THINK Tank… 24?

It was just three years ago when the CFB Playoff was expanded to twelve (12) teams from four (4) teams. Over the past year, talk began about expanding the playoff to sixteen (16) teams, then talk started about going directly to twenty-four (24) teams! Really?

What rationale is being used to destroy the regular season and conference championships? Sure, there might be more money for a select few schools. Sure, the coaches would have more job security. But what about the students and the fans? More long distance travel? Do we trust the power brokers with the fate of the Army-Navy game?

Where’s the transparency? Just more smoke-filled rooms deciding our fate?

Do you want a common sense solution? We’ve got one for you!

SMALLER is BETTER!

STEP ONE: Reorganize Division I into eight new conferences.

Each conference would have 12 schools. The total number of schools in Division I would be reduced to 96, down from 133 schools. Each conference would be geographically based, cutting travel for he student athletes, coaches and fans and the associated cost. Each school would play eleven (11) conference games and one (1) non-conference game. This would minimize “cupcake games.” All conferences would report directly to a new centralized college athletics president.

CONFERENCE ALIGNMENT:

EAST:

Cincinnati

West Virginia

Pittsburgh

Virginia

Virginia Tech

Maryland

Navy

Rutgers

Syracuse

Army

UConn

Boston College

COASTAL:

Florida

Florida State

South Florida

Central Florida

Miami

Georgia Tech

Clemson

South Carolina

North Carolina

Duke

NC State

Wake Forest

SOUTH:

Georgia

Alabama

Auburn

Ole Miss

Miss State

LSU

Tulane

Kentucky

Louisville

Tennessee

Vanderbilt

Memphis

MIDWEST:

Penn State

Ohio State

Michigan

Michigan State

Indiana

Purdue

Notre Dame

Illinois

Northwestern

Wisconsin

Minnesota

Nebraska

SOUTWEST:

Houston

Texas A&M,

Texas

UTSA

Texas State

Baylor

TCU

SMU

Texas Tech

Oklahoma State

Oklahoma

Arkansas

HEARTLAND:

Kansas

Kansas State

Iowa

Iowa State

Colorado

Colorado State

Air Force

Utah

BYU

Boise State

New Mexico

New Mexico State

WEST:

Washington

Washington State

Oregon

Oregon State

California

Stanford

UCLA

USC

San Diego State

Arizona

Arizona State

UNLV

STEP TWO: Reduce the playoffs to eight schools.

The eight conference champions would make up the playoffs. You need to earn your way into the playoffs by winning on the field. No more selection committees. No more jurymandering by conferences or media networks.

STEP THREE: Media Rights

All media rights agreements would be managed centrally. All revenue would be distributed with 75% divided equally among all 96 schools. The eight playoff schools would earn a performance bonus based on how they performed in the playoffs.

STEP FOUR: The CFP Tournament

The eight-team playoff would begin on the Saturday following the Army-Navy game and run through the holidays. For example, in 2026, the first round would be held on Saturday, December 7th and Saturday, December 14th. The Second round would be played on Saturday, December 21st and Saturday, December 28th. The national championship game would be played on Saturday, January 5th. Students can go back for the final exams in January.

STEP FIVE: National Signing Week

The national sign week will occur from December 8-15 each year.

STEP SIX: Transfer Portal

The Transfer Portal would run from January 1st to January 30th each year.

BOTTOM LINE:

The above solution is a simple but common sense approach. It may not be perfect but its a heck of alot better than the current chaos.

GO CANES!