College football. More of us love it today–and with more passion!–than ever before. But for all of the devotion, the sport is shackled by more ugly controversy than necessary. Follow the links below on my journey to a perfect college football world!
The elite athletic programs (dubbed the “Super 6”) need to break off from the less successful sports schools. Their student-athletes would be governed by different rules. The scintillating regular season and some of the best bowls would be maintained, but a small and fair playoff would be implemented.
The leftover Division 1 schools (the old NCAA) can still have their own basketball tournament and would survive with a profitable playoff of their own. There would still be occasional opportunity for competition between the two leagues.
Goodbye NCAA 
I’m not clear – is this supposed to be an idealized plan for a perfect world, a plausible plan that could build on where we are now, or perhaps a mix of both? I see some elements of each, put together in a way that seem to violate an attempt at either.
If it is supposed to be a mix, why do you call it perfection?
If it is supposed to be perfection, why do you allow anomalies like multiple independents, retaining dead weight in the conferences and polls determining playoff status?
If it is supposed to be practical, why do you include forced expansion with specific schools and conferences not getting an automatic spot in the playoffs?
Perfection, to me, is where the real world finds completion. You take what is…you make just the right changes in a plausible way…and you end up with something better (perfection, for dramatic purposes).
If you scrap all semblances of reality, well then it’s just a floating fantasy, not very interesting to think about or conceive. That’s why I try–I believe–to use plausible scenarios. I’ve argued out my reasons, and will continue to do so. I’m not saying any of this WILL happen, just that I think there is strong logic behind its mere possibility.
Nearly a year later…the Super 6 is growing. I predicted 74 teams. At this point, with the SEC and ACC and Big 12 (by subtraction) expanding to force the Big East to expand, we’re looking at 78 teams “in” the Super 6 leagues. Will the Big East survive or will the push to 16 team mega-conferences completely relegate it to obscurity? At this point, by adding some of the mediocre teams I originally predicted they would add (see https://perfectcollegefootballworld.wordpress.com/the-super-6-teams/ …Memphis, UCF, SMU) and two that I thought the Big 12 might procure (Houston, SDSU)…they are hanging in there. The one “party crasher” I didn’t predict would make it–Boise State. And Navy, Air Force, and Army also should be considered likely to find a home in the Super 6 before it’s all said and done.
The reforms proposed by Emmert and the NCAA are eerily up the same lines as I suggested here (https://perfectcollegefootballworld.wordpress.com/super-6-reforms/) and while I don’t know if a 6-team playoff will every find favor, the Big Ten’s proposal for 4 teams sounds somewhat similar to mine, FWIW. https://perfectcollegefootballworld.wordpress.com/2011-super-6-simulation/
Thanks for reading…the information is rapidly changing but some of the ideas are still strong and viable…
Back again for another yearly check in…
My Super 6 theory seems dead, as we are officially down to 5 major conferences now. Sorry Big East. The next jump, I think, would be to further lop off another conference (ACC?) and get down to 4. The Big 12 (i.e. Texas) doesn’t really want to supersize…nor CAN the Pac-12 (geographic limitations)…but the SEC and Big Ten certainly can grow to 20 schools with decent ACC additions.
The NCAA certainly is under fire these days…and it’ll be interesting to see what these next few years bring. The Big Ten’s new media contract (due in 2016) will be the watershed moment if you ask me. If the NCAA can morph and survive through that, it’ll survive. If it won’t change with the times, I still wouldn’t be surprised to see these major 60-80 schools separate and make a new entity for themselves.