Since the folks at the SB Nation mothership have declared it to be "college football relegation week," I figured I'd participate in the discussion by revisiting the proposal I made 5 months ago for a promotion/relegation system in college football. It was originally a two-post series, and the first post, in which I stated the benefits of such a system is located here. (I saw no need to re-post that entry.)
The bottom line is that conference realignment has gotten so crazy and out of hand that a new, simpler solution is needed. As is often the case, though, a simple solution might seem wildly radical at first. All I ask you to do, though, is look at the maps, and then I think you'll be convinced. (Well, convinced to listen to the whole argument, at least.)
The promotion/relegation system I have proposed is 99.9 percent geographically-based. Such a system is impossible, however, with our all-over-the-map conferences arranged as they currently are (not to mention how crazy it will get in 2013).
As a result, I have rearranged the top-tier BCS conferences to align them with a specific geography. Basically, instead of having multiple conferences overlapping every state, each state is assigned to only one "stack" of conferences in the promotion/relegation system. I attempted to preserve historical rivalries in the initial organization of this system, but was forced to break a few. For example, LSU is no longer in the SEC, and Georgia Tech and Clemson are cut off from basically the rest of the current ACC.
Because there are far more teams in the eastern and central part of the U.S. than the west, the Pac-12 stack has fewer teams than all the others, but if there's one thing the current system has shown us, it's that it is virtually impossible to draw a completely clean line between conferences. The ACC has also taken over much of the Big East's old footprint, and because there aren't a lot of Division IA/FBS football teams in the northeast, it covers a large number of states. (In fact, I had to promote two I-AA/FCS teams to the second tier just to complete a 12-team second-tier conference.)
For reference purposes, here is the current conference alignment as it will look for the 2012 football season:
And here is the new conference/stack map for the promotion/relegation system:
Have I piqued your interest? Then, please, read on...
The stack breakdown by state is as follows. (The total number of schools in the stack is in parentheses.) Every Division I school in each state is in the associated stack, with the lone exception of Miami (FL), who is in the ACC stack. I did this both for competitive reasons and because of the fact that Miami has far more in common from a demographics standpoint with the Atlantic seaboard and northern schools than the SEC. Here is the state breakdown:
SEC stack (45): GA, FL, AL, MS, SC, TN, KY
ACC stack (57): NC, VA, WV, VA, DC, MD, DE, NJ, CT, RI, MA, PA, NY, NH, VT, ME
Big Ten stack (40): OH, IN, MI, IL, WI, MN, IA, ND, SD
Big XII stack (42): LA, TX, AR, OK, KS, NE, NM, CO, WY
Pac-12 stack (33): CA, AZ, UT, NV, OR, WA, ID, MT, HI
Now, when flaming my conference alignment in the comments below, please remember that I haven't changed the 8-game conference schedule or the 12-game overall schedule, so out-of-conference matchups are always available to teams who are no longer grouped in the same stack or conference.
Also, remember that conference membership will literally change every year, with the best two performers advancing a level and the worst two performers dropping a level.
Here are the promotion/relegation rules:
- Each of the top two tiers is a twelve-team league with two divisions. The third tier is broken down into two conferences, which are not limited in size.
- At the end of the season, the team in each division with the worst conference record is relegated to the league on the next lower tier.
- At the end of the season, the second-tier team who wins their division is promoted to the top-tier league in their stack.
- At the end of the season, the winners of each of the two third-tier conferences is promoted to the second-tier league in their stack. (For the Pac-12 stack, which only has one third-tier conference, the top two finishers from that league are promoted.) For very large third-tier conferences, this might necessitate a playoff due to equivalent conference records (if whatever tiebreakers are in place are tied, as well).
For the first season, each stack breaks down as follows:
SEC |
(Top) |
| East | West |
| Clemson | Alabama |
| Florida | Auburn |
| Florida State | Mississippi State |
| Georgia | Ole Miss |
| Ga. Tech | Tennessee |
| South Carolina | Vanderbilt |
Conference USA |
(Second-Tier) |
| East | West |
| Florida Atlantic | Kentucky |
| Florida International | Louisville |
| Troy | Memphis |
| UAB | Middle Tenn. State |
| Central Florida | Southern Miss |
| South Florida | Western Kentucky |
Third-Tier Conferences
|
|
| Southern Conference (TN, AL, KY) | Big South Conference (GA, FL, SC) |
| Austin Peay | Charleston Southern |
| Chattanooga | The Citadel |
| Eastern Kentucky | Coastal Carolina |
| Jacksonville State (AL) | Furman |
| Morehead State | Georgia Southern |
| Murray State | Georgia State |
| Samford | Jacksonville U. (FL) |
| South Alabama | Presbyterian |
| Tennessee-Martin | Wofford |
| Tennessee State | |
| Tennessee Tech |
Projected results from 2011:
Relegated: Georgia Tech (to Conference USA)
Ole Miss (to Conference USA)
Florida Atlantic (to Big South)
Memphis (to Southern Conference)
Promoted: South Florida (to SEC)
Southern Miss or Louisville (to SEC)
Jacksonville State (to Conference USA)
Georgia Southern (to Conference USA)
ACC |
(Top) |
| North | South |
| Boston College |
Miami (FL) |
| Penn State |
NC State |
| Pitt | North Carolina |
| Syracuse | Virginia Tech |
| UConn | Virginia |
| West Virginia |
Wake Forest |
Big East
|
(Second-Tier) |
| North | South |
| Army | Appalachian State |
| Buffalo | Duke |
| Delaware | East Carolina |
| Rutgers | Marshall |
| Temple | Maryland |
| Villanova | Navy |
Third-Tier Conferences |
|
| Colonial Athletic Association (DC, KY, MD, NC, VA, WV) |
Patriot League (CT, DE, MA, ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI) |
| Campbell | Bryant |
| Davidson | Bucknell |
| Elon | Central Conn. St. |
| Gardner-Webb | Colgate |
| Georgetown | Duquesne |
| James Madison | Fordham |
| Liberty | Holy Cross (MA) |
| Old Dominion | Lafayette |
| Richmond | Lehigh |
| Towson | Maine |
| VMI | Marist |
| Western Carolina | Monmouth |
| William & Mary | New Hampshire |
| Rhode Island | |
| Sacred Heart | |
| St. Francis (PA) | |
| SUNY-Albany | |
| SUNY-Stony Brook | |
| UMass | |
| Wagner |
Projected results from 2011:
Relegated: Syracuse (to Big East)
North Carolina (to Big East)
Villanova (to Patriot League)
Duke (to CAA)
Promoted: Rutgers (to ACC)
Marshall (to ACC)
Old Dominion (to Big East)
Lehigh (to Big East)
Big Ten
|
(Top) |
| East | West |
| Indiana |
Illinois |
| Michigan |
Iowa |
| Notre Dame |
Minnesota |
| Ohio State |
Northwestern |
| Purdue | Wisconsin |
| Michigan State |
Iowa State |
Mid-American Conference
|
(Second-Tier) |
| East | West |
| Cincinnati | Northern Illinois |
| Akron | Central Michigan |
| Kent | Eastern Michigan |
| Bowling Green |
Western Michigan |
| Miami (OH) |
Toledo |
| Ohio U. |
Ball State |
Third-Tier Conferences |
|
| Pioneer Conference (IA, ND, SD, IL) |
Ohio Valley Conference (IN, OH) |
| Drake | Butler |
| North Dakota |
Dayton |
| North Dakota State |
Valparaiso |
| South Dakota |
Indiana State |
| South Dakota State |
Youngstown State |
| Northern Iowa |
|
| Eastern Illinois |
|
| Illinois State |
|
| Southern Illinois |
|
| Western Illinois |
|
|
Robert Morris |
Projected results from 2011:
Relegated: Indiana (to MAC)
Minnesota (to MAC)
Akron (to Ohio Valley)
Central Michigan (to Ohio Valley)
Promoted: Ohio U. (to B1G)
Northern Illinois (to B1G)
North Dakota State (to MAC)
Indiana State (to MAC)
Big XII
|
(Top) |
| North | South |
| Colorado |
Arkansas |
| Kansas |
LSU |
| Kansas State |
Oklahoma |
| Missouri |
Texas Tech |
| Nebraska | Texas |
| Oklahoma State |
Texas A&M |
Mountain West
|
(Second-Tier) |
| East | West |
| Louisiana Tech |
Air Force |
| Louisiana-Lafayette | Baylor |
| Houston | Colorado State |
| TCU |
Tulsa |
| Rice |
UTEP |
| SMU |
Wyoming |
Third-Tier Conferences |
|
| Southland Conference (LA, AR) |
Missouri Valley Conference (TX, NM, CO, MO) |
| Louisiana-Monroe | North Texas |
| Tulane |
New Mexico |
| McNeese State |
New Mexico State |
| Nicholls State |
UT San Antonio |
| Northwestern State (LA) |
Lamar |
| Southeastern Louisiana |
Sam Houston State |
| Arkansas State |
Stephen F. Austin |
| Central Arkansas |
Texas State |
| Northern Colorado |
|
| Missouri State |
|
| SE Missouri State |
Projected results from 2011:
Relegated: Kansas (to Mountain West)
Texas Tech (to Mountain West)
Rice (to Missouri Valley)
UTEP (to Missouri Valley)
Promoted: Houston or TCU (to Big XII)
Baylor (to Big XII)
Sam Houston State (to Mountain West)
Central Arkansas (to Mountain West)
Pac-12
|
(Top) |
| North | South |
| Boise State |
Arizona |
| Cal |
Arizona State |
| Oregon |
BYU |
| Oregon State |
UCLA |
| Stanford | USC |
| Washington |
Utah |
WAC
|
(Second-Tier) |
| North | South |
| Fresno State |
Hawaii |
| Idaho | Nevada |
| Washington State |
UNLV |
| Montana |
Utah State |
| Eastern Washington |
San Diego State |
| San Jose State |
Northern Arizona |
Third-Tier Conference |
| Great West Conference (CA, UT, OR, ID, MT) |
| San Diego U. |
| Cal Poly |
| Southern Utah |
| UC-Davis |
| Portland State |
| Sacramento State |
| Weber State |
| Idaho State |
| Montana State |
Projected results from 2011:
Relegated: Oregon State (to WAC)
Arizona (to WAC)
Idaho (to Great West)
UNLV (to Great West)
Promoted: San Jose State (to Pac-12)
San Diego State (to Pac-12)
Montana State (to WAC)
Portland State (to WAC)
Well, that's the lineup, folks! If you actually followed me this far, then God bless you, 'cause you're a heck of a reader. I welcome your feedback below! I think this is an equitable system, and it completely eliminates the threat of further realignment. If a team from the lower tiers wants to play their way up into big-boy football, they have a path with which to do just that!
Did I get it wrong? Am I insane? Let me know below! And...
Go Dawgs!