THINKtank: Reduction

February 20, 2026

College athletics, specifically football, is spiraling out of control. The NCAA is no longer the governing body of college sports. Conference realignment, NIL, Transfer Portal and the courts have neutered that organization.

Can the universities take back control of their athletic programs? Is it time to close down the NCAA? Start over with fresh blood leadership with bold, innovative ideas?

In this edition, we will continue to examine the critical steps needed to save college athletics.

STEP TWO: Reduction

Sometimes bigger is not better.

In this case, 133 schools in the NCAA Division I is insane! Ten conferences plus Notre Dame in Division I is insane! Eighteen schools in one conference is insane! Traveling 3,000 miles across the country to play a volleyball game is insane!

STOP!

Our next step in saving college athletics in to reduce the product line and apply common sense to bundling our product lines. Here are the action plans.

A. Reduce Division I to eight divisions.

Reorganize conferences geographically. East, Midwest, South, Coastal, Plains, Mountain, Southwest, and West.

B. Limit each division to 11 schools.

Each division team plays every other division team to determine a division champion.. Eighty-eight schools schools are organized into eight new divisions.

C. Reduce CFP to eight champion schools.

The eight division champions advance to the CFP to determine a national champion. Our traditional bowls are saved.

Who plays where?

Let’s take a swing. This is where it really gets tough. Remember, the first criteria is geography. Not easy!

EAST: (11)

Notre Dame, Boston College, UConn, Syracuse, Rutgers, Pitt, Penn State, Maryland, West Virginia, Army, Navy

MIDWEST: (11)

Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Indiana, Purdue, Louisville, Cincinnati, Illinois, Northwestern, Wisconsin, Minnesota

SOUTH: (11)

Virginia, Virginia Tech, North Carolina, Duke, NC State, Clemson, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Tennessee, Vanderbilt,

COASTAL: (11)

Miami, Florida State, Florida, Central Florida, USF, LSU, Alabama, Auburn, South Carolina, Ole Miss, Mississippi State,

SOUTHWEST: (11)

Texas, Texas A&M, SMU, TCU, Baylor, Houston, UTSA, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Arkansas

PLAINS: (11)

Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State,

Wyoming, Air Force, New Mexico, New Mexico State, UTEP

MOUNTAIN: (11)

Utah, Utah State, BYU, Boise State, Colorado, Colorado State, Air Force, UNLV, Nevada, North Dakota State, Memphis

WEST: (11)

USC, UCLA, San Diego State, Arizona, Arizona State, Stanford, California, Oregon, Oregon State, Washington, Washington State

BOTTOM LINE:

By executing STEP 2, we will…

1. Reduce the number of schools in Division I from 133 to 88.

2. Level the playing field. Every team in each division plays all the teams in that division, with two games for cross division match ups. Championships are earned on the field of play.

3. Eliminate biased polls and secret selection committees in the playoff selection process. Earn your way in.

4. Save the bowls. Use four traditional bowls plus one for the playoff. The remaining bowls will have a large selection of quality teams to provide attractive matchups.

We will next address STEP 3, media rights and the subsequent division of revenue.

GO CANES!