. It's nice to dream about Cinderella teams winning the national title in college football, but it will never happen in the NCAA's current format. Teams from outside the POWER 5 have no chance in reality of winning a title. So the way to address that change is simple. Give GROUP OF 5 teams and ENTRY 5 teams a realistic chance of becoming a POWER 5 team, so that they have a chance of winning a title in the future. Here's how it will work. Every conference will have a conference championship game. The conference champion from each of the ENTRY 5 schools will automatically get promoted into the nearby GROUP OF 5 conference every year, while the worst GROUP OF 5 team in each conference will get relegated to the ENTRY 5 conference in their geographic region. Similarly, the conference champion in each GROUP OF 5 school every year will be promoted to the POWER 5, while the worst POWER 5 team in each conference will get relegated to the GROUP OF 5 conference in their region.

In addition, the 2nd place team in each ENTRY 5 and GROUP OF 5 conference will have one more chance to get promoted. Those 2nd place teams will play each other in their postseason bowl games, and the teams who win their bowl game will get promoted to the next level. This means that the 2nd worst team in each POWER 5 and GROUP of 5 conference is ALSO at risk for getting relegated at the end of the season depending on the bowl game results.

EXPAND THE POSTSEASON, BUT MAKE IT MEANINGFUL
Speaking of bowl games...if we can't seem to prevent 5-win teams from making bowl games, then let's at least make the bowl games MEAN something. First of all, the postseason will expand to 51 games, including many brand new bowls in locations that haven't hosted bowls before.

Technically, the postseason will continue to start with conference championship week. As a reminder, those games will be quite meaningful, since the ENTRY 5 and GROUP of 5 conference championship game winners get promoted, while the POWER 5 conference championship winners strongly increase their odds of making it into the 4-team playoff at the end of the season.

As for the actual bowl games...each POWER 5 conference will play each other POWER 5 conference at least once. The POWER 5 conference with the best record against other POWER 5 conferences will see their bowl game payouts increase, while the conference with the worst record will see a decrease in payouts. Similar structures will occur at the GROUP of 5 and ENTRY 5 levels, so individual conferences will have a chance to become more prestigious than the rest of their level.

Of course, the "Promotion Bowls" will be highly charged as well. Each of these 5 bowls gives the GROUP of 5 and ENTRY 5 teams a chance to win their way into promotion to the next level. Conference Champions in the GROUP OF 5 and ENTRY 5 will also get to play in a bowl game against a team in their future conference, so that they can begin establishing rivalries at that level as well.

And finally, the 4-team playoff bowls will continue to be incredibly impactful as we crown a definitive national champion on the field.

EXPAND ACCESS TO DIVISION 1 FOOTBALL
Team invitations and conference setups will be revealed in the coming days, but know that the goal of the NCFA is to make sure that college football matters to the whole country. There will be Division 1 football programs in 48 states, and there will be end of season bowl games in 37 states. We will also be helping many programs expand their stadiums to help grow their fanbases.

REGIONAL TIES AND RIVALRIES MATTER
Finally, there's one more problem with the NCAA. Traditional rivalries and regional ties have not been preserved in recent years, and it has led to some very odd schedules being released. Well, no more. The NCFA's structure forces teams in the same geographic area to potentially play each other on a more regular basis. Traditional regional conferences are back, and we're going to play as many traditional rivalry games each season as we can. There will also be some new rivalries to develop as teams are finally forced to play would-be in-state rivals that they have been ducking for years. Some teams will find themselves in new conferences as a result of this structure, but it's going to lead to great schedules throughout. Traditions and regional identities will matter again in college football, and I believe that they will in fact be stronger than ever.

More information will come out in the days to come, but please know, college football fan, that these changes are going to make college football better and more fun for everyone involved, and I cannot wait for you to see the product on the field.

Regards,
J.J. Moore

********************************************************************

*Standard disclaimer* This is CLEARLY a work of fiction. The stories you are reading are being crafted using the seminal college football sim Bowl Bound College Football and the overactive imagination of one midwestern college football fan. Any resemblance to real-life events is purely coincidental. Any depictions of forceful restructuring of the NCAA should not be used as a guide for actual real-world actions. Because, let's face it, the real world of college football is going to continue to do anything it can to money-grab while it transforms into a very different version of what it once was, and there's nothing you or any of us can do about it. And let's face it, we're still probably going to watch anyway.

01-11-2024, 06:07 PM	#2
SecretAgentMan n00b Join Date: Feb 2022	Part 2: From the Desk of J.J. Moore: ****************************************************************** Dear college football fan: There has been a lot of speculation recently about the future of college athletics. As I am now in a position of power to do something about that, it is vital that I explain directly to you, the fan, what you can expect. INTRODUCING THE NCFA First, it's not correct that I am now the president of the NCAA. The NCAA, under current administration, is going to stay in its' current form, with one exception- football. Let me therefore announce the creation of the NCFA, the National Collegiate Football association, which I shall oversee as its' first president. The NCFA will take over all Division 1 College football from the NCAA and run it in a way that makes sense for fans and coaches and athletes alike. I can tell you that some changes are going to happen to make college football better. I believe that college football is an amazing and wonderful thing, but I also believe that it has lost its' way in recent years. So, we will fix it. Simple as that. Let's explain how. CONFERENCE STRUCTURE I think large conferences are complete nonsense. So most of the NCFA will follow the 12-team, 2-division structure that has worked so well in the past for many conferences. A few conferences will also be 9 teams in a single division. That way, every team in the country gets 8 conference games- 4 home, and 4 on the road. POWER 5: PRESERVING THE PAC-12 I also hate at the NCAA has allowed the traditions of the PAC-12 to wither away. So the NCFA is restoring the Pac-12 with 12 West region teams as an official "Power 5" conference. For that matter, each of the 5 regions in the country will have a "Power 5" conference with 12 teams. The ACC will serve the Atlantic East, the Big 10 will serve the Midwest, the SEC will serve the Southeast, and the Big 12 will serve the Great Plains region. GROUP OF 5: SOME GEOGRAPHIC SENSE We also value geography in the NCFA. The NCAA's conferences make no geographic sense at the Power 5 level, but they are actually even worse at the "Group of 5" level. So that will be fixed as well. Each Group of 5 conference will follow the same structure as the Power 5, with 12 teams from a particular region split into two divisions. So the American Athletic Conference will focus on the Atlantic East, the MAC will focus on the Midwest, the Sunbelt will focus on the Southeast, Conference USA will focus on the Great Plains, and the Mountain West Conference will focus on the West. ENTRY 5: ELIMINATING THE FBS/FCS NONSENSE Having two "Division 1s" makes no sense. Either call FCS "Division 2", or open it up and make a much bigger Division 1. We think "All Football is Good Football", so expanded Division 1 is the way to go. That means the "Entry 5" conferences will be part of Division 1 football. Each of these conferences will have 9 teams in a single division. The Colonial Athletic Association will represent the Atlantic East, the Missouri Valley Football Conference will represent the Midwest, the Southern Conference (SoCon) will represent the Southeast, the Southland conference will represent the Great Plains, and the Big Sky will represent the West. Now, if you are counting carefully, that means that Division 1 football will have 165 teams spread through 15 conferences. PROMOTION & RELEGATION PROCESS Perhaps the most radical change is the idea of promotion and relegation. It's also the change that requires the most honesty. It's nice to dream about Cinderella teams winning the national title in college football, but it will never happen in the NCAA's current format. Teams from outside the POWER 5 have no chance in reality of winning a title. So the way to address that change is simple. Give GROUP OF 5 teams and ENTRY 5 teams a realistic chance of becoming a POWER 5 team, so that they have a chance of winning a title in the future. Here's how it will work. Every conference will have a conference championship game. The conference champion from each of the ENTRY 5 schools will automatically get promoted into the nearby GROUP OF 5 conference every year, while the worst GROUP OF 5 team in each conference will get relegated to the ENTRY 5 conference in their geographic region. Similarly, the conference champion in each GROUP OF 5 school every year will be promoted to the POWER 5, while the worst POWER 5 team in each conference will get relegated to the GROUP OF 5 conference in their region. In addition, the 2nd place team in each ENTRY 5 and GROUP OF 5 conference will have one more chance to get promoted. Those 2nd place teams will play each other in their postseason bowl games, and the teams who win their bowl game will get promoted to the next level. This means that the 2nd worst team in each POWER 5 and GROUP of 5 conference is ALSO at risk for getting relegated at the end of the season depending on the bowl game results. EXPAND THE POSTSEASON, BUT MAKE IT MEANINGFUL Speaking of bowl games...if we can't seem to prevent 5-win teams from making bowl games, then let's at least make the bowl games MEAN something. First of all, the postseason will expand to 51 games, including many brand new bowls in locations that haven't hosted bowls before. Technically, the postseason will continue to start with conference championship week. As a reminder, those games will be quite meaningful, since the ENTRY 5 and GROUP of 5 conference championship game winners get promoted, while the POWER 5 conference championship winners strongly increase their odds of making it into the 4-team playoff at the end of the season. As for the actual bowl games...each POWER 5 conference will play each other POWER 5 conference at least once. The POWER 5 conference with the best record against other POWER 5 conferences will see their bowl game payouts increase, while the conference with the worst record will see a decrease in payouts. Similar structures will occur at the GROUP of 5 and ENTRY 5 levels, so individual conferences will have a chance to become more prestigious than the rest of their level. Of course, the "Promotion Bowls" will be highly charged as well. Each of these 5 bowls gives the GROUP of 5 and ENTRY 5 teams a chance to win their way into promotion to the next level. Conference Champions in the GROUP OF 5 and ENTRY 5 will also get to play in a bowl game against a team in their future conference, so that they can begin establishing rivalries at that level as well. And finally, the 4-team playoff bowls will continue to be incredibly impactful as we crown a definitive national champion on the field. EXPAND ACCESS TO DIVISION 1 FOOTBALL Team invitations and conference setups will be revealed in the coming days, but know that the goal of the NCFA is to make sure that college football matters to the whole country. There will be Division 1 football programs in 48 states, and there will be end of season bowl games in 37 states. We will also be helping many programs expand their stadiums to help grow their fanbases. REGIONAL TIES AND RIVALRIES MATTER Finally, there's one more problem with the NCAA. Traditional rivalries and regional ties have not been preserved in recent years, and it has led to some very odd schedules being released. Well, no more. The NCFA's structure forces teams in the same geographic area to potentially play each other on a more regular basis. Traditional regional conferences are back, and we're going to play as many traditional rivalry games each season as we can. There will also be some new rivalries to develop as teams are finally forced to play would-be in-state rivals that they have been ducking for years. Some teams will find themselves in new conferences as a result of this structure, but it's going to lead to great schedules throughout. Traditions and regional identities will matter again in college football, and I believe that they will in fact be stronger than ever. More information will come out in the days to come, but please know, college football fan, that these changes are going to make college football better and more fun for everyone involved, and I cannot wait for you to see the product on the field. Regards, J.J. Moore ****************************************************************** Standard disclaimer This is CLEARLY a work of fiction. The stories you are reading are being crafted using the seminal college football sim Bowl Bound College Football and the overactive imagination of one midwestern college football fan. Any resemblance to real-life events is purely coincidental. Any depictions of forceful restructuring of the NCAA should not be used as a guide for actual real-world actions. Because, let's face it, the real world of college football is going to continue to do anything it can to money-grab while it transforms into a very different version of what it once was, and there's nothing you or any of us can do about it. And let's face it, we're still probably going to watch anyway. Last edited by SecretAgentMan : 01-11-2024 at 06:08 PM.