By: jwolfe

jwolfe — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 04:34:10 +0000

Here are three bad ideas for deciding a conference or division champion. 1. Making games outside the division count or even be tie breakers. 2. Playing one team every year unless you play everybody in the conference every year. 3. rotating opponents in a cross division schedule.

If a program/university feels they can have a lot of fun or make a lot of money playing the same team every year outside of a conference round robin fine let them play, but don’t try to tell another university they are rivals with someone when they are not. This is a sure way to break up a conference, because about the second time this rivalry thing causes a team to loss out on a division championship, or a BCS bowl, or any bowl in the national spotlight, the league that dictated this is going to start looking like the thing that killed the program not helped the program.

There is only one way to decide a conference championship. That is a complete round robin. Nine round robin games is one too many. The next best thing is a seven game division round robin to decide a conference title. If the NCAA allows championship between two conference division champs they should allow two conferences to challenge each other for a regional title in-between conference season and bowl games picks. If not the next season could begin with such a challenge game.

Just play 7-8 intense conference rival games and name a winner. Let the program/university schedule their own opponents outside of that schedule. One program might want to schedule every top 10 program who will play them. Another program/university might want their players to maximize study time, or play a wide sample of their roster in the less intense games to give every player the best chance to show who is best for the conference season. Another program might want to schedule more games in a region that they have to play in to keep their recruiting traditions alive in. The Big 12′s 9 team round robin is great but it is one game too long. The SEC’s two division idea is good but it goes too far when it starts counting those luck of the rotation and permanent rivalry bologna as something that decides titles and playoff opportunities. Want a great conference?, make it as equal as possible for everybody every year.

By: FallsChurchDore

FallsChurchDore — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 15:02:43 +0000

Just wish they’d man up and go to 9 games already.

By: AllTideUp

AllTideUp — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 14:53:55 +0000

I think they want to move to 16 teams sooner rather than later. A 16 team league divided up into 4 pods makes for fairly easy scheduling even if you only have 8 conference games, but a new standard will be set if they move to 9 now and it will be virtually impossible to move back. TV contracts…annual OOC rivals…there are a lot of things that would be effected for the long term if the league moved to 9 games.I think if 14 was the long term plan at play then 9 games would be much more seriously considered.

Comments on: SEC Inches Closer To 8-Game Schedule With Permanent Cross-Division Foes

By: jwolfe

By: FallsChurchDore

By: AllTideUp